msemakweli
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 20, 2014
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GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
Government in Tanzania exists at three levels, i.e. national, regional and local government. State authority and power are vested in the National Government, which is officially referred to as the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania.
The national government is divided into an executive, a legislature and a judicial branch, and the President of Tanzania is its formal head.
The constitution describes Tanzania as a secular state in which democracy prevails, and as such, the following governance principles are strongly adhered to;
i. Constitutional supremacy
ii. Sovereignty of the people
iii. Equality of citizens, irrespective of any discriminatory grounds
THE EXECUTIVE
This is the arm of the government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the country.
It consists of the President, the Vice President, the Prime Minister and His/her Cabinet, government departments and the national civil service.
Executive power is vested in the President, but he/she is to act in accordance with aid and advice tendered by the Prime Minister and his/her cabinet.
The President and Vice President
The President of Tanzania is the head of state and commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Tanzania and prime protector of the constitution of the united republic plus its unity and integrity.
The following are some of the duties and functions of the President
· He/she is the commander-in-chief of the nation's Armed Forces, and is the guarantor of national security and integrity in his role as the chairperson of the National Security Council. He/she declares war, states of emergency, appoints the heads of the military e.t.c.
· Signs all bills passed by Parliament into laws. He may veto against some, call for a referendum, refer them back to parliament or even to the Supreme Court. At the request of the Prime Minister and his/her cabinet, and if the government feels the need for immediate procedure, the President can promulgate ordinances which bear the same force and effect as laws passed by parliament. These are, however, in the nature of temporary or interim legislation, and their continuance is subject to parliamentary approval.
· He/she directs the foreign policy of the state
· He/she is the custodian of all state land, and handles leases in consultation with the office of the Solicitor General
· He/she appoints the Prime Minister (invites the leader of the party with majority seats in the national assembly to form a government. If they are both from the same party then the Prime Minister becomes the personal choice of the President. Note that the president-elect relinquishes all political party affiliations that he/she had, for the president is required by law to not be a member of any political party in the country), cabinet ministers (from a list of people given to him by the Prime Minister), Chief Justice and other judges of the supreme court, Attorney General, Comptroller and Auditor General, commissioners of all independent commissions, ambassadors to other countries, Governor of the BoT (subject to confirmation by the National Assembly), heads of the military etc
· Signs treaties on behalf of the state.
· He/she inaugurates the parliament by addressing it after every general election and also the beginning of the first session each year.
· He/she may on special occasions convene either or both houses of Parliament
· He/she may dissolve the National Assembly, on the Prime Minister's advice, or otherwise.
· He/she declares states of emergency when need be.
· Receives the credentials of ambassadors from other countries (customarily, high commissioners from commonwealth countries are accredited to the Prime Minister)
· Confers honours and awards on behalf of the state to citizens who have distinguished themselves in service to the state in the fields of defence, economics, science, culture, art, education, healthcare, public safety, rights advocacy, charity etc.
· Pardoning or reprieving offenders and remitting any penalties, fines or forfeitures
Points of clarification:
I. The president fuses the executive, legislature and judiciary, as he has a formal role to play in the legislature (Parliament, which is where legal and political sovereignty lies, is summoned and dissolved by the President who must give his or her Presidential Assent to all Bills so that they become Acts), the executive (the President appoints all government ministers, who govern in the name of the President) and the judiciary (the President, as the fount of justice, acts as the Chair of the National Judicial Council, appoints all senior judges, and all public prosecutions are brought in his or her name).
II. Although it is the Prime Minister of Tanzania and parliament that oversee much of the nation's actual day to day affairs, the President wields significant influence and authority, especially in the fields of national security and foreign policy.
III. The President, by his actions and public appearances, represents the state itself, its existence, its legitimacy and unity. The President's office involves an integrative role and the control function of upholding the law and the constitution. It is a matter of tradition that the President distance himself/herself from day to day politics, hence allowing him/her to be a source of clarification, to influence public debate, to voice criticism, offer suggestions and make proposals. In order to exercise this power, he/she traditionally acts above party politics.
The President is usually elected to serve a single non-renewable eight year term. In order to be accepted as an official candidate, potential candidates must receive signed nominations from more than 500 elected officials countrywide. These officials must be from at least 10 regions, and no more than 10% of them should be from the same region. Furthermore, each official may nominate only one candidate. Former Presidents of the United Republic are called Presidents Emeritus of the United Republic and are appointed senators for life.
Traditionally, if the President hails from one side of the Union (Tanganyika or Zanzibar) then the Vice President must come from the other side. He/she is elected together with the President as running mate during a presidential election, and serves at the pleasure of the President.
The Vice President holds the second highest political office in the country and performs duties delegated to him/her by the President. He/she is first in line in the Presidential line of succession, which is as follows;
1. Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania
2. Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania
3. Chief Justice of the United Republic of Tanzania
4. A Minister as appointed by the Cabinet
The Vice President is also the ex-officio president of the Senate of the United Republic, though is himself not a senator. However, the Senate appoints a president pro tempore who is the second highest official of the Senate and takes care of the day to day matters of the house in the absence of the Vice President. In practice, however, neither the Vice President nor the President pro tempore presides over the Senate; they leave junior senators to perform the task, so as to give them experience in parliamentary procedure.
The Cabinet
The Cabinet of Tanzania is chaired and presided over by the Prime Minister of Tanzania.
The Prime Minister is the head of government and chief advisor to the President of the United Republic of Tanzania.
He/she nominates to the President persons for appointment as cabinet ministers, usually from the elected members of either of the houses of parliament, though non members of parliament can also be nominated. Such ministers who are not elected members of parliament are ex-officio members of Parliament, but can not vote on any issue requiring a vote in parliament.
The Prime Minister also allocates posts to members within the government. His/her death/resignation dissolves the cabinet, unless if he/she resigned for personal reasons.
He/she is appointed by the President to assist him in the administration of the affairs of the executive.
Since the Prime Minister is the leader of government business in parliament, the President almost always appoints the leader of the party with majority seats in the National Assembly as Prime Minister.
NOTE: It is the sole authority of the National Assembly to dismiss the Prime Minister and his/her government.
The Prime Minister is usually styled ‘The Right Honourable Prime Minister'
The Prime Minister is assisted by the Cabinet Secretary, who doubles up as Deputy Prime Minister. The Cabinet Secretary is the chief executive officer in the office of the cabinet and heads the civil service in the country. He/she prepares the agenda of the cabinet and acts as the chairperson of the Permanent Secretaries Committee.
Permanent Secretaries are the administrative non-political heads of the cabinet ministries and they work hand in hand with their cabinet ministers to ensure smooth running of the ministries. They are appointed by the Public Service Commission, after thorough vetting and on account of merit.
Cabinet Ministers are answerable to parliament for their ministries. They propose and move bills through parliament on matters concerning their respective ministries. They therefore usually are members of parliament (either the Senate or the house of assembly).
The maximum number of ministries is set at 20 in the constitution, and the following ministries have remained unchanged throughout time:
1. Ministry of Defence and veterans affairs – oversees the armed forces, determines military policy and manages external safety.
2. Ministry of Home Affairs – oversees the police forces, enforces the law and manages internal safety.
3. Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Oversees the diplomatic service, determines foreign policy and manages foreign relations.
4. Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs – Oversees the treasury, determines fiscal policy and manages the national budget.
5. Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and keeper of the seal of the United Republic. (As keeper of the seal, the Minister of Justice countersigns all laws and decrees signed by the president and the decrees issued by other ministries. The Minister of Justice is also the editor of the government gazette, the official bulletin of the Tanzanian Republic).
6. Ministry of Agriculture.
7. Ministry of Education.
8. Ministry of Health and Public Welfare.
9. Ministry of Industry, Trade and Commerce.
10. Ministry of Transport.
11. Ministry of Information, Communication, Science and Technology.
12. Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
13. Ministry of Labour.
14. Ministry of Water and the Environment.
15. Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development.
16. Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports.
Other cabinet-level offices include
1. Vice President's Office
2. Attorney General (ex-officio member of the cabinet)
3. State House Chief of Staff
4. Permanent Representative to the African Union
5. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
6. Permanent Representative to the East African Community
7. First Lady's Office (Non statutory)
The Attorney General
The Attorney General is the main legal advisor to the government.
He/she is an ex-officio member of the Cabinet and the Senate
He/she is assisted by the following law officers who are under him;
1. The Solicitor General, who heads the legal policy division.
2. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who heads the prosecutions division.
