Govt rejects requests to overhaul constitution
Send to a friend Monday, 29 November 2010 23:30 digg
By Bernard James, Beatus Kagashe
The government yesterday played down early prospects of an overhaul of the constitution, saying there was no pressing need for such an expensive undertaking amid other nation building challenges.The newly appointed Minister for Constitutional Affairs and Justice Ms Celina Kombani said the government was contented with amendments of the supreme law whenever there was a need.
She told The Citizen in a telephone interview that the state was also not ready to initiate a process to re-write the constitution since it has not received any formal appeal from those advocating for constitutional reform.
The Minister spoke shortly after attending the first full cabinet meeting chaired by President Jakaya Kikwete at State House in Dar es Salaam.
It was the first governments reaction to a wave of mounting calls from various quarters for a complete re-write of the constitution.
But yesterday Ms Kombani said she considered such calls pedestrian and that the government would only be willing to listen or act on the demands when a formal request is presented.
Let them come with something concrete and in writing, showing which sections have problem, why and suggest the alternative. The government should not be forced to respond on these sensitive issues through reading newspapers, said the minister.
Ms Kombanis reaction would appear to dampen the hopes that a dialogue could be established soon to chart the route to take over the matter, which has gained momentum since the October General Election.
But reacting to the Ministers stance yesterday, the leader of official opposition in Parliament Mr Freeman Mbowe and his predecessor Mr Hamad Rashid Mohammed of the Civic United Front (CUF) said the government should not look for excuses to escape from its responsibility.
It is irresponsible for the minister to want to cheaply dismiss such a national issue. You dont seat in the office and wait for official complaints while it is obvious the cry for constitutional reform is a cry of the majority, said Mr Mbowe.
Mr Hammad said his party has filed more than three letters to the government demanding talks over constitutional changes to no avail.
Who does not know the long cry of having the new constitution, we wrote a letter to President Kikwete when he took over the office in 2005, likewise to former President Benjamini Mkapa but nothing has been done, the Wawi MP said. He said in the ninth parliament he prepared a private motion but was not given a chance either.
A Mzumbe University political analyst Dr Elisante Gabriel also said the government should act without delay for public interest because it occupied a central role in public matters that cannot be overlooked.
Yesterday the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), which on Sunday added to the review call pressure, reiterated that it would drive forward the reforms agenda and hoped to bring the government on board.
Tomorrow (today) the TLS governing council will be holding its ordinary meeting and one of the major issues that will feature is how we kick start the process to have a new constitution, said TLS president Mr Felix KIbodya.
He said TLS believes that lawyers have a unique opportunity to push for the changes and that it was their legal duty to do so. It is part of our cardinal duty, he emphasised.
Earlier Ms Kombani said the overhaul of the constitution was a costly affair that could not come overnight. The Minister cautioned that if not handled properly, it could plunge the nation into serious problems.
Asked why the government should not take charge, the minister responded: When we see a problem we go for amendments that we implement smoothly without pressure. The problem I see here is that they want an overhaul, while we think amendments are for the time being sufficient, she said adding that many countries have chosen this road.
The minister further claimed that the craving for a full review was not in the interest of citizens and the government.