TANZANIA OPPOSITIION NO DISCUSSION WITH CCM

The Coalition of Defenders of People’s Constitution (Ukawa) declared categorically yesterday that they would not hold discussions with CCM members to end the standoff occasioned by their boycott of Constituent Assembly sessions, accusing the ruling party of dishonesty and hypocrisy.They said that, they had instead opted to reach out to the masses, to explain what they claimed were “dirty tricks the ruling party was using to suppress their views.” Ukawa leaders arrived here on Friday to attend a public rally at which they said they would brief their supporters on why they boycotted the ongoing Constituent Assembly sessions in Dodoma, but the mission was aborted by a ban by the police, who cited security reasons.“We are aware of some efforts being made to seek reconciliation but we don’t have that time. We have resorted to reach our people and tell them ow their views are being suppressed,” said Ukawa Chairman Freeman Mbowe, who is also national chaiman of the leading Opposition party, Chadema.

He said, they were not ready to sit with people who he said were not prepared to see Tanzania get a new people’s constitution but to advance the interests of their party.NCCR-Mageuzi chairman James Mbatia said it was unfortunate that some people were moving around telling Tanzanians that a three-tier union structure was similar to introducing an Islamic state in Zanzibar.“That is not the intention. They should not fool the public for their party’s interests. We are going to disclose their lies to wananchi,” he said.Meanwhile, former commissioner of the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) Prof Palamagamba Kabudi said here that the three-tier union structure proposed in the second Draft Constitution was quite different from the one promoted by Ukawa leaders.

Prof Kabudi was presenting a paper on the Tanganyika and Zanzibar Union at a symposium on the 50th anniversary of the Union held here yesterday.He said the three-government union system proposed in the draft constitution guaranteed existence of the United Republic of Tanzania, the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and Tanganyika, contrary to politicians who are pushing for a union of three governments with full autonomy.“It is unfortunate that the three-government union system proposed by the commission is not the same as the one presented by some politicians who are advocating the adoption of a three- government union,” he said. Prof Kabudi.