Over 100 leaders attend capacity-building training by party registrar

Dar es Salaam.  Over 100 political party leaders have today, September 19, responded to the Registrar of Political Parties' call to attend a two-day workshop that seeks to impart knowledge on the importance of political party institutionalization in the country.

Giving his opening remarks, the Registrar of Political Parties, Judge (Rtd) Francis Mutungi, said that being one of the essential conditions for democratic consolidation, political parties had an obligation to open a new page of democratic politics in the country.

"Being leaders of our political parties, we are obliged to remember that to have a strong democracy we need to run our parties as institutions," he said.

The registrar also said that through the workshop, the leaders would be able to carry out activities in accordance to what democracy entails.

"We have been termed a 'Saccos' due to the way we conduct ourselves.  Through this workshop we will be in a position to change the public perception, which has been a stumbling block for more people seeking to join our parties," he said.

According to him, party institutionalisation is the extent to which political parties develop systematic sets of mechanisms and structures that enable them to compete effectively for political power. He said that it should be the reason why the public would have the reason to trust their political parties.

"We need to institutionalise in order to realise the development of political parties in a political system undergoing democratisation," he said.

For his part, the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam, Prof Rwekaza Mukandala, said that political parties will be able to get respect in the society through institutional administration.

"Being an institution, the parties will be able to sustainably find solutions for problems identified in the society. Every political party must initiate ways to institutionalize," he said.

Prof Mukandala said that any institution would enhance legitimacy in leadership to facilitate discipline in the party.

"If our parties were strongly institutionalised, unnecessary problems within parties would not be witnessed.  Having proper and sustainable leadership is easy through institutions," he said.

Meanwhile, the two main political parties in the country, CCM and Chadema, did not attend the workshop, a situation that the registrar said was not an issue.

"Don't worry about the absence of the two parties. I am happy with your attendance because you will get ingredients to drive your parties," the Registrar said.