3. The Registrar General.
4. Administrator General, who heads the administration and development division.
5. Law Officer (Civil law).
6. Law Officer (International law).
7. Law Draftsman.
He/she heads the state law office and ensures proper administration of Tanzania's legal system including professional education
He/she represents the state and its departments in court
He/she acts as the representative of public interest and is to serve all people of Tanzania without discrimination, by defending the peoples' right to safety and security and ensure fairness and justice when investigating and prosecuting criminality. Once appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, the Attorney General can only be removed from office through an impeachment by the National Assembly.
THE PARLIAMENT
The Parliament of Tanzania is the decision making organization that has the power to enact, amend and repeal laws. It observes and steers governing actions and has exclusive authority to amend the budget.
It comprises of the President, the Senate of the United Republic of Tanzania (upper house) and the National Assembly of the United Republic of Tanzania (lower house).
It checks the actions of the other branches of government through formal questioning on the floor and by establishment of commissions of enquiry (it is not allowed to form any bodies with administrative functions as this is seen as infringing on the executive's role)
The Senate of the United Republic of Tanzania
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of Tanzania
It consists of 60 members directly elected by their regions (two per region regardless of the region's size or population), 4 members nominated by the official body representing the Tanzanian Diaspora (One each for the Americas, Europe, Africa and Australasia), 4 members from the official body representing people living with disabilities in Tanzania and a maximum of 15 others nominated by the President for outstanding merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary fields or others (former senior civil servants, leaders of religious sects, prominent academicians, lead industrialists and business people and other public figures).
The Attorney General is an ex-officio member of the Senate.
The Senate of Tanzania is supposed to be the voice of reason in the country's law making process (provide sober second thought). It may consider, amend, propose amendments to, or reject legislation. It must consider all national bills, and also has the power to initiate legislation only in some very few specified areas. It is generally regarded as a more deliberative and prestigious body than the National Assembly. Since no party can have a majority in the Senate (thanks to the proportional representation system of election by which they are voted in), party discipline is usually not adhered to and thus senatorial votes are usually on an individual level, unlike in the National Assembly where rigid and strict party discipline is observed. This provides the Senate with the necessary flexibility to perform its other major function; to check the executive government in the exercise of its functions. It must consent to any treaty entered into by the United Republic before ratification, and it also must offer its approval before any appointee to any senior state position takes office. The Senate also acts as the court of last resort for administrative cases (strictly speaking the Senate's administrative committee is not a court; it functions as a judicial body by adjudicating suits and claims against administrative authorities). The Senate has full discretion to adjudicate on the legality of most of the executive branch decisions. The Senate also provides a chance for Tanzanian individuals to directly place their grievances against the executive government before Parliament. The Senate therefore receives and acts on such petitions made by the public.
The Senate has several exclusive powers not granted to the National Assembly such as
· Consenting to all constitutional changes
· Consenting to all treaties as a precondition to their ratification
· Deciding on the possibility of using the Armed Forces of the United Republic outside the territory of Tanzania
· Confirming all appointments of senior government officials such as the chief justice and other judges of the Supreme Court, attorney general, comptroller and auditor general, cabinet ministers, military officers, ambassadors, commissioners of the independent commissions etc.
· Trial of government officials impeached by the national assembly. If the President is impeached, he/she is tried in the Senate in a session presided over by the Chief Justice.
The Senate also represents the interests of the regions at the national level.
The four qualifications for senators are
1. They must be at least 35 years old
2. They must have been citizens of Tanzania for at least the past nine years
3. They must be inhabitants of the regions they seek to represent at the time of elections
4. They must be holders of at least a bachelor's degree from a recognised university
Note that one does not necessarily have to be a member of a political party so as to be a senator. This means that independent senators are not a rare sight in Tanzania. This is in contrast to the National Assembly, in which one has to be voted in through a political party.
Senators each serve for a non-renewable eight year term (the life of two parliaments). Half of the members of the Senate are elected every four years during the regional and local government elections.
The Senate meets in continuous sessions at the Bunge House in Dodoma.
The National Assembly of the United Republic of Tanzania
It is the lower house of the parliament of Tanzania.
Each region is divided into a whole number of constituencies by the Electoral and Boundaries Commission, depending on population, for representation in the National Assembly.
For instance, the number of constituencies per region as per the latest population statistics would be as follows;
The Regions also serve as single member constituencies for the election of women representatives to the National Assembly. This means that the maximum number of members of the National Assembly is set at 330. The constitution per region may change to reflect population trends but the number of elected members has to sum up to 300 (excluding the 30 women representatives).
It is chaired and presided over by a Speaker, who is an ex-officio member of the assembly. The Assembly appoints the Speaker from among its members during its first meeting after a general election. The Speaker is required to relinquish all party affiliations upon appointment, and a by-election is conducted for the constituency from which the speaker hailed.
The term of the Assembly is four years.
The major power of the National Assembly is to pass national legislation that affects the entire country, although its bills must also be passed by the Senate (unless the legislation is repassed with a two thirds majority in the assembly) and further agreed to by the President before becoming law (unless both the house and the Senate repass the legislation with a two thirds majority in each chamber).
The National Assembly also has some exclusive powers;
1. To originate and make amendments to appropriation bills (bills that authorize government expenditure of public revenue) or bills that impose taxation. This means that the executive government is responsible for its use of public funds to the National Assembly, which has the power to bring down a government by blocking its access to supply – i.e. revenue appropriated through taxation.
2. To pass a vote of no confidence against the government. This would effectively mean dissolution of the entire cabinet. The Prime Minister may however ask the President to instead dissolve the National Assembly, a request the President may or may not fulfil.
3. To impeach government officials (impeached officials are subsequently tried by the Senate).
The qualifications for members of the national assembly are
1. They must be at least 18 years of age
2. They must be resided in the region they represent (though not necessarily the same constituency)
3. They must have been citizens of the United Republic for at least the past 7 years
The Executive government sets the priorities of the agenda for the assembly's sessions for two weeks each month. Another week is designated for the Assembly's ‘control' prerogatives (mainly verbal questions addressed to the government) and the fourth one is set by the assembly. Also, one day per month is set by the opposition or minority or both.
Both houses of parliament meet in their respective chambers in the Bunge house in Dodoma. Joint sessions of parliament are very rare and are held only on special occasions such as
1. The state of the nation address by the President
2. Presidential inaugurations
3. To resolve a deadlock over a certain bill.
[h=4]Power to recall an MP[/h]In Tanzania, the power of the electorate over their elected representatives is further asserted by the power of the voters to recall the representatives even before their stipulated time in office is over. Voters have the power to recall their elected MPs where the member is mentally or physically incapacitated, is of unbecoming conduct, mismanages public resources, or persistently deserts the electorate without a reasonable cause (six months consecutively without being sighted in their constituencies). This is done by way of delivering a petition filed by at least 30% of the registered voters of that particular constituency to the speaker of the relevant house. The process can only be initiated upon a judgement or finding by the High Court confirming the grounds for the recall. Furthermore, the process can only be initiated 18 months after the election of the MP and not later than 18 months before a general election. The petition can also not be filed more than once during the tenure of the said Member of Parliament.
Within seven days of the receipt of the petition, the speaker is required to inform the Electoral and Boundaries Commission to conduct a public inquiry on the allegations of the petition, and where the Commission affirms the allegations, the speaker declares the seat of the Member of Parliament vacant.
THE JUDICIARY
The Judiciary is an independent and co-equal arm of the government
Tanzania has a single national court system, and the administration of justice is an exclusive responsibility of the national government. However, the regional governments do play a part in the judicial process; the governor of a given region is ex-officio a member of the National Judicial Council when it deals with matters relating to that particular region.
In Tanzania, judges are considered civil servants exercising one of the sovereign powers of the state, and accordingly, only Tanzanian citizens are eligible for judgeship.
The independence of the Judiciary is guaranteed by the President in his role as the chairperson of the National Judicial Council.
National Judicial Council.
The Judiciary is overseen by the National Judicial Council, whose composition is as follows
1. President - Chairperson
2. Chief Justice – Vice Chairperson
3. Attorney General – ex-officio member
4. One judge of the court of appeal
5. One judge of the high court
6. Two members, one a man and one a woman, who are persons qualified to be appointed as judges of the supreme court
7. Two advocates, one a man and one a woman, who are elected by the members of the statutory body responsible for the professional regulation of advocates in the country.
