Tanzania made its position on the Iraq war clear before it began. President Mkapa announced that the government and people of Tanzania were opposed to the war and Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye told parliament on February 14 that military supremacy might win the war on the battlefield but it would not bring peace or win hearts. Tanzania also could suffer economically if another war was imposed on Iraq.

It was difficult to hear a dissenting voice and Tanzanians appear to have been united in opposition to the war.

The East African, in an angry article under the heading ‘Humiliated, Helpless, we are all Iraqis Today’ reported the views of a news vendor in Dar es Salaam: “American heavyweight Mike Tyson slugs it out with Tanzanian featherweight Rashidi Matumla!” The article went on: ‘The unequal Anglo-American war on little Iraq is termed “War in Iraq” as if there were simply civil strife going on there, not an invasion by the world’s superpowers of a Third World poor country. There is nothing on the global news networks, BBC or CNN, to assert this fact -that the war is not being fought between equals in terms of weapons, resources and technology.

If any were in doubt about the Tanzanian view they had only to read the Swahili press which rivaled British tabloids in the extremism of its news coverage.

Typical headlines:
British army fearful of entering Basra; says it is dangerous (Mtanzania)
Bush nearly drowning; seeks more funds to destroy Iraq ­(Nipashe)
More Americans killed; the British contingent in trouble -Nipashe
Bush, Blair hammered, The British running from Basra;
The Iraqis forcing them to mark time in the desert; others confused, killing each other -An-Nuur
Iraq destroys US tanks; Saddam’s soldiers stinging like ants -Mwananchi
We have cornered the Americans; claim they control not a single city -Mwananchi
Coward Americans confused at the front line; killing women, children indiscriminately -Majira

By April 10th however, the tone had changed.
Further headlines: ‘Iraqis applaud new era of freedom’ wrote Nipashe; a Rai editorial said ‘ The imperialist aim has been achieved. Iraq is in their hands now. It would be a wise undertaking if they could rebuild Iraq politically and socially …

By April 14th Nipashe wrote ‘US forces enter Sikrit unopposed; Baghdad is calm…..’

FBI TO ESTABLISH AN ANTI-TERRORIST INSTITUTE

According to The Swahili paper Rai, in a bid to counter terrorism, the American Federal Bureau of Investigations will establish an institute for training Police investigators on how to combat terrorism. Construction of the institute, which will also cater for neighbouring countries, is to commence in July this year near Dodoma. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) was said to have allocated 127 hectares for the project. The Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police was quoted as confirming the reports.

There will be significant by-elections on May 18 for 15 seats in the Tanzanian National Assembly mostly from Pemba Island in Zanzibar (but including four mainland seats) and another 17 seats are being contested in the Zanzibar House of Representatives. All but one of the seats in Pemba were previously held by Tanzania’s main opposition party, the Civic United Front (CUF). The previous MP’s had been expelled from parliament because of a boycott they had conducted in protest against what they consider to have been rigged elections in 2000. The 17th seat became vacant when Tanzanian Vice-President Dr Shein had to give up his seat on taking up his new appointment.

The election results will not make any dent in the dominant position of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party in Tanzania but they should provide some indication, if the elections are free and fair, as to the correctness or otherwise of CUF’s long­standing claim that it is the majority party in Zanzibar. For this reason the by-elections are being fought with great vigour by both sides.

The CCM party claimed that many people living in the main island of Zanzibar were going to Pemba to register as voters for the by­elections and accused CUF of being behind the move.

As this issue of Tanzanian Affairs went to press there was good news. Both the CCM Treasurer and the CUF Director of Planning reported a peaceful atmosphere during the voter registration exercise and the CUF Director described the behaviour of the police as commendable. But, according to Majira, registration was said to be proceeding slowly.

Also, according to the same paper ‘big shots’ from the CCM had expressed uncertainty on the outcome of the by-elections. One was quoted as saying a CCM loss in Pemba would not be a big issue. If the Party lost it would concede defeat.

CABINET RESHUFFLE
Two ministers changed places in a minor cabinet reshuffle on February 1. The Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Information and Political Affairs) and Publicity Secretary of the CCM Party, Mr Omar Ramadhan Mapuri became Minister of Home Affairs replacing the previous Minister Mr Mohammed Seif Khatib. The opposition parties, about whom Mapuri had been highly critical, were unhappy with his promotion to what they described as ‘such a sensitive position as Home Affairs Minister.’ The Guardian’s editorial on the subject was headed ‘Mapuri’s appointment raises many eyebrows.’

