nngu007
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Sylivester Ernest
19 June 2011
Dar es Salaam - The announcement by the Prime Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda, that payment of sitting allowances to MPs was a Constitution matter, is a misinterpretation of the law, activists say. While they conceded that MPs and other public officials were entitled to different benefits by the supreme law, it didn't specifically say of the sitting allowances as the PM was trying to put it, they argued.
On Thursday, the Premier informed the House that the now contentious sitting allowances to MPs was a Constitutional issue and that those advocating for their scrapping had to follow the due course that of amending the Constitution."This is a Constitutional issue and there's no way the government can act without following the due procedure, which can take a long time," Mr Pinda said.
But speaking with The Citizen yesterday, the Tanzania Citizens' Information Bureau (TCIB) executive director, Mr Deus Kibamba, wondered why the Premier who was also a lawyer by profession, could directly translate the Constitution that way."The law is never complete with a single article...and the section the Premier was referring does not specifically say of sitting allowances," Mr Kibamba said.
The Constitution states that, holders of public office in which MPs fall under, shall be paid salaries and allowances as prescribed by the law.But Mr Kibamba said it has lately become common that some laws were used by the politicians to justify their deeds for personal interest.
"The PM is just escaping from the subject by mentioning the supreme law. If that was the case, why is it claimed that the scrapping of allowances is in their recently launched five-year plan, did they change the Constitution to come up with the plan?"
He said the leaders ought to agree that payment of allowances to MPs and other senior public officials while attending their duties for which they are paid for, was unfair to the junior public officials who were receiving meager wages.
The Tanzania Gender and Networking Programme, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working in the civil society sector, focusing on the practical promotion and application of gender equality and equity objectives, Ms Usu Mallya, said it was unjust for the Premier to support the payment while there was a large number of marginalised people with no basic social services.
"Just because the law provides for payment of allowances, they can't remember of their interests while the public is suffering," she said.
19 June 2011
Dar es Salaam - The announcement by the Prime Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda, that payment of sitting allowances to MPs was a Constitution matter, is a misinterpretation of the law, activists say. While they conceded that MPs and other public officials were entitled to different benefits by the supreme law, it didn't specifically say of the sitting allowances as the PM was trying to put it, they argued.
On Thursday, the Premier informed the House that the now contentious sitting allowances to MPs was a Constitutional issue and that those advocating for their scrapping had to follow the due course that of amending the Constitution."This is a Constitutional issue and there's no way the government can act without following the due procedure, which can take a long time," Mr Pinda said.
But speaking with The Citizen yesterday, the Tanzania Citizens' Information Bureau (TCIB) executive director, Mr Deus Kibamba, wondered why the Premier who was also a lawyer by profession, could directly translate the Constitution that way."The law is never complete with a single article...and the section the Premier was referring does not specifically say of sitting allowances," Mr Kibamba said.
The Constitution states that, holders of public office in which MPs fall under, shall be paid salaries and allowances as prescribed by the law.But Mr Kibamba said it has lately become common that some laws were used by the politicians to justify their deeds for personal interest.
"The PM is just escaping from the subject by mentioning the supreme law. If that was the case, why is it claimed that the scrapping of allowances is in their recently launched five-year plan, did they change the Constitution to come up with the plan?"
He said the leaders ought to agree that payment of allowances to MPs and other senior public officials while attending their duties for which they are paid for, was unfair to the junior public officials who were receiving meager wages.
The Tanzania Gender and Networking Programme, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working in the civil society sector, focusing on the practical promotion and application of gender equality and equity objectives, Ms Usu Mallya, said it was unjust for the Premier to support the payment while there was a large number of marginalised people with no basic social services.
"Just because the law provides for payment of allowances, they can't remember of their interests while the public is suffering," she said.