8. One person nominated by the Public Service Commission
9. Two members of the public, usually affiliated to the discipline of law from any accredited institutes of higher learning in the country, one a man and the other a woman
10. A Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, who is the secretary of the council
The functions of the National Judicial Council are to promote and facilitate the independence and accountability of the Judiciary and the efficient, effective and transparent administration of justice and in doing this, the NJC is to;
1. Recommend to the President persons for appointment as judges
2. Review and make recommendations on the conditions of service of judges and judicial officers, other than their remuneration and staff of the judiciary.
3. Appoint, receive complaints against, investigate and remove from office or otherwise discipline registrars, magistrates, other judicial officers and other staff of the judiciary, in the manner prescribed by an act of parliament
4. Prepare and implement programs for the continuing education and training of judges and judicial officers
5. Advise the national government on improving the efficiency of the administration of justice
[h=3]Administrative Office of the Judiciary[/h]The Administrative Office of the Judiciary serves the Judiciary in carrying out its constitutional mission to provide equal justice under law.
The AO is the central support entity for the Judicial Branch. It provides a wide range of administrative, legal, financial, management, program, and information technology services to the national courts. The AO provides support and staff counsel to the NJC and its committees, and implements and executes NJC policies, as well as applicable national statutes and regulations. The AO facilitates communications within the Judiciary and with Parliament, the Executive Branch, and the public on behalf of the Judiciary.
The agency's lawyers, public administrators, accountants, systems engineers, analysts, architects, statisticians, and other staff provide a long list of professional services to meet the needs of judges and other judicial employees.
It is headed by the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary.
The NJC generally deals with the overall needs of the judiciary (policy making, budget and implementation of the same etc) whereas the AO implements and executes NJC policies.
The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs receives and processes legislation dealing with matters of civil or criminal justice.
At the basic level, the courts can be seen as organized into
I. Ordinary courts – handle criminal and civil litigation
II. Administrative courts – supervise the government and handle complaints
The structure of the judiciary is divided into 3 tiers
I. Inferior courts of original and general jurisdiction
II. Intermediate appellate courts which hear cases on appeal from lower courts
III. Courts of last resort which hear appeals from lower appellate courts on the interpretation of the law. The court of appeal is the court of last resort for ordinary courts whereas the Senate of the United Republic of Tanzania is the court of last resort for administrative courts.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land and it has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all courts. It has exclusive original jurisdiction on all cases between the union government and any regional government(s) or cases between any two or more regional governments, as well as presidential election petitions. It also has the power of constitutional/judicial review of laws passed by parliament, and may suspend those that contradict the constitution or the bill of rights. It meets in the Supreme Court building in Dodoma
The Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the High Court divisions and any other court or tribunal as presided by an act of parliament. It is not a court of first instance and has no original jurisdiction, except when it hears constitutional cases.
The High Courts deal at first instance with all high value and high importance cases and also have a supervisory jurisdiction over all subordinate courts, with a few statutory exceptions.
The judiciary in Tanzania enjoys administrative and financial independence. The Judiciary, being a separate arm of the government, falls solely under the responsibility of the Chief Justice. The budget of the judiciary is usually prepared by the Administrative Office of the Judiciary and approved by the NJC before being presented to the National Assembly without alteration by the executive (minister for justice). The ministry may comment on the budget but not amend it. Salaries of judges and other judicial employees are determined by the Salaries and Remunerations Commission (SRC) as is the case with other public officials.
[h=2]INDEPENDENT COMMISSIONS[/h]
The Independent commissions that have been established include
1. The Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC) – Responsible for conducting and supervising referenda and elections to any elective body or office established by the constitution, as well as considering and reviewing the geographical boundaries of constituencies. Other functions include voter registration, regulation of political parties process, settlement of electoral disputes (except presidential), registration of candidates for elections, voter education, facilitation of the observation, monitoring and evaluation of elections, regulation of money spent by parties/candidates, development of a code of conduct for candidates and parties, monitoring of compliance with legislation on nomination of candidates by parties e.t.c
2. The Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC) – Responsible for maintaining high standards of ethical conduct in Tanzania's public service and strengthening the confidence of Tanzanians in government agencies, police, state-owned businesses and local and regional government. Sources of assets, debts, income, capital gains, reimbursements, honoraria and gifts of certain values must be reported by all state officials in all 3 branches of government to the commission (though it may only make public these details if ordered to do so by a court of law). It also receives complaints and deals with allegations of misconduct by public officials.
3. The Human Rights Commission (HRC) – Responsible for investigating and providing redress for human rights violations in Tanzania, researches and monitors the compliance of human rights norms and standards, human rights education and training and campaigns, advocate and collaborate with other stakeholders in Tanzania, advises the national government on how to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights, monitors the enactment of legislation in Tanzania and recommends existing legislation for review to ensure compliance with human rights standards e.t.c.
4. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) – Responsible for determining the salaries and remunerations to be paid to all public officers in Tanzania.
5. The Revenue Allocation Commission (RAC) – Responsible for recommending the basis for equitable sharing of revenues raised nationally between the national and regional governments.
6. Public Service Commission (PSC) etc.
FINANCES
Consolidated Fund
This is the government's general bank account at the Bank of Tanzania.
All revenues derived from various sources for the use of the Union Government are paid into the Consolidated Fund of the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania
Withdrawals have to be assented to by the National Assembly
[h=3]National Loans Fund[/h]
This is the government's main borrowing and lending account. It is closely linked to the consolidated fund, which is balanced daily by a transfer to, or from, the National Loans Fund.
The comptroller (who is also auditor general and head of the National Audit Office) controls both the Consolidated Fund and the National Loans Fund. The full official title of the role is Comptroller and Auditor General of the United Republic of Tanzania.
NOTE: The National Audit Office is an independent Parliamentary body which is responsible for auditing central government ministries, government agencies and non-departmental public bodies. It carries out the following functions:
· Mandatory audits of public accountants to track national and regional government funds.
· Discretionary audits of public corporations, publicly subsidized private organizations, and social security and welfare agencies.
· Audits of private charities who regularly receive public donations.
The NAO also carries out Value for Money (VFM) audit into the administration of public policy.
The Comptroller must authorise each requisition request received by the Bank of Tanzania from the Treasury, to assure that the request is compliant with the amounts and purposes authorised by Parliament in statute. If funds are mistakenly paid into the Consolidated Fund then both the Comptroller and the Treasury must agree to its return.
Contingency Fund
Monies in this account are used to meet the costs of urgent and unforeseen needs (For instance to cover the costs of casualties and damages caused by natural calamities)
Withdrawals are made at the President's discretion
Sovereign Wealth Fund of The United Republic of Tanzania
This is the national wealth fund of the United Republic of Tanzania.
It consists of a Reserve Fund (which is invested abroad in low-yield securities) and a National Welfare Fund.
The National Welfare Fund is further divided into;
1. A stabilisation fund, which serves as an important tool for absorbing excessive liquidity, reducing inflationary pressure and insulating the economy of Tanzania from volatility of raw material export earnings.
2. A universal health fund - free healthcare for all Tanzanians.
3. A universal education fund - free primary and secondary education for all Tanzanians.
4. An infrastructure fund (transport, energy and water & sanitation).
5. A research & innovation fund, designed to advance the nation's research community's capacity to develop innovations that can be commercialized and have an economic impact on Tanzania.
The Reserve Fund is capped at 10% of GDP, and any excess funds that the reserve fund produces are given to the National Welfare Fund. The National Welfare Fund also has accumulated monies from taxes and duties it collects on the production and export of oil, gas and other mineral exports. The Tanzania National Wealth Fund is controlled by the Ministry of Finance, and the ministry publishes a monthly report in mass media on the Fund's accumulation, spending and balance and reports quarterly and annually to the Government on accumulation, investment and spending of the Fund's capital. The Government then reports quarterly and annually on the Fund's accumulation, spending and investment of capital to both chambers of the Tanzanian Parliament (Senate and National Assembly).
[h=3]Financial courts[/h]The financial courts - national Court of Audit and regional audit courts – are unique quasi judicial bodies of the Tanzanian government charged with adjudicating cases regarding public funds brought to them by various stakeholders including the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) and the National Audit Office, though they also have the power of conducting financial and legislative audits of most public institutions and some private institutions, including the National Government, national public corporations, social security agencies and public services.
