Ngongo
JF-Expert Member
- Sep 20, 2008
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FORMER prime minister and veteran politician John Malecela has said those who feel aggrieved by the National Assemblys treatment of the emergency power generation projects involving first Richmond Development LLC and then Dowans Holdings should take the matter back to the House.
Speaking at a news conference at his home in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Malecela ? also a former vice-chairman of the ruling party CCM and currently member of parliament for Mtera Constituency - likened the present public debate on the Dowans turbines to flogging a dead horse.
He noted that the subject was exhaustively discussed in parliament, and said the right decisions were made, particularly on the Richmond issue.
Since Dowans was just a continuation of Richmond, I believe Bunge, the government and CCM can resolve the current debate. I dont really want to talk about it but the media has been blowing the whole thing out of proportion lately, he stated.
The Dowans turbines have been a subject of heated debate amongst prominent MPs and other politicians, along with members of the general public, ever since the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) and the Ministry of Energy and Minerals announced a renewed interest in buying them a few weeks ago.
Both TANESCO and the ministry later withdrew their interest in the wake of strong opposition against such a deal expressed by members of the parliamentary energy and minerals committee, which had already vetoed the deal last year.
Malecela also used the news conference to call on leaders and the public in general to desist from getting involved in unproductive arguments that include wanton character assassination and the like.
He said the media should also try to concentrate on exposing social ills rather than letting itself be used to conduct such smear campaigns.
If (the Dowans issue) is something for CCM to deal with, let it do its work. And if it is parliaments job, then give it space to get on with it. Likewise for the government. These organs are there to solve such issues, instead of people engaging in public bickering and taking potshots at each others personalities, he asserted.
He warned of past incidences whereby staunch CCM cadres were stripped of their membership in both the ruling party and in parliament, just for displaying similar pettiness.
The same could happen this time around as well, he said.
If we are not careful, we will reach a stage where people will question whether press freedom means abusing people through the media, said Malecela.
On reports of divisions within the CCM ranks to the extent that some members are now planning to split from the party altogether, he said they should leave immediately but warned that they were likely to lose direction.
He said even though the late Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Nyerere, once predicted that a strong opposition would come from within CCM, he did not mean that the party would actually split.
You cant say Mwalimu wanted CCM to split in order to bring about a strong opposition, stated Malecela.
When asked whether he had any plans to contest for the presidency in the 2010 general election, the 75 year-old Malecela said he intends to focus on retaining his seat as MP for Mtera Constituency.
He said CCM members should allow incumbent President Jakaya Kkwete to stand for a second term in office since he doesnt have any strong opponents either within CCM or in the opposition camp.
Reacting to public concerns that the ruling party is now dominated by a few richer cadres, Malecela said CCM belonged to the workers and farmers of the country, and the rich will not be allowed to hijack it.
Never will CCM be ruled by the rich. If there are people who think they can use their money to dictate what goes on within the party, they should forget it, he stated.
Source This day
Speaking at a news conference at his home in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Malecela ? also a former vice-chairman of the ruling party CCM and currently member of parliament for Mtera Constituency - likened the present public debate on the Dowans turbines to flogging a dead horse.
He noted that the subject was exhaustively discussed in parliament, and said the right decisions were made, particularly on the Richmond issue.
Since Dowans was just a continuation of Richmond, I believe Bunge, the government and CCM can resolve the current debate. I dont really want to talk about it but the media has been blowing the whole thing out of proportion lately, he stated.
The Dowans turbines have been a subject of heated debate amongst prominent MPs and other politicians, along with members of the general public, ever since the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) and the Ministry of Energy and Minerals announced a renewed interest in buying them a few weeks ago.
Both TANESCO and the ministry later withdrew their interest in the wake of strong opposition against such a deal expressed by members of the parliamentary energy and minerals committee, which had already vetoed the deal last year.
Malecela also used the news conference to call on leaders and the public in general to desist from getting involved in unproductive arguments that include wanton character assassination and the like.
He said the media should also try to concentrate on exposing social ills rather than letting itself be used to conduct such smear campaigns.
If (the Dowans issue) is something for CCM to deal with, let it do its work. And if it is parliaments job, then give it space to get on with it. Likewise for the government. These organs are there to solve such issues, instead of people engaging in public bickering and taking potshots at each others personalities, he asserted.
He warned of past incidences whereby staunch CCM cadres were stripped of their membership in both the ruling party and in parliament, just for displaying similar pettiness.
The same could happen this time around as well, he said.
If we are not careful, we will reach a stage where people will question whether press freedom means abusing people through the media, said Malecela.
On reports of divisions within the CCM ranks to the extent that some members are now planning to split from the party altogether, he said they should leave immediately but warned that they were likely to lose direction.
He said even though the late Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Nyerere, once predicted that a strong opposition would come from within CCM, he did not mean that the party would actually split.
You cant say Mwalimu wanted CCM to split in order to bring about a strong opposition, stated Malecela.
When asked whether he had any plans to contest for the presidency in the 2010 general election, the 75 year-old Malecela said he intends to focus on retaining his seat as MP for Mtera Constituency.
He said CCM members should allow incumbent President Jakaya Kkwete to stand for a second term in office since he doesnt have any strong opponents either within CCM or in the opposition camp.
Reacting to public concerns that the ruling party is now dominated by a few richer cadres, Malecela said CCM belonged to the workers and farmers of the country, and the rich will not be allowed to hijack it.
Never will CCM be ruled by the rich. If there are people who think they can use their money to dictate what goes on within the party, they should forget it, he stated.
Source This day