JK hopeful deadlock on Katiba to end soon

Mbeya/Hai. President Jakaya Kikwete said yesterday he was optimistic talks between the Registrar of Political Parties and major political parties will unlock the stalemate on the constitution review process.

Speaking in Mbeya during celebrations to mark 75 years of the Tanzania Assemblies of God (TAG), President Kikwete said he was pleased with the progress made so far in he talks between Mr Francis Mutungi and senior party officials. “I commend the registrar as well as the leaders of the main political parties for talks that give hope that a solution will be found soon. It is a step in the right direction,” President Kikwete said at Sokoine Memorial Stadium.

The Head of State said talks were the only way opposition parties would end their boycott of the Constituent Assembly (CA) before it resumes in Dodoma on August 5.

President Kikwete said he had been apprehensive about the future of the review process following the hard line stance adopted by the parties under the Coalition of Defenders of the People’s Constitution, popularly known by its Kiswahili acronym Ukawa.

It was the first time the President was hinting at the progress of the talks that have largely been kept under wraps away from the media spotlight.

Ukawa walked out of the CA in April, accusing the ruling CCM of using its majority to impose the two-government structure on Tanzanians. Ukawa is for a three-tier union as proposed in the second draft constitution.

In another development, one of the Ukawa principals, Mr Freeman Mbowe of Chadema, yesterday alluded to the talks, telling a party meeting in his Hai Constituency that the group was ready for a roundtable agreement to end the stalemate.

Mr Mbowe said they supported roundtable negotiations that aim to salvage the process.

“I have spoken with top government leaders including the President and the Prime Minister and told them that we need a new constitution more than CCM does,” he said.

“We will return to the assembly if our fellow members will agree to a meeting that will make a comprehensive assessment on how we got where we are today.”

Mr Mbowe did not specify when he spoke with the President or Prime Minister on the matter.

He said instead of insisting on Ukawa to end its boycott, it was important for all the parties involved to jointly evaluate factors that prompted the group to opt out.

The Chadema chairman said after arriving at a consensus, the parties would enter into a written agreement, but warned that Ukawa would not hesitate to walk out of the assembly again if fresh attempts were made to violate what they would have agreed upon.

According to him, the most important thing they would like to be assured of before rejoining the assembly was that the CA would discuss the second draft constitution and not deviate from the fundamental principles of the document.

He said walking out of the assembly sessions did mean that they were not interested in getting a new constitution for Tanzanians, but wanted a document that would serve the interests of the nation.

In Mbeya, President Kikwete was responding to a request by Archbishop Dr Barnabas Mtokambali, who pleaded with him to intervene and rescue the process from collapse.

The cleric told the Head of State to act to ensure that the current stalemate was resolved to ensure CA members resumed talks as stipulated under the law and to deliver a new document as expected.

President Kikwete said he was also as hopeful on the way forward and urged all Tanzanians to pray for a smooth process. “I urge tolerance and also wish to ask those on the cheering lines to create space and let the players continue with dialogue,” said President Kikwete who regretted that there had been some people portraying a desire to use the opportunity to create a crisis.