Author: SYLIVESTER DOMASA, Dodoma
AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE 12th Parliament will demonstrate its mettle by holding the government accountable, whilst spearheading national development agendas, Speaker Job Ndugai pledged on Tuesday.
Ndugai, who was overwhelmingly re-elected Speaker of the National Assembly in Dodoma on Tuesday, warned that ‘mute legislators’ will be digging their own political graves.
Addressing the Parliament in its first sitting, Ndugai said the 12th Parliamentary session will not be an easy ride for both government officers and legislators.
He said despite majority parliamentarians being from the ruling CCM, it does not warrant them to agree or disagree with anything presented by the government.
CCM won 256 elective seats in the October 28th General Election and gained 94 additional special seats for its women members.
According to Ndugai, the lawmaking body will be facing serious responsibilities ahead and that MPs are expected to work to their fullest for the interest of the nation.
“The task ahead will not be easy… But, I believe the Parliament will deliver its duties accordingly,” he said.
He warned those who will keep mum during parliamentary sessions in the pretext of being ethical, saying such practices would prove detrimental to their political career.
“The people voted for you to represent their opinion and views, therefore, they expect you to speak on their behalf,” he said. “If you would want to keep mum so that you’ll be considered obedient, you’ll be digging your own political grave.”
With the House dominated by the ruling CCM party, Mr Ndugai pledged a fair playing ground for all MPs, vowing to offer sufficient space for the minority opposition legislators as well as protecting their positions.
The speaker emphasized that the public has faith in the legislators to push their core demands forward and urged them to live up to the expectations and help the country attain positive results.
He said the MPs will be charged with reviewing the government’s plans and proposed laws to ensure government accountability.
Speaker Ndugai was unanimously re-elected to the post after he garnered 344, equivalent to 99.7 per cent of the total valid votes cast by Members of Parliament, becoming the 7th Head of legislature since independence.
Previous Speakers include Adam Sapi Mkwawa (1964-1973), Erasto Andrew Mbwana Mang’enya(1973-1975), Adam Sapi Mkwawa(1975-1994), Pius Msekwa( 1994-2005), Samuel Sitta (2005-2010) and Anne Makinda(2010-2015).
Ndugai who served as National Assembly Speaker between 2015 and 2020 becomes the third speaker to be re-elected since independence after Adam Sapi Mkwawa who was elected in 1964 and 1975 and Pius Msekwa who served in two consecutive terms from 1994 to 2005.
Election Returning Officer and Assembly Clerk, Stephen Kagaigai said there were 345 voters and only one MP voted against the incumbent speaker and MP for Kongwa constituency since 2000.
Boniventure Ndekeja of the National League of Democracy (NLD) is the only opposition politician who expressed interest to challenge Mr Ndugai for the post of the National Assembly Speaker.
Mr Kagaigai, said in the National Assembly yesterday that the politician was, however, disqualified for not meeting nomination requirements.
He said to be nominated the politician was required to send the name to the National Electoral Commission, expressing the interest. It was also required that the name be sent to the National Assembly Clerk before 4.00 pm local time.
“I received an email from the politician at around 6:00 pm local time, technically he was out of the set time and thus we were left with only one candidate, Job Ndugai,” he said.
It was not clear when the Parliament will be electing the Deputy Speaker, but it’s likely after all, MPs have taken their oath of office.
Meanwhile, the Speaker confirmed that there will be no Opposition Camp in the new Parliament since no opposition party was able to secure 12.5 per cent of all legislators in the just-concluded election.
“We will therefore refer to the opposition MPs in the Parliament as Minority MPs,” he said.
