Jakaya Kikwete exhorts legislators to visit constituencies
DAILY NEWS Reporter, 7th February 2009 @ 11:19
PRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete said yesterday that he planned talks with the CCM Members of Parliament, with the aim to urge those who are not visiting their constituencies to do so. Speaking at the celebrations to mark the ruling partys 32nd anniversary held yesterday at the Kambarage Stadium in Shinyanga, President Kikwete, who is also the partys national chairperson, said that he would arrange a trip to Dodoma to talk with the MPs.
He said that although only two years were remaining before the next general elections, it was high time for MPs who had abandoned their constituencies to visit them, before the voters decided not to re-elect them. The President said visiting constituency was crucial part in making sure the incumbent MPs retain their seats during the next general elections, saying that sitting merely in parliamentary committees would not help them in the next elections.
He also challenged elected leaders to fulfil their promises before the next general elections, failure of which they would be in difficult position to be re-elected. However, President Kikwete assured CCM members and fans that the party was going to win in this years local government and the 2010 general elections, saying what had remained was the margin/magnitude of the victory.
To ensure that victory, President Kikwete urged CCM leaders from the grassroots, to participate in sensitising members and supporters to register in the permanent voters registry, saying that it was the only way to ensure that the support from them was being translated into votes. He also urged the party to use this year to prepare fully for the next general elections, urging them to choose candidates who were serious, capable, committed and competent and favourites to electorate.
Meanwhile, President Kikwete expressed concern over excessive use of money during both partys elections and general elections. He said that the recently passed Bill would curb such malpractice before the 2010 general elections. On performance of the party, President Kikwete said for the past three years, his government had succeeded to fulfil most of promises made in the 2005-2010 Election Manifesto, assuring the public that more than 90 per cent of the promises would be fulfilled by the end of his term.
He also said that there would be strong reasons for those which would not be met. To Shinyanga residents, Mr Kikwete said that the main achievement was the completion of the multi-billion Lake Victoria Water Project, that would supply reliable water to the region and some areas in Tabora region.
He also ordered the regions water supplying authority to ensure water connection to all people asking for the services in the region, saying that the connection costs should be paid when a customer had already been connected with water. President Kikwete gave an offer of cutting the connection cost to half for people who would apply for the connection before June 30, this year.
The project is fully funded by the government and will cost about 250bn/- upon completion in May, this year. Earlier, CCM General Secretary, Mr Yusuph Makamba, said that his prediction that the union of the opposition parties was not long lasting had become true, as the alliance was now falling apart. During the occasion, President Kikwete gave cards to 6,384 new CCM members in the region.