They have jurisdiction to try cases involving possible misuse of public funds, and, in some rare instances, of private funds. Neither national nor regional audit courts hear cases related to private organizations, with the few exceptions noted here. Instead, financial cases concerning private funds and money fall within the jurisdiction of the civil justice system.
They are empowered and mandated by the constitution which sets forth that Tanzanian citizens have the right to hold public officers, agents, and officials accountable for the finances they oversee and operate.
These jurisdictions act as courts in the ordinary sense of the word in some limited circumstances. That is, they judge the accounting of public accountants and may fine them in case of certain failures:
· They may fine public accountants if they are late in handing over their accounting.
· They may find that the accountant neglected to collect money owed to the state (or other government) or, through negligence, unduly gave away state (or other government) money. The responsibility of the public accountant in those circumstances is personal and unlimited, meaning that he or she has to refund all lost money. Because of this possibility, all public accountants must have external warranty as well as insurance. In practice, many public accountants can not refund these monies, and the Minister of Finance may end up pardoning the debt.
· They may find that somebody or some organization did accounting operations on public funds whereas they were not public accountants. In those circumstances, they are found to be de facto public accountants and they face the same constraints and penalties as de jure public accountants.
However, the court cannot try government ministers, or (in almost all cases), local elected officials; thus, with few exceptions, the only public accountants that face the court are civil servants.
If the Court of Audit or the regional chambers discern criminal behaviour in the accounts that they audit, they refer the matter to the appropriate criminal court.
Most of the activity of the Court of Audit and the regional chambers is not of a judicial kind; rather, they act as a general auditing system. However, even for these activities, they act with almost complete independence of both the executive and the legislative branches.
The court and chambers may advise, or reprimand, ministries, administrations and public establishments that they audited.
The court and chamber publish a yearly report in which it discusses a selection of misuses of funds and other incidents. In addition, they may also publish specialized reports. The court and chambers are free to inquire on whatever they wish within their field of competency; the court may also be commissioned reports by Parliament.
In all these advisory and publishing activities, the court and chambers do not limit themselves to pure accounting issues, but they also take the efficiency of public services into account. They may, for instance, criticize an expense that was legally ordered and accounted for, but which was inappropriate with respect to criteria of good financial management.
Regional and local governments' finances
The Regional Governments rely on the National Government for financial support, with a given percent of the national government's revenues, as determined by law, being shared among the regions
The Revenue Allocations Commission recommends a formula, which takes various parameters into account such as regional population, land area, basic equal share, regional poverty index etc. to be used for sharing these monies.
The Regional Governments also collect taxes such as property tax and all taxes on beer and gambling. However, the National Government controls the major revenue bases (income tax, cars, customs, corporate tax, VAT etc.)
The National Government imposes few restrictions on how revenue sharing money is used by the regions, for the belief that locally elected officials are more efficient at determining local needs.
The local governments generate their own revenues from selling of services e.g. water, electricity, gas, waste disposal e.t.c.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
The various law enforcement departments include
I. The Police Force – This is headed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP). It is charged with the day to day maintenance of law and order in the country.
II. Special Forces – Examples are Coast Guard, Tanzania Wildlife Service (TWS), Tanzania Forestry Service (TFS), National Youth Service (NYS), The Peace Corps, The Prisons Service, The Public Health Service e.t.c.
III. Field Force Unit (FFU) – These are highly trained, highly skilled and heavily armed personnel that are called to action in cases where rapid response to a given situation is required. They are also charged with the protection of dignitaries.
IV. Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS) – This is the primary organ through which the state gathers intelligence information. It is divided into five departments
Administrative department
Internal Intelligence Department
External Intelligence Department
Information Technology Department
National Intelligence Academy
V. Armed Forces – These are the Military forces of the United Republic of Tanzania
The President is the military's overall head, and helps form military policy with the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs acting as the primary organ by which military policy is carried out
The Minister for defence is second in the military's chain of command and serves as the principal assistant to the president in all MoDVA related affairs
To coordinate military action with diplomacy, the President has an advisory National Security Council headed by a National Security Advisor
The composition of the National Security Council is as follows
President
Vice President (statutory)
Prime Minister (statutory)
Minister for foreign affairs (statutory)
Minister for defence (statutory)
Minister for home affairs (non statutory)
Minister for finance (non statutory)
Chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – statutory military advisor
Director of National Intelligence – statutory intelligence advisor
National Security Advisor
Attorney General
The military is further divided into the Army, Navy and Air Force.
REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS
Tanzania is a unitary state. However, power has been delegated through devolution to each of its regions, plus the semi-autonomous island region of Zanzibar. The country is divided into 30 regions, namely;
Each of these regions has a regional government consisting of a regional executive committee and a regional assembly (baraza la wawakilishi), and are under Governors and Lieutenant Governors, who are the chief executives and deputy chief executives of the regions respectively.
The regional assemblies' members are elected from single member constituencies known as wards. There are also a number of nominated members as is necessary to ensure that neither male nor female members constitute more than two-thirds of the assembly.
Each region has an executive council, consisting of
1. A Governor in whom the executive authority of the region is vested. He/she is chosen by the regional assembly during its first meeting after a regional election and is sworn into office by the President of the United Republic of Tanzania.
2. A lieutenant governor nominated by the Governor and approved by the regional assembly. He/she is the secretary to the regional executive council and heads the region's public service.
3. A number of council members not exceeding ten, appointed by the governor from the regional assembly members. The MECs (Members of the Executive Council) are effectively ministers and the Executive Council a cabinet at the regional level.
The Governors have the power to hire and fire MECs at their own discretion. Also, in order for an act of the regional legislature to become law, the governor must sign it.
The Governor and the Executive Council are responsible for implementing regional legislation, along with any national legislation assigned to the regions. They set regional policy and manage the departments of the regional government; their actions are subject to the national constitution and the regional constitution (in the case of Zanzibar, which is the only region with a constitution).
Governors can only cease to hold office if either they resign or are fired by the President of the United Republic, at whose pleasure they serve. The President of the United Republic of Tanzania can dissolve an entire regional government if he sees fit to do so.
The national constitution provides a complete structure for regional government and each regional constitution, if adopted, must be consistent with the national constitution.
[h=2]ELECTIONS IN TANZANIA[/h]
General elections are held once every four years and are conducted by the Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
The two major national elections (elections held on a national level) are the election of the President of the United Republic and the election of members of the Parliament of Tanzania. Two-round runoff voting is used when electing the President, senators are chosen under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and National Assembly members are elected under the plurality (first-past-the-post) electoral system.
After a national election and the swearing in of the new President, the incumbent Prime Minister offers the resignation of his/her government, which acts as care-taker government until when a new government is formed, to the new President. The President then invites the leader of the party with majority seats in the national assembly to take over as Premier.
Regional and local government elections are usually held a few months prior to the national elections. In regional and local government elections, people vote for their local and regional leaders (senators, regional assembly members and local councillors). Note that these elections are held on a staggered basis; the 30 regions are grouped into 2 so that 15 regions hold elections every 4 years.
The regional assemblies choose their governor during their first meeting after a regional election.
Voters are Tanzanian citizens over the age of 18, who are registered on the voters roll. Currently, all youths reaching the age of 18 are automatically registered. Citizens living abroad register to vote at the embassies or consulates of Tanzania responsible for their region.
Government in Tanzania exists at three levels, i.e. national, regional and local government. State authority and power are vested in the National Government, which is officially referred to as the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania.
The national government is divided into an executive, a legislature and a judicial branch, and the President of Tanzania is its formal head.
The constitution describes Tanzania as a secular state in which democracy prevails, and as such, the following governance principles are strongly adhered to;
i. Constitutional supremacy
ii. Sovereignty of the people
iii. Equality of citizens, irrespective of any discriminatory grounds
THE EXECUTIVE
This is the arm of the government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the country.
It consists of the President, the Vice President, the Prime Minister and His/her Cabinet, government departments and the national civil service.
Executive power is vested in the President, but he/she is to act in accordance with aid and advice tendered by the Prime Minister and his/her cabinet.
The President and Vice President
The President of Tanzania is the head of state and commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Tanzania and prime protector of the constitution of the united republic plus its unity and integrity.
The following are some of the duties and functions of the President
· He/she is the commander-in-chief of the nation's Armed Forces, and is the guarantor of national security and integrity in his role as the chairperson of the National Security Council. He/she declares war, states of emergency, appoints the heads of the military e.t.c.
