Bunge-Lenye-Meno-A-Parliament-with-Teeth-for-Tanzania-LAXNNAJ547

A Parliament with Teeth, for Tanzania
“The ideal situation is to have the teeth, and also
to have the meat to chew on. I think we are slowly
reaching that point.”
It has become possible to appoint a select committee to investigate a
public controversy. This would have been very difficult under the old
Standing Orders. According to the Standing Orders, MPs must notify
the Speaker that they wish to appoint a committee. They put the whole
thing in writing and then it will be put to the vote.
In the past, if such a request appeared inconvenient to government,
they would impose a three-line whip and the investigation would not
happen. In 2006, there was no request for any kind of investigation
by parliament.
But in 2007, following concerns raised by the standing committee on
Trade and Investments, we agreed to set up a select committee to
investigate an electrical power contract with Richmond Development
Company. The chairman of the Trade and Investment Committee,
William Shelukindo, insisted there was something that could not be
explained about Richmond. All our committees are bi-partisan, and
all the members of his committee agreed to recommend a select
committee enquiry.
Under the new rules, a Commission for Parliament sits under my
chairmanship, and that makes a huge difference. When sectoral
committees table their reports on the financial year, these are debated in
parliament. We permit committees to bring in private members’ bills.
The experience of change has been very positive.
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