CCM is not afraid of reforms, Nchimbi tells opposition

Dodoma. The CCM secretary general, Emmanuel Nchimbi, on Monday, January 22, said party leaders were not afraid of reforms after recent opposition claims that they had stalled reconciliation talks.

Dr Nchimbi, who arrived in the party headquarters in Dodoma for the first time since his appointment as the ruling party’s top executive on January 15, told party supporters that CCM embraced political reforms since 1992, when it agreed to the reintroduction of the multiparty system.

“CCM cannot shun discussions with the opposition parties because we do not fear any reforms. A lot of reforms have occurred and we have embraced them,” said Dr Nchimbi, who is the 11th secretary general in the history of CCM.

CCM and Chadema were engaged in talks in the past two years, but the main opposition party recently accused the ruling party of stalling the talks.

Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe said the tabling of Bills that his party was opposing was an indication that the ruling party was not ready for reforms.

“I had very high hopes for the talks. At one point, my fellow opposition leaders urged me to pull out of the discussions, but I believed the talks were important for the future of our country,” said Mr Mbowe.

“Looking at the kind of Bills tabled in Parliament, it’s clear that our colleagues [CCM] are not ready for the reforms,” he said.

Dr Nchimbi, however, said yesterday that his party was still committed to political talks to solve existing challenges.

"We are all responsible for building peace in our country. I urge our colleagues in the opposition to fully participate in this responsibility and be ready for talks whenever there are challenges,” said Dr Nchimbi.

Last November, the government tabled three Bills aimed at reforming Tanzania’s electoral process.They are the National Electoral Commission (NEC) Bill, 2023, Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Bill, 2023, as well as the Political Parties Affairs Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

However, Chadema said the changes made do not allow the formation of an independent electoral commission, which the party has been demanding to ensure free and fair elections.

Chadema has now announced a peaceful demonstration starting January 24 to push for the withdrawal of the Bills in which it accuses the government of ignoring public opinion.

 Welcomes defectors

Dr Nchimbi, who was handed over the party’s secretary general office, congratulated his predecessor, Daniel Chongolo, for strengthening the party.

As Dr Nchimbi occupied CCM’s secretary general office in the party headquarters in Dodoma for the first time, he also had the opportunity to welcome some three defectors from Chadema.

They are former MP Upendo Peneza, former Chadema youth wing leader for Manyara region, Mr Benson Andrew, and senior party cadre Onesfory Mbuya.