· Signs all bills passed by Parliament into laws. He may veto against some, call for a referendum, refer them back to parliament or even to the Supreme Court. At the request of the Prime Minister and his/her cabinet, and if the government feels the need for immediate procedure, the President can promulgate ordinances which bear the same force and effect as laws passed by parliament. These are, however, in the nature of temporary or interim legislation, and their continuance is subject to parliamentary approval.
· He/she directs the foreign policy of the state
· He/she is the custodian of all state land, and handles leases in consultation with the office of the Solicitor General
· He/she appoints the Prime Minister (invites the leader of the party with majority seats in the national assembly to form a government. If they are both from the same party then the Prime Minister becomes the personal choice of the President. Note that the president-elect relinquishes all political party affiliations that he/she had, for the president is required by law to not be a member of any political party in the country), cabinet ministers (from a list of people given to him by the Prime Minister), Chief Justice and other judges of the supreme court, Attorney General, Comptroller and Auditor General, commissioners of all independent commissions, ambassadors to other countries, Governor of the BoT (subject to confirmation by the National Assembly), heads of the military etc
· Signs treaties on behalf of the state.
· He/she inaugurates the parliament by addressing it after every general election and also the beginning of the first session each year.
· He/she may on special occasions convene either or both houses of Parliament
· He/she may dissolve the National Assembly, on the Prime Minister's advice, or otherwise.
· He/she declares states of emergency when need be.
· Receives the credentials of ambassadors from other countries (customarily, high commissioners from commonwealth countries are accredited to the Prime Minister)
· Confers honours and awards on behalf of the state to citizens who have distinguished themselves in service to the state in the fields of defence, economics, science, culture, art, education, healthcare, public safety, rights advocacy, charity etc.
· Pardoning or reprieving offenders and remitting any penalties, fines or forfeitures
Points of clarification:
I. The president fuses the executive, legislature and judiciary, as he has a formal role to play in the legislature (Parliament, which is where legal and political sovereignty lies, is summoned and dissolved by the President who must give his or her Presidential Assent to all Bills so that they become Acts), the executive (the President appoints all government ministers, who govern in the name of the President) and the judiciary (the President, as the fount of justice, acts as the Chair of the National Judicial Council, appoints all senior judges, and all public prosecutions are brought in his or her name).
II. Although it is the Prime Minister of Tanzania and parliament that oversee much of the nation's actual day to day affairs, the President wields significant influence and authority, especially in the fields of national security and foreign policy.
III. The President, by his actions and public appearances, represents the state itself, its existence, its legitimacy and unity. The President's office involves an integrative role and the control function of upholding the law and the constitution. It is a matter of tradition that the President distance himself/herself from day to day politics, hence allowing him/her to be a source of clarification, to influence public debate, to voice criticism, offer suggestions and make proposals. In order to exercise this power, he/she traditionally acts above party politics.
The President is usually elected to serve a single non-renewable eight year term. In order to be accepted as an official candidate, potential candidates must receive signed nominations from more than 500 elected officials countrywide. These officials must be from at least 10 regions, and no more than 10% of them should be from the same region. Furthermore, each official may nominate only one candidate. Former Presidents of the United Republic are called Presidents Emeritus of the United Republic and are appointed senators for life.
Traditionally, if the President hails from one side of the Union (Tanganyika or Zanzibar) then the Vice President must come from the other side. He/she is elected together with the President as running mate during a presidential election, and serves at the pleasure of the President.
The Vice President holds the second highest political office in the country and performs duties delegated to him/her by the President. He/she is first in line in the Presidential line of succession, which is as follows;
1. Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania
2. Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania
3. Chief Justice of the United Republic of Tanzania
4. A Minister as appointed by the Cabinet
The Vice President is also the ex-officio president of the Senate of the United Republic, though is himself not a senator. However, the Senate appoints a president pro tempore who is the second highest official of the Senate and takes care of the day to day matters of the house in the absence of the Vice President. In practice, however, neither the Vice President nor the President pro tempore presides over the Senate; they leave junior senators to perform the task, so as to give them experience in parliamentary procedure.
The Cabinet
The Cabinet of Tanzania is chaired and presided over by the Prime Minister of Tanzania.
The Prime Minister is the head of government and chief advisor to the President of the United Republic of Tanzania.
He/she nominates to the President persons for appointment as cabinet ministers, usually from the elected members of either of the houses of parliament, though non members of parliament can also be nominated. Such ministers who are not elected members of parliament are ex-officio members of Parliament, but can not vote on any issue requiring a vote in parliament.
The Prime Minister also allocates posts to members within the government. His/her death/resignation dissolves the cabinet, unless if he/she resigned for personal reasons.
He/she is appointed by the President to assist him in the administration of the affairs of the executive.
Since the Prime Minister is the leader of government business in parliament, the President almost always appoints the leader of the party with majority seats in the National Assembly as Prime Minister.
NOTE: It is the sole authority of the National Assembly to dismiss the Prime Minister and his/her government.
The Prime Minister is usually styled ‘The Right Honourable Prime Minister'
The Prime Minister is assisted by the Cabinet Secretary, who doubles up as Deputy Prime Minister. The Cabinet Secretary is the chief executive officer in the office of the cabinet and heads the civil service in the country. He/she prepares the agenda of the cabinet and acts as the chairperson of the Permanent Secretaries Committee.
Permanent Secretaries are the administrative non-political heads of the cabinet ministries and they work hand in hand with their cabinet ministers to ensure smooth running of the ministries. They are appointed by the Public Service Commission, after thorough vetting and on account of merit.
Cabinet Ministers are answerable to parliament for their ministries. They propose and move bills through parliament on matters concerning their respective ministries. They therefore usually are members of parliament (either the Senate or the house of assembly).
The maximum number of ministries is set at 20 in the constitution, and the following ministries have remained unchanged throughout time:
1. Ministry of Defence and veterans affairs – oversees the armed forces, determines military policy and manages external safety.
2. Ministry of Home Affairs – oversees the police forces, enforces the law and manages internal safety.
3. Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Oversees the diplomatic service, determines foreign policy and manages foreign relations.
4. Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs – Oversees the treasury, determines fiscal policy and manages the national budget.
5. Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and keeper of the seal of the United Republic. (As keeper of the seal, the Minister of Justice countersigns all laws and decrees signed by the president and the decrees issued by other ministries. The Minister of Justice is also the editor of the government gazette, the official bulletin of the Tanzanian Republic).
6. Ministry of Agriculture.
7. Ministry of Education.
8. Ministry of Health and Public Welfare.
9. Ministry of Industry, Trade and Commerce.
10. Ministry of Transport.
11. Ministry of Information, Communication, Science and Technology.
12. Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
13. Ministry of Labour.
14. Ministry of Water and the Environment.
15. Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development.
16. Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports.
Other cabinet-level offices include
1. Vice President's Office
2. Attorney General (ex-officio member of the cabinet)
3. State House Chief of Staff
4. Permanent Representative to the African Union
5. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
6. Permanent Representative to the East African Community
7. First Lady's Office (Non statutory)
The Attorney General
The Attorney General is the main legal advisor to the government.
He/she is an ex-officio member of the Cabinet and the Senate
He/she is assisted by the following law officers who are under him;
1. The Solicitor General, who heads the legal policy division.
2. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who heads the prosecutions division.
3. The Registrar General.
4. Administrator General, who heads the administration and development division.
5. Law Officer (Civil law).
6. Law Officer (International law).
7. Law Draftsman.
He/she heads the state law office and ensures proper administration of Tanzania's legal system including professional education
He/she represents the state and its departments in court
He/she acts as the representative of public interest and is to serve all people of Tanzania without discrimination, by defending the peoples' right to safety and security and ensure fairness and justice when investigating and prosecuting criminality. Once appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, the Attorney General can only be removed from office through an impeachment by the National Assembly.
THE PARLIAMENT
The Parliament of Tanzania is the decision making organization that has the power to enact, amend and repeal laws. It observes and steers governing actions and has exclusive authority to amend the budget.
It comprises of the President, the Senate of the United Republic of Tanzania (upper house) and the National Assembly of the United Republic of Tanzania (lower house).
