Reconciliatory calls as parties demand new constitution
Former minister Stephen Wassira speaks during past meeting. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Pluralism in the country has faced ups and downs in the 30 years, with the current push for a new constitution, dominating debates
Dar es Salaam. A call has been made for leaders to seek reconciliatory means to unlock any stalemate in the country’s search for political reforms and enactment of a new constitution.
Efforts by President Samia Suluhu Hassan towards national reconciliation and the search for a new political beginning were also singled out for praise.
Speaking at a forum organised by CIP Africa on Monday and aired on several digital platforms, a cross section of political leaders were of the view that search for an inclusive process devoid of political witch-hunting or divisiveness would guarantee a smooth process for the reforms being sought.
The forum brought together leaders from the political divide, professionals and members of the general public drawn from all walks of life to ponder the journey that Tanzania has taken in the last 30 years of multiparty politics.
The event was part of ongoing public debate as part of the marking of the multiparty milestone since Tanzania returned to the system in 1992 after almost three decades of one party rule from 1965.
Pluralism in the country has faced ups and downs in the 30 years, with the current push for a new dispensation, including the revival of the process to enact a new constitution dominating the debate for the future of Tanzania’s democracy.
Among those who contributed to the CIP Africa forum included Chadema national chairman Freeman Mbowe, ACT-Wazalendo leader Zitto Kabwe, CCM’s Central Committee member and former minister Stephen Wassira and ADC chairman Hamad Rashid who also served as a minister in the last Zanzibar government.
In his contribution, Mr Mbowe who recently spent a stint in jail and was remanded for eight months as he faced terror-related charges which were, however, dropped, said the ruling party cannot escape blame for all the ills that the public has faced in the last 30 years.
He said while there has been challenges in the practice of multipartism, the years from 2015-2021 under the late President John Magufuli were the severest and were felt by all the people.
“CCM ought to apologise for what the country went through because they allowed their president and chairman to abuse the nation as no one among them dared to speak, they all kept quiet,” said Mr Mbowe.
He said as a party, CCM should have held their leaders accountable and condemn acts of abuse of the country’s nascent democracy.
The Chadema leader gave South Africa as an example of how a ruling party should hold to account its top leaders, citing the case of the removal from the presidency of Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. He said the current president Cyril Ramaphosa is also facing an internal pressure for accountability.
In his reaction, Mr Wasira said CCM cannot carry all the blame of what was bedevilling the multiparty democracy. He noted that some of the problems facing political parties were internal and not related to the ruling party. He gave examples of the fallout between Augustine Mrema and Mabere Marando in the early days and as seen recently within CUF.
“For me, today we should forget the past and not apportion blame, but seek the best way that we can go far together. We are currently talking about reconciliation which requires that we stop blaming each other,” said Mr Wasira, who has served in several senior government positions since the first post-independence government under President Julius Nyerere.
He welcomed efforts to take the country forward and warned against acts that could be self-defeating in the search for the best manner for the people to participate in growing their democracy.
Mr Kabwe said CCM did not prefer multipartism at the time only that they gave in to pressure and the persuasion of its then leader Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. He said the party then assumed the leadership of the process that they did not believe in the first place.
He said the “original sin” for Tanzania’s democracy was to treat it as “supplied by CCM.” “What this meant is that they would take it back if they so wished as did happen between 2016-2012.” Mr Kabwe said the party he leads believes in a demand driven democracy in which the people have a bigger say than a few leaders.
The discussants were of the view that the push for adoption of a new supreme law would serve the interests of the country taking into account the many years that have evolved since enactment of the current law in 1997.
Mr Mbowe said the current constitution guaranteed protection to almost all top leaders, a fact he said made those in positions of responsibility make arbitrary mistakes without fear of any reprisals or accountability to the people of Tanzania.
“In the current situation, the matter of getting a new law is in the hands of President Samia and our role as politicians and civil society is to keep the pressure of demanding for the new constitution up, but ultimately it will depend on the President,” he said.
The Chadema leader who has held several consultations with the President since coming out of remand prison said at the forum he was happy and thanked President Samia for showing the willingness to tackle the challenges.
ADC’s Hamad Rashid said time was rife for Tanzania to have a new constitution to take the nation to the next level. “Things have changed, the world has changed and we need a law that is in tandem with the current situation in the country and globally,” said Mr Rashid.
The meeting noted President Samia’s 4Rs namely Reconciliation, Resiliency, Reforms and Rebuilding reform mantra as being facilitative for the ongoing debates.
Mr Wasira said President Samia has goodwill to carry on with her agenda and called for the parties and all to support her.
Mr Mbowe asked the President to go beyond readiness to listen and put things into action.
Mr Kabwe said Tanzania was on a “factory reset” as it was in 1992 and rooted for negotiated democracy to carry the country from where it has found itself now.
On gender, law lecturer at OUT Victoria Lihiru said women made some advancement over the pluralism years but observed that there was a backslide in 2020 elections when 90 per cent of contestants were men.
Prof Mohammed Bakari of the University of Dar es Salaam noted that citizens were not ready to demand for democracy as witnessed in other countries. He said the echo system for local democracy was inappropriate as the voice of one party remained dominant.
He said it was difficult now to differentiate the ruling party from the government. He pointed out that the current Parliament under pluralism could be weaker than the one-party era one.