A MINOR SETBACK
In a surprise result CCM has lost a ward in local elections for Musoma Town Council to the CUF candidate by a margin of six votes. Local CCM members demanded the resignation of their district chairman and secretary blaming them for CCM’s failure to win the seat.

A UNITED OPPOSITION?
Eleven opposition political parties drew up a provisional agreement at the beginning of February to field one presidential candidate in the 2005 elections. They also agreed in principle to divide parliamentary constituencies among themselves. Augustine Mrema’s Tanzania Labour Party however refused to join the alliance because he said that Tanzanians were not yet ripe to vote for a single opposition candidate as had happened in Kenya last year.

JOHN CHEYO BOUNCES BACK
Turmoil has continued in the United Democratic Party (UDP)but in a surprise move on March 13 John Cheyo bounced back as the legitimate chairman of the Party. After eight months of conflict, Registrar of Political Parties John Tendwa, reinstated the ousted leader and declared his rival, Amani Jidulamabambasi, no longer chairman. Tendwa said that he was now satisfied that the Party’s constitution and procedures had not been followed when Cheyo was deposed. “The current leadership had forged the evidence and had cheated the Registrar, the Tanzanian community and party members”

Tendwa said that Jidulamabambasi had originally presented documentary evidence, which he had accepted, to justifY his claims that the UDP Central Committee which had met on 6 July last year had decided to dismiss Cheyo. Later, Cheyo submitted the original minutes of what actually transpired at the meeting written by the Deputy Secretary General, who was a regular minutes writer, in his own handwriting. When he was called to Tendwa’s office to identify the minutes early this year, he denied his own handwriting. In order to settle the dispute, the Registrar decided to present the original copy of the disputed handwriting to the Identification Bureau of the Criminal Investigations Department for technical verification which indicated that there had been ‘significant similar characteristics.’ With the documentary evidence presented at his office and technical results from the CID, Tendwa said his office had reviewed its former decision and reinstated Cheyo.

As this issue of TA went to press Jidulamabambasi was said to be wanting to take the Registrar to court.

A BRITISH VIEW ON THE TANZANIAN PARLIAMENT
Valerie Davey, Labour MP for Bristol West, speaking in a debate in the House of Commons on International Women’s Day compared life in the British and Tanzanian parliaments. “Looking down” (from the gallery in the National Assembly in Dodoma) she said: “I was enthralled to see a wonderful red semi-circle. People addressed the Speaker, who sat high above them -even higher than you, Madam Deputy Speaker -well above contradiction. The Mace may not have been as lavish as ours but it was carried in with as much dignity. Of the 282 members of the Tanzanian parliament 61 (21%) are women. However, only 12 of these were elected. The others hold special seats and two are presidential appointees…… An all-party woman’s group invited me to a question and answer session. They wanted to know how we in Britain planned to meet the 30% Beijing target for women on elected bodies by 2005… Tanzania will have reached this target at the 2005 election…. I could give no clear answer on how we would reach 30% in Britain, but, in the Labour Party, there will be all-women shortlists as seats become available…. I had to admit however that this would probably not result in 30% women members.”

Ms Davey paid tribute, firstly, to the British Council for what she described as its ‘incredibly good work in increasing the number of women in effective leadership positions and also, to Dr Elly Macha, the Britain-Tanzania Society-supported blind Tanzanian student who recently completed her PhD at Leeds University.

During recent weeks, if one is to judge by the prominence given to the subject in the Tanzanian parliament and media, corruption has come a close second to Iraq, in terms of public interest. Two people in particular have made the allegations which have stimulated the debate and have gained a great deal of publicity in the process. They are the former Head of Intelligence and present CCM MP for Makete, who is also a member of the ruling party’s National Executive Committee, Dr Hassy Kitine who has made wide-ranging allegations to the effect that many CCM and government leaders are corrupt; and, on February 18, long-term activist/politician and Chairman of the very small Democratic Party, the Rev. Christopher Ntikila who directed his attention to alleged corruption by Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye. But many others soon joined in the fray.

A HEALTHY DEBATE
The former Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission, which had produced a much praised report to President Mkapa on corruption, Judge Joseph Warioba, told journalists that he agreed with Dr Kitine that some leaders in the country were corrupt. Dr Kitine had been right in expressing his view about what was amiss in the country.