It checks the actions of the other branches of government through formal questioning on the floor and by establishment of commissions of enquiry (it is not allowed to form any bodies with administrative functions as this is seen as infringing on the executive's role)
The Senate of the United Republic of Tanzania
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of Tanzania
It consists of 60 members directly elected by their regions (two per region regardless of the region's size or population), 4 members nominated by the official body representing the Tanzanian Diaspora (One each for the Americas, Europe, Africa and Australasia), 4 members from the official body representing people living with disabilities in Tanzania and a maximum of 15 others nominated by the President for outstanding merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary fields or others (former senior civil servants, leaders of religious sects, prominent academicians, lead industrialists and business people and other public figures).
The Attorney General is an ex-officio member of the Senate.
The Senate of Tanzania is supposed to be the voice of reason in the country's law making process (provide sober second thought). It may consider, amend, propose amendments to, or reject legislation. It must consider all national bills, and also has the power to initiate legislation only in some very few specified areas. It is generally regarded as a more deliberative and prestigious body than the National Assembly. Since no party can have a majority in the Senate (thanks to the proportional representation system of election by which they are voted in), party discipline is usually not adhered to and thus senatorial votes are usually on an individual level, unlike in the National Assembly where rigid and strict party discipline is observed. This provides the Senate with the necessary flexibility to perform its other major function; to check the executive government in the exercise of its functions. It must consent to any treaty entered into by the United Republic before ratification, and it also must offer its approval before any appointee to any senior state position takes office. The Senate also acts as the court of last resort for administrative cases (strictly speaking the Senate's administrative committee is not a court; it functions as a judicial body by adjudicating suits and claims against administrative authorities). The Senate has full discretion to adjudicate on the legality of most of the executive branch decisions. The Senate also provides a chance for Tanzanian individuals to directly place their grievances against the executive government before Parliament. The Senate therefore receives and acts on such petitions made by the public.
The Senate has several exclusive powers not granted to the National Assembly such as
· Consenting to all constitutional changes
· Consenting to all treaties as a precondition to their ratification
· Deciding on the possibility of using the Armed Forces of the United Republic outside the territory of Tanzania
· Confirming all appointments of senior government officials such as the chief justice and other judges of the Supreme Court, attorney general, comptroller and auditor general, cabinet ministers, military officers, ambassadors, commissioners of the independent commissions etc.
· Trial of government officials impeached by the national assembly. If the President is impeached, he/she is tried in the Senate in a session presided over by the Chief Justice.
The Senate also represents the interests of the regions at the national level.
The four qualifications for senators are
1. They must be at least 35 years old
2. They must have been citizens of Tanzania for at least the past nine years
3. They must be inhabitants of the regions they seek to represent at the time of elections
4. They must be holders of at least a bachelor's degree from a recognised university
Note that one does not necessarily have to be a member of a political party so as to be a senator. This means that independent senators are not a rare sight in Tanzania. This is in contrast to the National Assembly, in which one has to be voted in through a political party.
Senators each serve for a non-renewable eight year term (the life of two parliaments). Half of the members of the Senate are elected every four years during the regional and local government elections.
The Senate meets in continuous sessions at the Bunge House in Dodoma.
The National Assembly of the United Republic of Tanzania
It is the lower house of the parliament of Tanzania.
Each region is divided into a whole number of constituencies by the Electoral and Boundaries Commission, depending on population, for representation in the National Assembly.
For instance, the number of constituencies per region as per the latest population statistics would be as follows;
| Region | No. Of constituencies | |
| 1 | Tabora | 15 |
| 2 | Morogoro | 15 |
| 3 | Lindi | 6 |
| 4 | Ruvuma | 9 |
| 5 | Mbeya | 18 |
| 6 | Singida | 9 |
| 7 | Manyara | 10 |
| 8 | Katavi | 4 |
| 9 | Kigoma | 14 |
| 10 | Dodoma | 14 |
| 11 | Kagera | 16 |
| 12 | Iringa | 6 |
| 13 | Arusha | 11 |
| 14 | Pwani | 7 |
| 15 | Mara | 12 |
| 16 | Tanga | 14 |
| 17 | Simiyu | 11 |
| 18 | Rukwa | 7 |
| 19 | Njombe | 5 |
| 20 | Geita | 12 |
| 21 | Shinyanga | 10 |
| 22 | Mtwara | 8 |
| 23 | Kilimanjaro | 11 |
| 24 | Mwanza | 18 |
| 25 | Dar es Salaam | 29 |
| 26 | Zanzibar | 9 |
| TOTAL | 300 | |
| |
It is chaired and presided over by a Speaker, who is an ex-officio member of the assembly. The Assembly appoints the Speaker from among its members during its first meeting after a general election. The Speaker is required to relinquish all party affiliations upon appointment, and a by-election is conducted for the constituency from which the speaker hailed.
The term of the Assembly is four years.
The major power of the National Assembly is to pass national legislation that affects the entire country, although its bills must also be passed by the Senate (unless the legislation is repassed with a two thirds majority in the assembly) and further agreed to by the President before becoming law (unless both the house and the Senate repass the legislation with a two thirds majority in each chamber).
The National Assembly also has some exclusive powers;
1. To originate and make amendments to appropriation bills (bills that authorize government expenditure of public revenue) or bills that impose taxation. This means that the executive government is responsible for its use of public funds to the National Assembly, which has the power to bring down a government by blocking its access to supply – i.e. revenue appropriated through taxation.
2. To pass a vote of no confidence against the government. This would effectively mean dissolution of the entire cabinet. The Prime Minister may however ask the President to instead dissolve the National Assembly, a request the President may or may not fulfil.
3. To impeach government officials (impeached officials are subsequently tried by the Senate).
The qualifications for members of the national assembly are
1. They must be at least 18 years of age
2. They must be resided in the region they represent (though not necessarily the same constituency)
3. They must have been citizens of the United Republic for at least the past 7 years
The Executive government sets the priorities of the agenda for the assembly's sessions for two weeks each month. Another week is designated for the Assembly's ‘control' prerogatives (mainly verbal questions addressed to the government) and the fourth one is set by the assembly. Also, one day per month is set by the opposition or minority or both.
Both houses of parliament meet in their respective chambers in the Bunge house in Dodoma. Joint sessions of parliament are very rare and are held only on special occasions such as
1. The state of the nation address by the President
2. Presidential inaugurations
3. To resolve a deadlock over a certain bill.
[h=4]Power to recall an MP[/h]In Tanzania, the power of the electorate over their elected representatives is further asserted by the power of the voters to recall the representatives even before their stipulated time in office is over. Voters have the power to recall their elected MPs where the member is mentally or physically incapacitated, is of unbecoming conduct, mismanages public resources, or persistently deserts the electorate without a reasonable cause (six months consecutively without being sighted in their constituencies). This is done by way of delivering a petition filed by at least 30% of the registered voters of that particular constituency to the speaker of the relevant house. The process can only be initiated upon a judgement or finding by the High Court confirming the grounds for the recall. Furthermore, the process can only be initiated 18 months after the election of the MP and not later than 18 months before a general election. The petition can also not be filed more than once during the tenure of the said Member of Parliament.
Within seven days of the receipt of the petition, the speaker is required to inform the Electoral and Boundaries Commission to conduct a public inquiry on the allegations of the petition, and where the Commission affirms the allegations, the speaker declares the seat of the Member of Parliament vacant.
THE JUDICIARY
The Judiciary is an independent and co-equal arm of the government
Tanzania has a single national court system, and the administration of justice is an exclusive responsibility of the national government. However, the regional governments do play a part in the judicial process; the governor of a given region is ex-officio a member of the National Judicial Council when it deals with matters relating to that particular region.
In Tanzania, judges are considered civil servants exercising one of the sovereign powers of the state, and accordingly, only Tanzanian citizens are eligible for judgeship.
The independence of the Judiciary is guaranteed by the President in his role as the chairperson of the National Judicial Council.
National Judicial Council.
The Judiciary is overseen by the National Judicial Council, whose composition is as follows
1. President - Chairperson
2. Chief Justice – Vice Chairperson
3. Attorney General – ex-officio member
4. One judge of the court of appeal
5. One judge of the high court
6. Two members, one a man and one a woman, who are persons qualified to be appointed as judges of the supreme court
7. Two advocates, one a man and one a woman, who are elected by the members of the statutory body responsible for the professional regulation of advocates in the country.
