Zanzibari need to vote for right political party for next election

Zanzibar Second Vice-President Seif Ali Idd has said that the government of national unity (GNU) will continue observing a two-government form of union according to the constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Seif said this when closing the fourth meeting of the House of Representatives which discussed and endorsed budget estimates for 16 ministries and passed two Bills.

He said under the GNU in Zanzibar, it was agreed that policies of the victorious party were the ones to be implemented, and that since CCM had won it was its policies which were being implemented.

It has long been CCM's policy that there be a two-government form of union between the Mainland and Zanzibar.

“This is the arrangement that was agreed on. We must follow it according to the law and constitution. It is my hope that we’ll all respect this,” said the vice-president.

He told members of the House of Representatives that the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar was established with good intentions by the founding fathers, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and Sheikh Abeid Karume on behalf of all the other citizens.

The elaboration by the vice-president comes following a hot debate that raged among members of the House when discussing oil and gas matters, when some members proposed that a three-government form of union would go a long way to resolving the problems besetting the union.

Agriculture minister, who is also a member of CCM's National Executive Council and is secretary of the party's Finance and Economy Department in the Isles, Mansour Yussuf Himid, said the current two-government system of union was 'blunt', suggesting that a three-government form of union would prove to be 'sharper'.

Idd said that efforts had been made to address major problems constraining the union and that the efforts would continue for the purpose of addressing other sticking issues.

However, he said the demand by the Zanzibar government to remove oil and natural gas from the list of union matters was being worked on. He said patience and wisdom were needed in order to reach a lasting solution to the matter.

He spoke strongly against the emerging tendency by some people, especially in rural areas, to chase non-indigenous Zanzibaris from their areas, saying this was contrary to the constitution.

“A Tanzanian is free to live in any place of their choice within Tanzania without being harassed, provided they do not break the country's laws,” he explained.

The House was adjourned to October 12, this year.