Transparency International the corruption watchdog calculated in its 2002 ‘Corruption Perception Index’ that Tanzania was the 12th most corrupt country in the world and the 7th most corrupt in Africa. The March issue of ‘Africa Today,’ in an article headed ‘In the Grip of Corruption’ noted that in Tanzania there had recently been a notable shift from the culture of silence inside Tanzania’s ruling circles and that Kitine’s allegations had triggered a ‘somewhat sizzling debate amongst the public’. The media were said to be ‘beaming a searchlight on corruption’.

In its editorial on 23rd January the Guardian stated that the remarks made by Dr Kitine had ‘shaken the entire country and the Government quite a lot.’ Otherwise, it wrote, how could the latter’s reaction be explained? The Government, through Minister of State in the President’s Office, Wilson Massilingi, had reacted quickly by saying that Kitine’s allegations should have been channeled through the Prevention of Corruption Bureau (PCB) and not made to the media. Why did the government reveal its position so quickly, the editorial asked. Why were the public not allowed to express their views first? Dr Kitine, supported later by Musoma MP Nimrod Mkono, had injected a breath of fresh air into democratic discourse in Tanzania. It was a healthy debate and a sign of maturity, the Guardian wrote.

Under the front page headline ‘MP Tired of endless corruption literature’ the Guardian (February 22) quoted the MP for Bukoba Urban as complaining, at a Workshop for 200 MP’s: “Every year we hear the same things …. I can safely predict that even next year, we will be bombarded with similar lectures on the corruption issue,” he said. Well known CCM MP Gertrude Mongela, although critical of Kitine, said that the situation would not have reached its current stage if the Government had properly implemented recommendations contained in the Warioba report on corruption. Mwananchi quoted retired High Court Judge Raymond Mwaikasu as saying that corrupt leaders were known to the PCB but it was unable to take action because it was responsible to the President’s Office, which often ‘hindered it from naming or making decisions on corrupt leaders’. He called upon the PCB to be given freedom to work independently.

KITINE’S ALLEGATIONS
The Kitine case created a sensation but soon became quagmired in allegation and counter-allegation, which led to a situation of considerable confusion. Dr Kitine had originally been in trouble over allegations that his wife had been wrongly paid fees by the Government for hospital treatment she had received in Canada in 1997/98. Dr Kitine had subsequently resigned form his position as Head of Security.

More recently Parliament’s Accounts Committee had initially declared Mrs Kitine innocent but a month later, according to the Sunday Observer (February 23) discretely changed its mind.

Mbulu MP Philip Marmo said that the government’s demand for proof about corruption was to question the obvious. Marmo suggested that there was no need to demand evidence and proof from Dr. Kitine, because what he had said was known by Tanzanian society.

MP’s were divided on the matter although many were critical of Kitine and said that he should have addressed his comments to the party leadership or to the Prevention of Corruption Bureau.

CCM Youth Wing Mobilization Secretary and Nkenge MP, Deodorun Kamala, said that if the Government was serious about the war against corruption, there was a need to change the judicial system in the country. He said that it was high time that the burden of proving innocence or guilt of those accused of corruption should placed on the accused as it was difficult to prove corruption allegations in the courts. Between the Government and normal citizens, who was in better position to quickly get evidence on corruption allegations?” Kamala asked.

This prompted a reaction from Attorney General Andrew Chenge, who said that the legal system that governed civil disobedience in the country was based on the Commonwealth system that put the burden of proof on the prosecution side, as opposed to the continental system followed by many European countries, that put the burden of proof on the accused.

Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Harith Bakari Mwapachu, said corruption cases would continue to be resolved through the current system as the government had no plans to establish a specific organ to deal with such cases.

MTIKILA’S ALLEGATIONS FORCEFULLY REBUTTED
Meanwhile, the Rev. Mtikila went further and listed properties he alleged were owned by Prime Minister Sumaye or his wife or his allies. The list included houses in Morogoro, Arusha and Dar es Salaam, farms in the Coast, Dodoma Morogoro and Arusha regions, factories and an aeroplane.

Within days several leaders and others made statements contradicting the allegations. Home Affairs Minister Mapuri made it clear that the CCM party would not discuss corruption allegations against the Prime Minister because they lacked credible evidence.

However, on 10th April the Dar es Salaam ‘Family Mirror’ reported that the PCB had taken up the allegations against the Prime Minister to determine whether he had misused public office to amass wealth. PCB Director-General Anatory Kamazima was quoted as saying that the PCB was collecting evidence on Sumaye’s registered properties.

