[h=2]Why PCCB needs pride of place in Katiba draft[/h]
The proposed draft constitution has kicked off a flurry of commentary across the nation and beyond. Some concerns are real, others are misplaced; but in the end, they could all make for a better document when the zero draft is presented.
All this debate even when some of the points being raised may appear trivial to some observers -- is healthy and will also make for a good final document. We thank Judge Sinde Warioba and his team for a job well done.
In our sister weekend edition of yesterday, we carried a front-page report in which we point to one grey area, namely, an apparent relegation of the countrys anti-corruption crusade to a footnote.
Indeed, the constitution draft seems to have either forgotten, or simply omitted one key institution in building a corruption-free country, the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB).
If the draft law is passed without any major amendments to this effect, we believe this country wont have any credible anti-graft office because it could then pass on to the police, where it will amount to nothing more than a footnote in an institution whose public image is anything but clean.
Lets not mince words, our police force is itself tainted by corruption and Judge Warioba has once put this on record for everyone to read. We therefore find it rather intriguing why the wise, seasoned judge and his team chose to almost delete the PCCB as an independent public institution and pass it on to the police who may gladly render it toothless.
Lets also put the record clear. This is not a vote of no confidence against the police; all we are saying is that the police force isnt tailor-made to fight corruption. So tasking the police with the anti-graft crusade is like thrusting a square peg into a round hole!
Secondly, the police force is already stretched to the limit from petty crime to highway robberies, and from road accidents to white-collar thefts as billions of shillings are stashed away in foreign banks. We even doubt if they have gotten anywhere near to curbing, leave alone stopping, massive thefts.
To say that the police force has its plate full is to grossly understate its predicament. Its place is, in fact, overflowing and you only need to pay a casual visit to our state guest houses the remand cells to see this point.
This country would do the police a great favour if left to deal with their own agonies by giving the task of dealing with the corrupt among us to freer and more competent hands.
Without assigning any faces, we believe that the PCCB deserves its pride of place in the constitution. Not just a mere mention; it also needs to be strengthened and given the autonomy to do a better job than hitherto.
Corruption is getting more and more sophisticated these days and fighting it needs equally sophisticated ways of doing things. How will the overstretched police cope when they cannot even find transport to go scenes of crime?
In the face of growing corruption in our midst, the PCCB, or even a rejuvenated agency in its place, is what Tanzanians need if the fight against graft is to make any headway.
Tanzanians need and, indeed, want to see that their government is serious in fighting corruption. It sounds rather disingenuous when we start talking about the police taking the anti-graft brief.
We hope Judge Warioba and his team will have a second look and give PCCB its pride of place in the constitution.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY