Shivji: Commission has great role in constitution

By Alloyce Komba, The Citizen Correspondent Dar es Salaam. The Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRGG) has a great role to play in informing, persuading, educating and positively contributing to the “people-centred process” of constitution making in Tanzania.A renowned constitutional lawyer, Prof Issa Shivji, told commissioners, directors, investigation officers and the commission’s members of staff last Tuesday that they should play this role without partisan interests. Making a presentation on constitution making in Tanzania, he said the commission’s non-political partisan role will help change the “status quo oriented mindset” of the civil service. “The Commission can assist the process by presenting itself as above political partisan interests. It can help to change the status quo oriented mindset of the civil service. For example, I know the Commission has no political interest in the next General Election of 2015,” he pointed out. He said it can help “to project a longer time horizon” in the interest of the people as a whole as opposed to the short-term political interests of political parties and politicians.Urging the commission to also reinforce and facilitate the civil society process, he said it should nevertheless not to undermine or hijack the process. The aim is to remain conscious of the people’s and nation’s interests, he said and cautioned:“The CHRGG must always remain conscious of the people’s and nation’s interests to maintain a national cohesion and be sensitive to the interests of the people of Zanzibar to build a durable, democratic and people-centred union.” Earlier, Professor Shivji gave an overview of the historical background of constitution making in Tanzania. He said from the first Constitution of 1961 (The Independence Constitution) to the current one of 1977 people were not involved. “All five constitutions, the 1962 (The Republican Constitution), the 1964 (The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar), the 1965 (The Interim Constitution or One-Party Constitution) and the 1977 (The Union Constitution), did not reflect the wishes of the people. There was neither a national debate nor a national convention for making the constitutions,” he observed. According to Professor Shivji, the process was a two-way traffic, that is, the “political process” and the “legal process.” The former has to involve a national debate for building a national consensus reached at a national convention to get a national charter for a committee of experts to prepare a draft constitution. The legal process involves the Parliament enacting a law (a Constituent Assembly Act) to adopt the draft constitution and a referendum  to enact  it, he said.