AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE 19 Special Seats legislators through the Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema ticket) have officially attended the second seating of the 12th Parliament together with four other lawmakers from the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo).
The special seats Mps were sworn in on November 23rd, last year, a move that caused misunderstanding within Chadema, where the party later on announced to expel all the 19 MPs.
The 19 special seats MPs led by the former Chadema’s women wing Chairperson Halima Mdee entered the debating chamber at 9.18am after being invited by the Speaker Job Ndugai.
Before inviting them in, Speaker Ndugai called in the five Presidential nominated legislators and the four ACT Wazalando lawmakers, who were sworn in separately outside the debating chamber after the official inauguration of the Parliament held on November 13th last year.
In attendance yesterday, were Halima Mdee, Esther Matiko, Grace Tendega, Cecilia Pareso, Ester Bulaya, Agnesta Lambart, Nusrati Hanje, Jesca Kishoa, Hawa Mwaifunga, Tunza Malapo, Asia Mohammed, Felister Njau, Nagenjwa Kaboyoka, Sophia Mwakagenda, Kunti Majala, Stella Fiao, Anatropia Theonest, Salome Makamba and Conchesta Rwamlaza.
Due to the dispute that led to their removal from the party, the 19 MPs appealed for review of their punishment that if it is to be executed, they will end up losing their seats.
Three of them, Ester Bulaya, Ester Matiko and Sophia Mwakagenda had an opportunity to ask supplement questions during the Questions and Answers session, where they raised concerns on the infrastructural and agriculture sector.
The ACT Wazalendo MPs, who attended the parliament yesterday are Khatibu Said Haji (Konde), Salum Mhamed Shafi (Chonga), Omar Ali Omar (Wete) and Khalifa Mohamed Issa from Mtambwe Constituency.
The four MPs were sworn in December last year, in a delay caused by their party that initially didn’t accept results of the General Election held in October 28th last year.
A list of presidential nominated MPs who were officially invited in to the debating chamber by Speaker Ndugai were Dr Dorothy Gwajima (Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children), Dr Leonard Chamuriho (Minister for Works and Transport), Prof Shukrani Manya, who is the Deputy Minister for Minerals, Humphrey Polepole and Riziki Lulida.