The Home Affairs Minister was quoted in several newspapers as saying that CCM would debate and investigate allegations facing the Prime Minister if it received the allegations from official and credible sources. He said that so far only ‘blah blah’ had been heard and no evidence of corruption had been provided. He said that the Prime Minister, like any other leader, had a right to own property including farms.

As this issue of TA went to press the Sunday Observer quoted the Prime Minister as saying that he was not corrupt and was considering the possibility of suing those making the allegations.

PRESIDENT MKAPA ENTERS THE DEBATE
President Mkapa entered the debate several times. He was quoted in Mtanzania in January as saying that corrupt practices were rampant in the construction industry and that efforts to fight it had proved futile. He urged engineers to rescue their profession by side lining those who condoned corrupt practices.

As this issue of TA went to press Majira reported that President Mkapa had acknowledged receipt of an anonymous letter listing corrupt ministers, deputy ministers, directors and companies that had solicited favours from public officials in exchange for bribes. The President said that Tanzanians were not bold enough to name the corrupt in their midst and that many were jealous when they saw colleagues with new cars and houses.

A DOWNWARD TREND
However, on February 9 the Sunday Observer had written as follows: ‘The marauding scourge of corruption devastating the economies of poor countries had shown a downward trend in Tanzania since last year when government started implementing its ‘Anti-corruption Strategy and Action Plan.’ Closing a one-day conference on ‘Good Governance’ in Dar es Salaam Chief Secretary, Marten Lumbanga, said it was not true that the scourge was increasing. The corruption index in Tanzania had fallen from 81 points to 71, compared with the rising trend (above 70) in some neighbouring countries. “These are not my figures” he said “They are published by ‘Transparency International’ He said the fall in the corruption index showed that the anti-corruption programme was becoming effective. “We are certainly not complacent about this initial success. In fact we are energised to continue fighting the scourge tooth and nail” he said.

(The Financial Times (March 25) reported that a draft corruption Bill is now being prepared for presentation to the British Parliament under which business people who use backhanders to help contracts progress in foreign countries could face up to seven years in jail. Ever since the time of President Nyerere, Tanzania has been pressing Britain to make this end of the corruption cycle a crime -Editor}.

STOP PRESS. The verdict was given on April 18 in the long standing corruption case against former leaders of the Ministry of Public Works. Minister Nalaila Kiula, the Roads Director and a Chief Engineer have been found not guilty. The Principal Secretary at the time has been sent to jail for three years. According to Dar Leo the Government may appeal against the three not guilty verdicts and the Principal Secretary will definitely appeal against his sentence.

Crucial elections for leadership positions in Tanzania’s ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Party took place throughout October all over the country and prepared the way for a series of elections which will take place over the next three years. These are the 17 parliamentary by-elections in Pemba (the smaller of the two main Zanzibar islands) in 1993, (see recent issues of TA), local elections throughout the country in 1994 and the presidential and parliamentary elections in 1995. The by-elections will be the first real test of political opinion in Pemba since 2000. As both the 1995 and 2000 elections in Zanzibar were widely considered to have been flawed, the results of these by­elections (if they are free and fair) should finally indicate exactly how popular the CCM and the main opposition party -the Civic United Front (CUF) -are in Zanzibar.

The CCM elections were in three stages. The first stage elected leaders for ward, district and regional party posts all over the country. Some 1,600 elected delegates then came together for the second stage -elections to the 85-strong National Executive Committee (NEC). These positions are elected by five different groups: women (20 seats), youths (15), parents (10), Zanzibar (20) and the Mainland of Tanzania (20).

President Benjamin Mkapa, who has retained widespread popularity and respect after seven years in power, was comfortably elected as National Chairman of the Party and, following the decision of the current Vice-Chairman for Zanzibar, former Zanzibar President Salmin Amour, not to enter the contest, Zanzibar’s present President, Amani Karume, was elected to this post.

Describing the qualifications needed for these topmost positions, Party Secretary General Philip Mang’ula (also comfortably re-elected), listed allegiance to the party, readiness to defend it, to explain its policies, honesty, hard work, vision and wisdom. Political party representatives from 15 countries including Zambia, Zimbabwe, Korea, Rwanda, Mozambique, Cuba, China, Namibia, and the South African ANC participated in the CCM conference.

