AfricaPress-Tanzania: NATIONAL Assembly Speaker Job Ndugai has ruled against the decision by opposition, Chadema, expelling its four Members of Parliament describing it as “unwarrantable” act by a political party.
Speaking shortly after the parliament approved the 133.57bn/- budget estimates and expenditures for the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlement Development in the National Assembly on Monday he said the MPs are sworn in by the speaker.
“All the MPs that I swore in will be protected … nothing wrong has been committed to being penalized as such,” he said.
All those who are already in the august house should proceed with the budget sessions, he added.
The Speaker, however, urged the Registrar of Political Parties to reconsider the mode of operation of such political parties in which elected MPs have been tormented by authoritative regimes within the party.
There will be no reason whatsoever for an individual to fire an MP as per his own discretion, the speaker said adding that a people’s representative cannot be another person’s slave.
Things are apparently going from bad to worse for the opposition party, Chadema, after announcing yesterday it has expelled four of its legislators for indiscipline.
The axed rebel MPs and their constituencies in brackets are Anthony Komu (Moshi Rural), Joseph Selasini (Rombo), David Silinde (Momba), and Wilfred Rwakatare (Bukoba Urban).
However, a duo of Komu and Selasini had already announced that they would leave the party immediately after Parliament dissolved on May, 29 this year.
It marks the deepest division in the main opposition party in recent years as the quartet lawmakers, ignored Chairman Freeman Mbowe’s order to boycott the ongoing parliamentary sessions in fear of Covid-19 pandemic.
