Political parties prepare for meetings with President Samia
Dar es Salaam. Opposition political parties yesterday expressed readiness to meet with President Samia Suluhu Hassan - with Chadema saying it has received a letter from the State House responding to its call for a meeting with the Head of State.
However, the director of Presidential Communications and Chief Government Spokesperson, Gerson Msigwa, said the letter to Chadema was normal official communication between the two institutions.
“Chadema wrote to the President and, therefore, they had the right to get a response. Regarding the President’s pledge to meet top leaders of political parties, the public will be informed on the actual day for that,” he said over the phone.
Delivering her maiden speech in Parliament last week, President Hassan promised to meet top leaders of the political opposition to deliberate on better means of doing politics in the country.
Yesterday, Chadema’s secretary general John Mnyika wrote on his Twitter handle as follows: “I would like to officially inform you that, on April 20, 2021, we received the national chairman’s @freemanmbowetz response letter out of our request to meet President @SuluhuSamia. The President has accepted to meet and hold consultations with @ChademaTz. We are waiting to know the date of the meeting.”
But, CUF secretary general Haroub Mohammed Shamis said no invitation letter to meet with President Hassan has been sent by the party. Instead, he said, it was leaders of the Political Parties Council who communicated with the opposition party.
“Probably, the Political Parties Council meeting is intended to deliberate on issues that would be tabled for the Head of State,” he said in a telephone interview.
According to Shamis, CUF’s national chairman, Prof Ibrahim Lipumba, wrote to the president advising her on four key issues. These are the need to improve the country’s democracy and rule of law; promotion of human rights; re-building the economy that has been devastated by Covid-19, and involvement of experts in fighting Covid-19.
“Through the letter, the president was also advised on means of accessing low interest loans for the implementation of development projects such as the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP) and the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), instead of high-interest loans that are a huge burden on the country,” he said.
The ACT-Wazalendo deputy secretary general for the Mainland, Mr Joram Bashange, said the party has not received any letter after President Hassan’s maiden speech in Parliament in Dodoma last Thursday. But, he said the party has a lot to be tabled before the Head of State.
“Hopefully, she’ll give us enough time before the meeting. We will need a few hours at least to put everything in place,” Bashange said over the phone.
“However, we are not aware of the module that she will use: whether meeting her directly or through the Political Parties Council under the Office of Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP), or other institutions,” he said.
According to him, a meeting of a Political Parties Council is also expected to deliberate on amending different laws, including the Political Parties Act.
But, the Deputy Registrar of Political Parties (DRPP), Mr Sisty Nyahoza, confirmed that his office was organizing a meeting of the Political Parties Council expected to take place soon.
“The meeting has no relationship with the President’s meeting with opposition political parties. It is a coincidence that the President is planning to meet top leaders of political parties at a time when we were organizing a legal meeting of the council,” he said.
“However, the President will meet political parties at her own convenience, and invitations will be extended to the parties through her official avenues.”
Nyahoza also said that political parties have been asked to submit issues they think are worthy of being dealt with on the meeting’s agenda before the meeting date is set.
“Not only are political parties to submit issues for the meeting. Other stakeholders can also do so - especially if there are issues they think require amendments, including in the Political Parties Act, the Election Expenses Act and others,” he said.
The meeting between President Hassan and leaders of political parties is expected to open a new chapter on relationships and cooperation between the government and the political opposition.
At the meeting, several issues - including restriction of political activities by anyone other than elected leaders who are supposed to hold rallies in their respective areas of jurisdiction - are hopefully going to be among the issues that will feature in the presidential meeting.
Others are revival of the Constitution-writing process; formation of an Independent Electoral Commission; releasing opposition leaders, cadres and members arrested during last year’s General Election, and the fate of people who flee the country on political grounds.