The results of the second phase once again showed the remarkable unity of the party -one of the factors largely responsible for keeping it in power since independence in 1961. However, there were, as usual, many changes -six ministers and junior ministers, including Minister of Higher Education Pius Ng’wandu and several regional commissioners lost their seats. Delegates ensured that some of the oldest colleagues of the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere preserved their positions in the NEC. Notable for his durability among these is former Prime Minister, 68-year-old John Malecela, who obtained 99.98% of those voting when he was again nominated as party Vice-Chairman for the mainland. He had tried for the presidency in 1995 but had been vetoed by Nyerere (on allegations of corruption); he has been hyper­active in the party for over forty years.

Other leaders elected to the NEC included Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye (who came first on the mainland list), Party Secretary General Philip Man’gula (second), East African Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdulrahman Kinana (fourth) and the Party’s veteran socialist Kingunge Ngombale-Mwiru (fifth). There was some new blood too ­38-year old Ramadhani Maneno defeated veteran party leader and former Press Secretary to Mwalimu Nyerere, 69-year-old Paul Sozigwa, as the NEC Member for the Coast Region. The most popular of the defeated presidential candidates in the 1995 elections, Foreign Minster Jakaya Kikwete, who came twelfth in this NEC election, and Minister of Water and Livestock Edward Lowassa, who was fifteenth, are still likely to try again for the presidency in 2005. The third stage of the elections was for the 24-strong Central Committee (CC), a relic of the socialist days when the party’s structure was closely modelled on that ofthe Communist world where power was always concentrated in secretive Central Committees. This committee remains the Party’s key policy making body. Its new composition gives further guidance as to who might obtain the much coveted nomination as the party’s candidate for president in 2005. Those at the top ofthe poll included Kingunge Ngombale-Mwiru and the only Asian NEC member, Minister of Tourism Mrs Zakia Meghji, but neither ofthese are likely to compete for the presidency. Dr Salim Ahmed Salim consolidated his position as a possible future president of Tanzania by becoming one of seven new members from Zanzibar. Jakaya Kikwete kept his seat on the Central Committee. Among those defeated was another possible presidential aspirant, Minister of Trade and Industry Dr Juma Ngasongwa.

NO THIRD TERM
Julius Nyerere reigned as the first President of Tanzania for 22 years and then made sure that it was his choice, Ali Hassan Mwinyi, who became the second President in 1985. With multi-partyism in 1992 it became more difficult for him to arrange things his way, as seventeen top leaders of the Party threw their hats into the ring and vied to become the chosen candidate for the presidential election in 1995. Nyerere needed all his considerable powers of persuasion and guile to ensure that his favourite, Benjamin Mkapa, became the third President. Mkapa cannot stand for a third term as Nyerere established the rule under which presidents can only serve for two terms and none of the subsequent presidents, including many presidents of Zanzibar, have been able to change this. The previous President of Zanzibar Dr. Salmin Amour tried very hard to do so but did not succeed.

HOT COMPETITION
All the recent CCM elections were hard fought. Needless to say they provoked intense rivalry and there were many allegations of bribery. One CCM delegate in the Mwanza Region was quoted in Mtanzania as saying that election bribes of from Shs 5,000 (£4) to Shs 50,000 were common and that he wanted more frequent elections “because we get lots of bribes”. In Kilimanjaro Region the Prevention of Corruption Bureau (PCB) was said to be investigating complaints of bribery. One cynic was quoted in the press as saying “There must be something good in it to make the old guard hang on for a lifetime”!

OPPOSITION SELF-DESTRUCTION AND PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS
These elections were made more significant because most of the 15 opposition parties are continuing a process probably best described as ‘self-destruction’ thus ensuring that the person chosen as CCM presidential candidate will almost certainly become the next president of Tanzania in 2005. Former Secretary General of the OAU, Salim Ahmed Salim, who has been away from Tanzania for many years, successfully presided over a recent seminar in Parliament on the future of democracy in Tanzania which was attended by virtually every top leader in the country; he is from Zanzibar and it has been the custom for the presidency to rotate between Zanzibari and mainland personalities; it may now be Zanzibar’s turn again. Others who have just been elected to the NEC and are likely to vie for the CCM presidential candidate position include: Foreign Minister Jakaya Kikwete who came second to Mkapa in the ballot for candidate in the 1995 elections; Edward Lowassa who was also near the top in those elections; Minister of Transport and Communications Prof. Mark Mwandosya, whose cause may have been damaged however because of the serious rail accident in which 280 people were killed on June 24 this year; Works Minister John Magufuli; and, Trade Minister Juma Ngasongwa who has recovered from accusations of corruption some years ago. Tanzanian Vice-President Dr Ali Mohamed Shein, who was picked from obscurity in July 2001, following the death of his predecessor, Dr Omar Ali Juma, is a possible candidate as is Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye. There will be other aspirants as the election gets nearer.

