Chadema won’t cooperate with CUF

By The Citizen Reporter Dar es Salaam. Prospects of forging a strong opposition in Parliament faded yesterday following Chadema’s categorical affirmation that it won’t be cooperating with the Civic United Front (CUF). Briefing reporters on the outcome of the party’s Central Committee meeting, secretary general Willibrod Slaa said Chadema was ready to join forces with all else in the opposition camp, but not with CUF. Dr Slaa Chadema’s stance was on account of the fact that CUF was working with ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM). CUF and CCM have linked up to form a government of national unity in Zanzibar in a bid to end years of political enmity that had caused unnecessary disharmony in the Cloves islands. Chadema views the CUF-CCM “marriage”  as a sell-out on the part of the erstwhile most vocal opposition party.  “Chadema Central Committee appreciates the need for opposition parties to work together in order to strengthen their position in the country. However, we also note the fact that CCM and CUF have jointly formed a government of national unity in Zanzibar and because the Political Parties Act operate in all parts of the Union, we strongly believe CCM and CUF share agenda even in Mainland matters,” he said. Chadema’s position means that the Opposition will be fragmented, jeopardising its clout when it comes to countering CCM offensives in Parliamentary debates and voting processes. Chadema commands about 13 per cent of all MPs and this allows it to form the Official Opposition in Parliament on its own. Efforts by CUF, NCCR-Mageuzi, TLP and UDP to form another opposition camp that excludes Chadema were thwarted last week when the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Anne Makinda, said regulations bars that. On the new constitution, Dr Slaa said Chadema CC differed with President Kikwete’s resolve to form a committee to collect views, noting that it wasn’t the proper to write a new constitution. “Our Central Committee’s contention is that Presidential Commission is not a proper way as it will not give people enough freedom to participate in the process,” he said. He said Chadema was for allowing Parliament to put in place and manage a system that will manage a process of writing a new constitution. He said, that being the case, the Chadema secretariat has directed Ubungo MP, Mr John Mnyika, to present his private motion seeking the same. Dr Slaa asked all other MPs to support Mr Mnyika’s motion so as to have meaningful changes, which is the desire of majority of Tanzanians. On the recent Arusha chaos in which lives were lost, Dr Slaa said his party has been dismayed by the incident. He said Chadema CC has heaped all the blame on the Arusha City Director for mismanaging the Arusha mayor election. “We believe that the director had did what he did at the behest of CCM,” he claimed. However, he said, his party’s CC has instructed its councillors in Arusha to attend council meetings and represent people who elected them, while they continue to press for a repeat of the mayoral election. On energy, Dr Slaa said Chadema was disturbed by the increase in electricity tariffs and the price of cooking gas. He reiterated that his party has organised countrywide demonstrations to protest over the issue. The first in a series of demos would take place Mwanza on February 24 and others would follow in other regions on dates to be announced in due course. The demos, he said, would also be in protest against the Sh94 million award to Dowans as granted by the International Commercial Court (ICC) and “endorsed” by CCM. Dr Slaa also said Chadema has advised CCM to borrow from its good policies on power so as to improve the sector which has been deteriorating. “We are doing this for the benefit of the nation,” he said. On another move, Chadema has described the recent dismal performance of Form 4 finalists as a national disaster. “Only 11.5 per cent of all finalists scored between Division I and III. This means that nearly 90 per cent of last year’s Form 4s cannot continue with higher education,” he said adding: “CCM shouldn’t feel shy about borrowing from our good policies on education and use them for the benefit of the nation,” he said.