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

The Opposition
The strengths of our system
Tanzania’s centralised presidential system has served us quite well in the
political field. We have national unity, peace and stability. We must not
destabilise the unity of the nation, but we must bring decision-making
down to a lower level. I have been to all 127 districts in Tanzania, and
there is no way you can say that this country has developed. In politics,
you need to have balance.
Parliament is changing. We are beginning to be more effective. This year,
we have followed closely the evidence of misappropriation of funds at
the Bank of Tanzania. Parliamentarians invoked powers under Section
10, Article 3 of the Parliamentary Privileges and Immunities Act 1988
which allows any MP to demand information from any government
official. If the official does not oblige, he or she can be sued.
In the course of the Bank of Tanzania scandal, we needed to obtain the
particulars of companies that apparently had been funded by the bank.
Initially these companies were said to be public, but when we obtained
documents they turned out to be private. This was against the law. In
that respect, we have been able to demand information and we have
been provided with that information.
“We have been provided with information.
But it has to be said that the government
is often obstinate.”
Access to information is vital, but parliament also needs an ability to
influence policy. Fuel prices are an example. A majority of MPs were
concerned about the rising price of gasoline. Most of the population use
kerosene, and an additional TSh4 charge on kerosene would have been
a burden on the population. After an outcry from parliament, the balance
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