Author: DEOGRATIUS KAMAGI
AfricaPress-Tanzania: CHAMA cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has continued to transform and modernise itself, eventually winning the hearts of majority Tanzanians voters and maintaining its status as the oldest ruling party in Africa.
The ability to critically self-examine and adopt necessary changes could be cited as the main political factors that have allowed CCM to maintain a tight control on Tanzania’s state and society since independence.
Probably more than ever before, the past five years have witnessed the party embark on bold and ambitious reforms under new chairman, President John Magufuli.
Just six months after assuming the chairmanship from his predecessor Jakaya Kikwete, Dr Magufuli initiated a move to reform the ruling party that set a roadmap for cleaning all corrupt elements.
As a tradition, former President Kikwete voluntarily stepped down as CCM chairman on July 1, 2016 after serving for two terms since 2006, to pave the way for his successor, Dr Magufuli to also assume party leadership after winning the presidency.
The new chairman immediately started to demonstrate his boldness in December 2016, when he introduced tsunami-type organisational changes in the party by engineering amendments to the party’s constitution.
Among other things, the amendments resulted in a reduction of the party’s top organs, reduction of party meeting frequencies and abolition of unconstitutional posts, with the number of CCM’s National Executive Committee reduced to 163 from 388 while the Central Committee (CC) remained with 24 members from the previous 34.
The move, among other reasons, aimed at reducing cost of operation, strengthening the party and ensuring efficiency and hardworking among party members as well as fighting corruption among party cadres, for effective delivery.
Other reforms included prohibition of multi-leadership posts within the party, introducing the one-person-one leadership post system. Before the reforms, CCM members were free to hold as many posts as they could, both within the party and government.
Addressing the party’s national extraordinary congress, Dr Magufuli stressed on the significance of the reforms, saying they aimed at checking massive spending and boosting efficiency with the ultimate goal of strengthening the party at all levels and eventually enhancing its position as government watchdog.
The reforms also sought to increase the number of CCM members nationwide, and get rid of internal groups that were threatening the party’s very existence.
Dr Magufuli added that the reforms sought to empower the party economically, while highlighting plans to strengthen economic resources and ensuring CCM uses its own money and resources in all its activities.
“This is a big party, we have 8.5 million members, we have resources and many sources of income, there is no need for us to continue begging,” charged Dr Magufuli, who insisted the reforms marked the end of the begging era.
“Sometimes we seek money from people who should not be giving us that kind of support. I say, from today that practice is over, whoever wishes to support CCM must do it at his/her own will,” he stated.
He said he would like to have CCM members who are ready to stand by the party’s constitution, ready to build a party that will be responsible to the people, instead of having leaders who use a lot of money to seek positions of power rather than serve the people.
He argued that dependence on financiers compelled the party to consider rewarding them through making decisions that fit their (funders’) interests.
The reforms envisaged to take the party from a group of few leaders to majority Tanzanians, with leaders compelled and bound to listen and serve the public diligently.
“For a long time, competent, strong and committed leaders have been dropped from contesting because some politicians were using money,” decried the Chairman, vowing never to entertain such dirties.
His remarks were taken on board and echoed by all party officials, who have repeatedly cursed corrupt practices within and outside the party.
With the party preparing for the first general election under the new party set-up, the call for clean politics has intensified, with national leaders on different occasions insisting that no corrupt member would be allowed to contest for any position on CCM ticket.
Last week, Vice-President Ms Samia Suluhu Hassan who is also the CCM’s CC member reiterated her party’s resolve to sustain its anti-corruption revolution, saying the nomination process would only consider members who have high integrity and had never bribed party members.
Mama Samia reminded party members that luring enough votes in the ongoing internal elections may not be enough for one to be endorsed, instead integrity would be highly considered.
“For those who engaged in bribing members, they will not be approved to contest in the forthcoming general elections no matter how many votes they collected during the primaries, this is in accordance with the party’s rules and regulations,” Ms Samia said.
Her statement was in line with what was said recently by the CCM’s Secretary for Ideology and Publicity, Mr Humphrey Polepole noted aspirants, who observed party procedures during primaries should relax and have inner peace ahead of the final screening.
Mr Polepole told the media recently that the party has collected all necessary information on various conducts during primaries countrywide, including its members, who violated the party’s principles governing the primaries.
Speaking of that, Dr Magufuli noted that CCM needs leaders with strong leadership skills and commitment to serving the public, explaining that the party no longer needed leaders who used money to win elections and ultimately failed to deliver.
Dr Magufuli described the changes as inevitable for the party to cope with current environment and state of politics, insisting that that the massive reforms aimed at ‘taking the party back to the people’ rather than becoming a party of leaders, as it was in the past a move that resulted into attracting many people into the party.