Most of the smaller parties have problems. In July the Central Committee of the United Democratic Party (UDP) suspended its Chairman John Cheyo (former head of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly) allegedly for misappropriating party funds. Since then Cheyo has been trying to regain his position but Political Parties Registrar John Tendwa sided with the rebels in the party and recognised the acting chairman, Armani Nzigili as the new chairman. The matter is now in court.

The National Convention for Construction and Reform (NCCR­Mageuzi party), under its then leader, former Deputy Prime Minister Augustine Mrema, gained 28% ofthe votes in the 1995 election. After Mrema departed, amidst much acrimony, to re-establish himself as leader of the Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) the NCCR was left with only one MP and he recently lost his seat.

According to the Guardian, the party now appears to be splitting between those wishing to come closer to the CCM and others wanting to continue as a separate party. Party leader James Mbatia has been going around the country terminating the membership of many long­standing members on the pretext that they have been disloyal to the chairman.

The NCCR-Mageuzi began to seek, early in December 2002, a High Court Order allowing it to institute a suit against the Government in relation to the latter’s claims that the party had been registered without fulfilling all the required conditions. This followed the receipt of a letter from the Registrar of Political Parties asking the party to provide it with a PP.5 form indicating the names of its supporters from the 10 Mainland and two Zanzibar regions – a requirement for registration as a party. The NCCR insisted however that the correct form had been presented to the Registrar on January 7, 1993.
Augustine Mrema has been chosen as a presidential candidate by the TLP but his main contribution is likely to be to damage opposition hopes of winning next time as he will divide the opposition vote. The leader of the new and very small Democratic Party (DP), Christopher Mtikila, has just been cleared of charges of sedition made against him following speeches he made in November 1999 in which he severely criticised Father of the Nation the late Julius Nyerere.

Some other opposition leaders including the Secretary General of the NRA party, the Deputy Secretary General of the TLP and the National Chairman of the TPP have defected to the ruling CCM Party.

THE CIVIC UNITED FRONT (CUF)
On the opposition side there is at present only one serious candidate for the presidency of Tanzania -Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba, head of the strongest opposition party, the Civic United Front (CUF). But even his party, which is generally well organised, has its problems.

Its leadership tried earlier in 2002 to unseat four of its nominated women MP’s because of their failure to join other CUF MP’s in boycotting Parliament. This boycott followed the serious rioting in Zanzibar in January 2001 which reflected the party’s dissatisfaction with the conduct of the 2000 elections. But the High Court has already ruled that three of the four could not be removed, under the party’s constitution.

More serious for the party were rumours that Zanzibar Party leader and CUF Secretary General Seif Shariff Hamad, who, it had been assumed, would be the party’s candidate for President of Zanzibar, may now be facing a dissident group calling itself the ‘G7’. This group is said to be campaigning instead for CUF Deputy Secretary General Juma Duni Haji, as the candidate. Haji served a long time in jail in Zanzibar on charges which were abandoned immediately after the last election.

ELECTIONS ACT AMENDED
Parliament has passed a new amendment to the Elections Act under which persons petitioning against the results of a parliamentary election must deposit 5,000,000 /-as security for costs. The Court of Appeal had declared the Act unconstitutional, saying the amount would bar poor people from seeking their rights in the courts, as guaranteed by the country’s constitution. The Amendment gives courts discretionary powers to determine the amount, which should not exceed 5,000,000/- and should be related to the petitioner’s economic means. Before the 5,000,000/- requirement was introduced, petitioners were required to deposit 500/- as security for costs.

OPPOSITION PARTIES FALLING APART
The last four months have been bad for Tanzania’s small opposition parties as they continue to fall apart through internal rivalries and lack of clear political philosophy. On the mainland the position of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party now looks unchallengeable. Provided it retains its unity it seems destined to continue to rule Tanzania for the foreseeable future. At the last election CCM got 59.2% of the vote but took all but some 25 of the seats in the National Assembly.

