11th August 2010
Lawyers: One clause against union constitution
Union leaders: Give us time to study document
The House of Representatives
Zanzibar`s 10th Constitutional amendment unanimously endorsed by the House of Representatives on Monday has sparked mixed reaction on the statehood of the Isles.
Proposals for the constitutional amendment were tabled by Zanzibar Minister of State in the Presidents Office (Constitutional Affairs and Good Governance), Ramadhan Abdallah Shaaban, also endorsed the formation of national unity government after the October General Election.
According to the minister, Section 1 of the Isles Constitution will be rephrased to read Zanzibar is a state whose territory will be the whole areas of Unguja and Pemba and other surrounding islands and territorial waters, which before the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, were recognised as Peoples Republic of Zanzibar.
Constitutional lawyers said such amendment needed approval by two thirds of the Union Parliament and two thirds from the House of Representatives.
Dr Sengondo Mvungi, a constitutional lawyer and lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) said endorsing the amendments means having two sovereign states within the Union structure.
Thats why I am saying by that Act, Zanzibar House of Representatives have automatically dissolved the Union between the two sides
lets speak the truth, said Mvungi.
The Union constitution, Section 1 states that Tanzania is one state, and is a sovereign United Republic including Zanzibar. Section 2 (i) of the Union constitution states that the territory of the United Republic of Tanzania includes the whole areas on Tanzania Mainland and Tanzania Zanzibar, including territorial waters, he said.
Union government leaders would not comment on the amendment, stressing that they will only do so after they have read the full document approved by the House in Zanzibar.
In a telephone interview, the
Attorney General, Frederick Werema would only say: Give me time to study the proposed amendments before giving my comment.
This is a sensitive issue, which I cannot comment on before studying the document.
The
Minister of Constitutional Affairs and Justice, Mathias Chikawe, also declined to comment saying: Let me go through the proposed amendments before giving my comments.
The issue touches on the Union between the two sides.
The
Minister of State in the Vice-Presidents Office (Union Matters), Mohamed Seif Khatib when reached for comment on the fate of the Union in the wake of the amendment said: I have
just read about the constitutional amendments in newspapers. Remember thats a constitutional issue
I cannot comment from the air
I
need enough time to read amendments before making my comments.
The 75 Members of the House of Representatives on Monday unanimously endorsed the Islands 10th constitutional amendments paving the way for a formation of the government of national unity after the October general election.
The House also introduced new clauses in the Isles constitution which seek to recognise Zanzibar as sovereign state.
Moving the constitutional amendment bill motion, Zanzibar Minister of State (Constitutional and good Governance), Ramadhani Abdallah Shaabani, said the new clause in the amendment defined Zanzibar one of two countries that form the United Republic of Tanzania. According to the minister, Sections 1 and 2 of the Zanzibar constitution identifying Zanzibar as part of the United Republic of Tanzania will be deleted from the constitution.
Harold Sungusia, a human rights lawyer told The Guardian yesterday the decision by the Zanzibar House of Representatives to amend the Isles constitution so that Zanzibar could be recognised as a state within the Union may create constitutional conflicts between the Union and Zanzibar governments.
Personally, I am worried that such a decision may create contradiction in the running of the Union and Zanzibar governments. Amendments need to be made to the Union constitution to accommodate such changes (Isles constitutional amendments), said Sungusia.
He however, declined more details saying It is not possible to talk about such a sensitive issue without studying the proposed amendments to the Isles constitution. Currently, he said, the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) is studying the document of the proposed constitutional amendments with a view of coming up with a comprehensive statement on the issue.
There has been heated debate between 2008 and early last year among Union and Zanzibar leaders and politicians over whether Zanzibar was a state or not.
The majority of Zanzibaris led by members of the House of Representatives were irritated by the statement that Zanzibar was not a state but only part of the United Republic of Tanzania.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN