According to the draft unveiled in Dar es Salaam Wednesday, the task force calls for a Federal Union state with two provinces.
The group, chaired by Professor Ibrahim Lipumba said there should be a
Federal Republic of Tanzania while Zanzibar and Tanganyika become its
two Provinces with respective Governors.
The Zero draft was presented for brainstorming by the Permanent
Committee for Implementation of a Strategic Plan for Demand of the New
Constitution and Independent Electoral Commission.
Members of the civil society, political parties, religious institutions
and the academia were invited for brainstorming and recommendation at
Blue Pearl hotel in Dar es Salaam.
The draft shows that the head of the new Federal Government will be the
President of the Federal Republic assisted closely by two Governors
from each Province under the new model.
…In order to do away with prevailing controversy and disagreement over
the governance of the union, stakeholders have proposed a Federal
Government model…, the document notes.
The Judiciary under the new model will have the Federal Court of Appeal
as the superior judiciary body, the High Court of Tanganyika and the
High Court of Zanzibar.
Similarly, changes in the law-making body structure will lead to the
formation of the Federal National Assembly, Tanganyika House of
Representatives and Zanzibar House of Representatives.
Under the new Government model the President will have no powers to
appoint Judges, Members of Parliament and officials to National
Electoral Commission.
Instead, the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal in
consultation with the Chief Justice of Tanganyika and Zanzibar and the
Judicial Service Commission will appoint judges to the Federal Court of
Appeal of Tanzania.
Enhance equality
Presenting the framework of the new constitution to stakeholders, Prof
Lipumba said the draft that will be presented to the Government is
subject to public vetting and scrutiny.
The essence of this development according to Doctor Sengodo Mvungi, a
member of the technical team is to enhance equality and parallel
competence of the three pillars of the Government.
The lack of supremacy of powers of one organ of the State over the
other, according to Dr Mvungi would enhance the checks and balances.
While removing powers for appointments from the President, the proposed
constitution maintains traditional immunities and the privileges
enjoyed by the head of State.
Different sectors
The document has also echoed a representative Electoral Commission
comprising of members /delegates from different sectors of the society.
Members to the electoral organ as indicated in the zero draft include,
among others, representatives of each political party with Presidential
candidates, and contestants in at least ten constituencies.
The list of representatives also includes one representative from civil
societies dealing in public administration, one representative of
Christian and Islamic institutions, and an ex-officio representing the
office of Registrar of Political Parties, Attorney General's Office,
Police Force and the Treasury.
The Chairman of the Federal Electoral body will be elected among delegates to the commission.
Will be women
Other notable changes echoed in the document include limitation in
number of Parliamentarians to just 300, directly elected MPs to the
Federal Assembly, MPs elected on basis of proportional representation
in the Federal assembly of whom 30 per cent will be women, five MPs
elected from each House of representatives of whom 30 per cent are
women and national parliamentarians.
Candidates who score at least 10 percent of the total votes won by the
President of the Federal Government in Presidential rate will
automatically qualify for national parliamentarian posts.