Tanzanian Ambassador in Paris Juma Mwapachu was quoted in Rai as saying that the opposition parties were now so weak and fragmented that they hardly posed any threat to the ruling CCM party. He said he agreed with the late Mwalimu Nyerere that the real opposition would come from within CCM itself, when the party split into two warring factions. The present generation of opposition leaders would have to hand over the mantle to the next generation “before we see a real multi-party system”. He said that the present opposition leaders came from CCM and so had the same “one-party mentality” .

On 7th July the Central Committee of the United Democratic Party (UDP) -by nine votes out of eleven -suspended its chairman John Cheyo, who had been regarded with some respect in certain circles in Dar es Salaam, together with his Vice-chairman and other leaders, allegedly for misappropriating ~:lS 61 million of party funds. The next day Cheyo insisted that he was still chairman and had expelled seven leaders from the party including its MP for Kisese, Erasto Tumbo, and the person installed by the Central Committee as the interim Chairman.

One of the elements in the dispute was an apparent inconsistency between the Swahili and English versions of the UDP constitution which caused Political Parties Registrar John Tendwa to pause before giving his decision. After examining the English and Swahili versions finally on July 25 he accepted the decision of the Central Committee. The new interim leadership of the party was vested in the acting chairman Amani Nzugile but he was instructed to hold fresh party elections as soon as possible.

On August 6 Uwazi reported that the new UDP leadership had filed a suit against Cheyo for Shs 137 million of state subsidy and for the return of five vehicles and party documents. Cheyo accused the new leadership of being funded by the Libyan Cultural Centre but this was subsequently strongly denied by the Libyan Ambassador who said that Nzugile had been given only Euros 500 for a training seminar in Mwanza for 10 UDP leaders.

On August 8 the Guardian reported that UDP’s Mwanza Region, its area of greatest strength, still considered Cheyo to be National Chairman ofthe party.

Meanwhile the NCCR-Mageuzi party was also facing internal turmoil. Majira reported rumours that certain members were plotting against chairman Mbatia. The party then received more bad news. The Appeal Court had nullified the election of Kifu Gulamhussein as NCCR MP for Kigoma, the party’s only elected MP. The panel of three judges said that Kifu had used tribalism during his election campaign in 2000, which was contrary to electoral laws. Evidence showed that Kifu used his Waha tribal sentiments against his CCM opponent, a Bemba originating from the Congo. He was said to have gone around saying, “We Waha have been oppressed for too long by Bemba from the Congo. It is time we freed ourselves.” Kifu won the seat by 24,180 votes to 23,689. This means that NCCR will no longer be entitled to government subsidies which are paid to parties which have MPs in the National Assembly:

A further sign of disorder in the opposition camp was the apparent failure, reported in the Guardian (August 1) of a meeting of the small parties (the most important opposition party, the Civic United Front­CUF -did not take part) to choose candidates for the new Electoral Commission in Zanzibar.

TWO PARTIES DE-REGISTERED
Registrar of Political Parties, John Tendwa revoked the registration of the PONA party on grounds that it had contravened the law and its constitution by not electing its leaders. After it had been given another period of grace it called a meeting where leaders were handpicked but Mwananchi reported that the meeting had been marred by violence and walkouts. John Chipaka was elected as party president. 35 delegates from Zanzibar were reported to have walked out on grounds that they had not been paid their allowances. The party has been in shaky existence since 1992.

The other party whose registration has been revoked is the Tanzania Peoples Party (TPP). Neither have any MP’s in parliament.

NEW PARTY REGISTERED
To the surprise of many, the Democratic Party (DP) led by Rev. Christopher Mtikila has been registered. The party first applied in 1992 but was refused registration because Mtikila was not prepared to recognise Tanzania and insisted on Tanganyika being a separate sovereign state. Mtikila said the party would now continue with the task left unfinished in 1993 but he would still push for a separate government for the mainland. He said at that time the people had 400 parastatal organisations that were subsequently sold off. He said the task now would be to fight for the restoration of these public properties. Talking of his track record he said he had been in and out of prison more than 23 times, all while fighting for the ‘people’s rights.’ Well known for his firebrand style of politics, he found himself in court on August 5 accused of sedition after Swahili newspapers had reported him telling a rally that President Mkapa was a ‘foreign citizen’ having been born in Mozambique and Prime Minister Sumaye was ‘a thief. Mtikila’s wife was quoted in the Swahili press as saying that Mtikila believed that Mwalimu Nyerere had been born in Rwanda.