8. One person nominated by the Public Service Commission
9. Two members of the public, usually affiliated to the discipline of law from any accredited institutes of higher learning in the country, one a man and the other a woman
10. A Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, who is the secretary of the council
The functions of the National Judicial Council are to promote and facilitate the independence and accountability of the Judiciary and the efficient, effective and transparent administration of justice and in doing this, the NJC is to;
1. Recommend to the President persons for appointment as judges
2. Review and make recommendations on the conditions of service of judges and judicial officers, other than their remuneration and staff of the judiciary.
3. Appoint, receive complaints against, investigate and remove from office or otherwise discipline registrars, magistrates, other judicial officers and other staff of the judiciary, in the manner prescribed by an act of parliament
4. Prepare and implement programs for the continuing education and training of judges and judicial officers
5. Advise the national government on improving the efficiency of the administration of justice
[h=3]Administrative Office of the Judiciary[/h]The Administrative Office of the Judiciary serves the Judiciary in carrying out its constitutional mission to provide equal justice under law.
The AO is the central support entity for the Judicial Branch. It provides a wide range of administrative, legal, financial, management, program, and information technology services to the national courts. The AO provides support and staff counsel to the NJC and its committees, and implements and executes NJC policies, as well as applicable national statutes and regulations. The AO facilitates communications within the Judiciary and with Parliament, the Executive Branch, and the public on behalf of the Judiciary.
The agency's lawyers, public administrators, accountants, systems engineers, analysts, architects, statisticians, and other staff provide a long list of professional services to meet the needs of judges and other judicial employees.
It is headed by the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary.
The NJC generally deals with the overall needs of the judiciary (policy making, budget and implementation of the same etc) whereas the AO implements and executes NJC policies.
The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs receives and processes legislation dealing with matters of civil or criminal justice.
At the basic level, the courts can be seen as organized into
I. Ordinary courts – handle criminal and civil litigation
II. Administrative courts – supervise the government and handle complaints
The structure of the judiciary is divided into 3 tiers
I. Inferior courts of original and general jurisdiction
II. Intermediate appellate courts which hear cases on appeal from lower courts
III. Courts of last resort which hear appeals from lower appellate courts on the interpretation of the law. The court of appeal is the court of last resort for ordinary courts whereas the Senate of the United Republic of Tanzania is the court of last resort for administrative courts.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land and it has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all courts. It has exclusive original jurisdiction on all cases between the union government and any regional government(s) or cases between any two or more regional governments, as well as presidential election petitions. It also has the power of constitutional/judicial review of laws passed by parliament, and may suspend those that contradict the constitution or the bill of rights. It meets in the Supreme Court building in Dodoma
The Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the High Court divisions and any other court or tribunal as presided by an act of parliament. It is not a court of first instance and has no original jurisdiction, except when it hears constitutional cases.
The High Courts deal at first instance with all high value and high importance cases and also have a supervisory jurisdiction over all subordinate courts, with a few statutory exceptions.
The judiciary in Tanzania enjoys administrative and financial independence. The Judiciary, being a separate arm of the government, falls solely under the responsibility of the Chief Justice. The budget of the judiciary is usually prepared by the Administrative Office of the Judiciary and approved by the NJC before being presented to the National Assembly without alteration by the executive (minister for justice). The ministry may comment on the budget but not amend it. Salaries of judges and other judicial employees are determined by the Salaries and Remunerations Commission (SRC) as is the case with other public officials.
[h=2]INDEPENDENT COMMISSIONS[/h]
The Independent commissions that have been established include
1. The Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC) – Responsible for conducting and supervising referenda and elections to any elective body or office established by the constitution, as well as considering and reviewing the geographical boundaries of constituencies. Other functions include voter registration, regulation of political parties process, settlement of electoral disputes (except presidential), registration of candidates for elections, voter education, facilitation of the observation, monitoring and evaluation of elections, regulation of money spent by parties/candidates, development of a code of conduct for candidates and parties, monitoring of compliance with legislation on nomination of candidates by parties e.t.c
2. The Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC) – Responsible for maintaining high standards of ethical conduct in Tanzania's public service and strengthening the confidence of Tanzanians in government agencies, police, state-owned businesses and local and regional government. Sources of assets, debts, income, capital gains, reimbursements, honoraria and gifts of certain values must be reported by all state officials in all 3 branches of government to the commission (though it may only make public these details if ordered to do so by a court of law). It also receives complaints and deals with allegations of misconduct by public officials.
3. The Human Rights Commission (HRC) – Responsible for investigating and providing redress for human rights violations in Tanzania, researches and monitors the compliance of human rights norms and standards, human rights education and training and campaigns, advocate and collaborate with other stakeholders in Tanzania, advises the national government on how to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights, monitors the enactment of legislation in Tanzania and recommends existing legislation for review to ensure compliance with human rights standards e.t.c.
4. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) – Responsible for determining the salaries and remunerations to be paid to all public officers in Tanzania.
5. The Revenue Allocation Commission (RAC) – Responsible for recommending the basis for equitable sharing of revenues raised nationally between the national and regional governments.
6. Public Service Commission (PSC) etc.
FINANCES
Consolidated Fund
This is the government's general bank account at the Bank of Tanzania.
All revenues derived from various sources for the use of the Union Government are paid into the Consolidated Fund of the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania
Withdrawals have to be assented to by the National Assembly
[h=3]National Loans Fund[/h]
This is the government's main borrowing and lending account. It is closely linked to the consolidated fund, which is balanced daily by a transfer to, or from, the National Loans Fund.
The comptroller (who is also auditor general and head of the National Audit Office) controls both the Consolidated Fund and the National Loans Fund. The full official title of the role is Comptroller and Auditor General of the United Republic of Tanzania.
NOTE: The National Audit Office is an independent Parliamentary body which is responsible for auditing central government ministries, government agencies and non-departmental public bodies. It carries out the following functions:
· Mandatory audits of public accountants to track national and regional government funds.
· Discretionary audits of public corporations, publicly subsidized private organizations, and social security and welfare agencies.
· Audits of private charities who regularly receive public donations.
The NAO also carries out Value for Money (VFM) audit into the administration of public policy.
The Comptroller must authorise each requisition request received by the Bank of Tanzania from the Treasury, to assure that the request is compliant with the amounts and purposes authorised by Parliament in statute. If funds are mistakenly paid into the Consolidated Fund then both the Comptroller and the Treasury must agree to its return.
Contingency Fund
Monies in this account are used to meet the costs of urgent and unforeseen needs (For instance to cover the costs of casualties and damages caused by natural calamities)
Withdrawals are made at the President's discretion
Sovereign Wealth Fund of The United Republic of Tanzania
This is the national wealth fund of the United Republic of Tanzania.
It consists of a Reserve Fund (which is invested abroad in low-yield securities) and a National Welfare Fund.
The National Welfare Fund is further divided into;
1. A stabilisation fund, which serves as an important tool for absorbing excessive liquidity, reducing inflationary pressure and insulating the economy of Tanzania from volatility of raw material export earnings.
2. A universal health fund - free healthcare for all Tanzanians.
3. A universal education fund - free primary and secondary education for all Tanzanians.
4. An infrastructure fund (transport, energy and water & sanitation).
5. A research & innovation fund, designed to advance the nation's research community's capacity to develop innovations that can be commercialized and have an economic impact on Tanzania.
The Reserve Fund is capped at 10% of GDP, and any excess funds that the reserve fund produces are given to the National Welfare Fund. The National Welfare Fund also has accumulated monies from taxes and duties it collects on the production and export of oil, gas and other mineral exports. The Tanzania National Wealth Fund is controlled by the Ministry of Finance, and the ministry publishes a monthly report in mass media on the Fund's accumulation, spending and balance and reports quarterly and annually to the Government on accumulation, investment and spending of the Fund's capital. The Government then reports quarterly and annually on the Fund's accumulation, spending and investment of capital to both chambers of the Tanzanian Parliament (Senate and National Assembly).
[h=3]Financial courts[/h]The financial courts - national Court of Audit and regional audit courts – are unique quasi judicial bodies of the Tanzanian government charged with adjudicating cases regarding public funds brought to them by various stakeholders including the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) and the National Audit Office, though they also have the power of conducting financial and legislative audits of most public institutions and some private institutions, including the National Government, national public corporations, social security agencies and public services.
They have jurisdiction to try cases involving possible misuse of public funds, and, in some rare instances, of private funds. Neither national nor regional audit courts hear cases related to private organizations, with the few exceptions noted here. Instead, financial cases concerning private funds and money fall within the jurisdiction of the civil justice system.
They are empowered and mandated by the constitution which sets forth that Tanzanian citizens have the right to hold public officers, agents, and officials accountable for the finances they oversee and operate.
These jurisdictions act as courts in the ordinary sense of the word in some limited circumstances. That is, they judge the accounting of public accountants and may fine them in case of certain failures:
· They may fine public accountants if they are late in handing over their accounting.
· They may find that the accountant neglected to collect money owed to the state (or other government) or, through negligence, unduly gave away state (or other government) money. The responsibility of the public accountant in those circumstances is personal and unlimited, meaning that he or she has to refund all lost money. Because of this possibility, all public accountants must have external warranty as well as insurance. In practice, many public accountants can not refund these monies, and the Minister of Finance may end up pardoning the debt.
· They may find that somebody or some organization did accounting operations on public funds whereas they were not public accountants. In those circumstances, they are found to be de facto public accountants and they face the same constraints and penalties as de jure public accountants.
However, the court cannot try government ministers, or (in almost all cases), local elected officials; thus, with few exceptions, the only public accountants that face the court are civil servants.
If the Court of Audit or the regional chambers discern criminal behaviour in the accounts that they audit, they refer the matter to the appropriate criminal court.
Most of the activity of the Court of Audit and the regional chambers is not of a judicial kind; rather, they act as a general auditing system. However, even for these activities, they act with almost complete independence of both the executive and the legislative branches.
The court and chambers may advise, or reprimand, ministries, administrations and public establishments that they audited.
The court and chamber publish a yearly report in which it discusses a selection of misuses of funds and other incidents. In addition, they may also publish specialized reports. The court and chambers are free to inquire on whatever they wish within their field of competency; the court may also be commissioned reports by Parliament.
In all these advisory and publishing activities, the court and chambers do not limit themselves to pure accounting issues, but they also take the efficiency of public services into account. They may, for instance, criticize an expense that was legally ordered and accounted for, but which was inappropriate with respect to criteria of good financial management.
Regional and local governments' finances
The Regional Governments rely on the National Government for financial support, with a given percent of the national government's revenues, as determined by law, being shared among the regions
The Revenue Allocations Commission recommends a formula, which takes various parameters into account such as regional population, land area, basic equal share, regional poverty index etc. to be used for sharing these monies.
The Regional Governments also collect taxes such as property tax and all taxes on beer and gambling. However, the National Government controls the major revenue bases (income tax, cars, customs, corporate tax, VAT etc.)
The National Government imposes few restrictions on how revenue sharing money is used by the regions, for the belief that locally elected officials are more efficient at determining local needs.
The local governments generate their own revenues from selling of services e.g. water, electricity, gas, waste disposal e.t.c.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
The various law enforcement departments include
I. The Police Force – This is headed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP). It is charged with the day to day maintenance of law and order in the country.
II. Special Forces – Examples are Coast Guard, Tanzania Wildlife Service (TWS), Tanzania Forestry Service (TFS), National Youth Service (NYS), The Peace Corps, The Prisons Service, The Public Health Service e.t.c.
III. Field Force Unit (FFU) – These are highly trained, highly skilled and heavily armed personnel that are called to action in cases where rapid response to a given situation is required. They are also charged with the protection of dignitaries.
IV. Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS) – This is the primary organ through which the state gathers intelligence information. It is divided into five departments
Administrative department
Internal Intelligence Department
External Intelligence Department
Information Technology Department
National Intelligence Academy
V. Armed Forces – These are the Military forces of the United Republic of Tanzania
The President is the military's overall head, and helps form military policy with the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs acting as the primary organ by which military policy is carried out
The Minister for defence is second in the military's chain of command and serves as the principal assistant to the president in all MoDVA related affairs
To coordinate military action with diplomacy, the President has an advisory National Security Council headed by a National Security Advisor
The composition of the National Security Council is as follows
President
Vice President (statutory)
Prime Minister (statutory)
Minister for foreign affairs (statutory)
Minister for defence (statutory)
Minister for home affairs (non statutory)
Minister for finance (non statutory)
Chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – statutory military advisor
Director of National Intelligence – statutory intelligence advisor
National Security Advisor
Attorney General
The military is further divided into the Army, Navy and Air Force.
REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS
Tanzania is a unitary state. However, power has been delegated through devolution to each of its regions, plus the semi-autonomous island region of Zanzibar. The country is divided into 30 regions, namely;
| Region | Capital | Area(km[SUP]2[/SUP]) |
| Tabora | Tabora | 76,151 |
| Morogoro | Morogoro | 70,799 |
| Lindi | Lindi | 67,000 |
| Ruvuma | Songea | 66,477 |
| Mbeya | Mbeya | 62,420 |
| Singida | Singida | 49,437 |
| Manyara | Babati | 47,913 |
| Katavi | Mpanda | 45,843 |
| Kigoma | Kigoma | 45,066 |
| Dodoma | Dodoma | 41,311 |
| Kagera | Bukoba | 39,627 |
| Iringa | Iringa | 35,503 |
| Arusha | Arusha | 34,516 |
| Pwani | Kibaha | 32,407 |
| Mara | Musoma | 31,150 |
| Tanga | Tanga | 27,348 |
| Simiyu | Bariadi | 25,212 |
| Rukwa | Sumbawanga | 22,792 |
| Njombe | Njombe | 21,347 |
| Geita | Geita | 20,054 |
| Shinyanga | Shinyanga | 18,901 |
| Mtwara | Mtwara | 16,707 |
| Kilimanjaro | Moshi | 13,209 |
| Mwanza | Mwanza | 9,467 |
| Dar es Salaam | Dar es Salaam | 1,393 |
| Zanzibar | Zanzibar city | 2,650 |
Each of these regions has a regional government consisting of a regional executive committee and a regional assembly (baraza la wawakilishi), and are under Governors and Lieutenant Governors, who are the chief executives and deputy chief executives of the regions respectively.
The regional assemblies' members are elected from single member constituencies known as wards. There are also a number of nominated members as is necessary to ensure that neither male nor female members constitute more than two-thirds of the assembly.
Each region has an executive council, consisting of
1. A Governor in whom the executive authority of the region is vested. He/she is chosen by the regional assembly during its first meeting after a regional election and is sworn into office by the President of the United Republic of Tanzania.
2. A lieutenant governor nominated by the Governor and approved by the regional assembly. He/she is the secretary to the regional executive council and heads the region's public service.
3. A number of council members not exceeding ten, appointed by the governor from the regional assembly members. The MECs (Members of the Executive Council) are effectively ministers and the Executive Council a cabinet at the regional level.
The Governors have the power to hire and fire MECs at their own discretion. Also, in order for an act of the regional legislature to become law, the governor must sign it.
The Governor and the Executive Council are responsible for implementing regional legislation, along with any national legislation assigned to the regions. They set regional policy and manage the departments of the regional government; their actions are subject to the national constitution and the regional constitution (in the case of Zanzibar, which is the only region with a constitution).
Governors can only cease to hold office if either they resign or are fired by the President of the United Republic, at whose pleasure they serve. The President of the United Republic of Tanzania can dissolve an entire regional government if he sees fit to do so.
The national constitution provides a complete structure for regional government and each regional constitution, if adopted, must be consistent with the national constitution.
[h=2]ELECTIONS IN TANZANIA[/h]
General elections are held once every four years and are conducted by the Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
The two major national elections (elections held on a national level) are the election of the President of the United Republic and the election of members of the Parliament of Tanzania. Two-round runoff voting is used when electing the President, senators are chosen under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and National Assembly members are elected under the plurality (first-past-the-post) electoral system.
After a national election and the swearing in of the new President, the incumbent Prime Minister offers the resignation of his/her government, which acts as care-taker government until when a new government is formed, to the new President. The President then invites the leader of the party with majority seats in the national assembly to take over as Premier.
Regional and local government elections are usually held a few months prior to the national elections. In regional and local government elections, people vote for their local and regional leaders (senators, regional assembly members and local councillors). Note that these elections are held on a staggered basis; the 30 regions are grouped into 2 so that 15 regions hold elections every 4 years.
The regional assemblies choose their governor during their first meeting after a regional election.
Voters are Tanzanian citizens over the age of 18, who are registered on the voters roll. Currently, all youths reaching the age of 18 are automatically registered. Citizens living abroad register to vote at the embassies or consulates of Tanzania responsible for their region.