After recent changes the composition of the National Assembly has become CCM 253, CUF 3, Chadema 5, TLP 5 and UDP 3 seats.

CCM ELECTIONS
CCM has begun distributing nomination forms for the forthcoming election of its leaders. These elections take place every five years. A Shs 10,000 fee is being charged for each form. For the National Executive Council (NEC) elections there will be reserved seats for women (16), youth (10), parents (10), Zanzibar (20) and the Mainland (20). Nine general seats will be filled in an open election by the national electoral conference. While ordinary candidates have to fill in the forms and vie for the positions available, that is not the case with the National Chairman and two Deputy Chairmen. They are nominated by the party’s Central Committee, seconded by the NEC and then elected by the national conference.

CCM LEGISLATERS URGED TO CLOSE RANKS
CCM members of parliament have been told by the Speaker that they are not allowed to form informal pressure groups. He was referring to the ‘G-55’ in 1993 in which 55 CCM MPs presented a motion asking for a three-tier government (instead of the present two-tier system). In April this year there was the ‘G-46’, supporting a private motion against the employment of management contractors to run the TANESCO power authority. President Mkapa had defused the crisis by reminding CCM MP’s of their duty to support the CCM manifesto at the last elections which included provision for a change in the management of the authority. The MPs were also told by Presidential Advisor Kingunge Ngombale-Mwiru that their activities were likely to boost the opposition and weaken the government. He said the backbenchers had a duty to support the front bench.

LATE NEWS
As this issue of Tanzanian Affairs went to press there were further indications of the disunity between and within Tanzania’s opposition political parties. See article on Page 2 The Guardian reported on August 12th on a ‘fairly big’ rally held on at the Jangwani grounds in Dar es Salaam, attended by conducted by CUF, the Tanzania Labour Party (TLP), the UDP and CHADEMA. Speakers said that the current National Assembly was a rubber stamp which was toothless in the face of the CCM administration. But immediately after the meeting TLP Secretary General was quoted as saying that the two TLP MP’s who had attended the rally would be grilled for defying a directive not to attend and might be subjected to disciplinary action. The reason was that CUF was also there. According to TLP, CUF was cooperating closely with the CCM and was resisting efforts by the other opposition parties to be involved in the implementation of the Zanzibar agreement.

The long running Shs 3.4 billion case against former Works Minister Nalaila Kiula and four of his colleagues continues at its sedentary pace in the Kisitu Resident Magistrates Court in Dar es Salaam with no end seeming to be in sight. As more and more witnesses were brought into the case the Guardian published details. Extracts:

Kiula said he saw nothing wrong in getting a free ticket for his wife to travel with him to Japan paid for by Mitsubishi which supplied vehicles to his ministry. Kiula was going to Japan for a conference.

Former Ministry Permanent Secretary Dr George Mlingwa, the second accused, told the court that he was twice as wealthy as had been alleged by the prosecution. He said that while he was accused of having corruptly obtained Shs 95 million (according to the Prevention of Corruption Bureau) the truth was that his wealth, all of which he had legally acquired, amounted to Shs 187 million which he had earned in various currencies and which would have been more than enough to build the various houses which he was alleged to own.

He explained how his wife had started a business in 1994. He was not able to explain how she had managed to earn more than Shs 300,000 from selling potato chips and cassava, ice-cream and pop-corn. She would explain later when she appeared as a witness.

Later, it was also claimed by the defence that when Kiula and Mlingwa were in office from 1991 to 1995 more trunk and rural roads (4,700 Kms) were built than in the following five years (1,468 kms).

The leader of the Government and of the ruling party Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) President Benjamin Mkapa and the leader of the most significant opposition party, the Civic United Front (CUF) Professor Ibrahim Lipumba have both been facing serious problems during recent weeks.

For Professor Lipumba the problem has been, as also for some of the other opposition party leaders, keeping their followers in line with party policies.

For President Mkapa the problems have been numerous and diverse and have included unpopular privatisations, threats of strikes, religious friction and increasing crime. The President has also faced several difficult foreign policy issues. Details follow.

On the other hand the President’s successful macro-economic strategy during recent years, which has resulted in substantial debt relief and major foreign investment especially in mining, is beginning to show results at the village level as schools and dispensaries see their financial allocations increase. Under the new National Primary Education Development Programme (NPEDP) $10 has been allocated for every primary school pupil between seven and 13 years old and some 1.3 million children had enrolled for Standard 1 in January 2002.