NEW CONSTITUTION: Why Katiba team has proposed three-tier union again

Dar es Salaam. The second draft constitution unveiled yesterday proposes a three-tier union.

The ruling CCM is fiercely opposed to the set-up, which was also recommended in the first draft published earlier this year.

But Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) chairman Joseph Warioba, said yesterday that the decision to settle for a three-government union was reached after a “deep, thoughtful and critical analysis” of alternatives, adding that this was aimed at  safeguarding the 1964 merger between Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

CCM favours the current two-government setup, but Mr Warioba, speaking before handing over the draft to President Jakaya Kikwete and Zanzibar President Ali Mohammed Shein, said a major rethink of union issues was required for the present system to work effectively.

He, however, added that introducing such changes was virtually impossible under the prevailing circumstances.

Mr Warioba noted, for instance, that for the structure to work, the Union government, which is seen to be leaning towards Tanzania mainland in implementation of the development agenda, should be given more powers, something Zanzibar would not be ready to accept.

“After listening to what people have said about the Union and weighing them, we have settled for three governments,” said the former prime minister, adding that this reflected the position of the majority of people who gave their opinion to CRC.

Mr Warioba said more than 61 per cent of Tanzanians from the Mainland favoured a three-tier union,  13 per cent wanted one government and 24 opted for the current system.

In Zanzibar, 34 per cent of people who gave their views said the current system should be retained, 0.1 per cent proposed a single government  and 60 per cent preferred a treaty-based union.

“After getting these statistics we reviewed some studies on Union matters, including the 1999 Nyalali Commission report and the position of the G55 group of MPs who proposed a three-tier government system...we confirmed that reasons given for a review of the union system were the same as those raised by people who aired their views,” he said.

Mr Warioba outlined three reasons from each part of the Union that were given to justify a review  of the system.

He said Mainlanders argued that Zanzibar was already a sovereign state since it has its own constitution, flag, national anthem and its own government.

They further argued that by amending its constitution, the Zanzibar government had assumed some of the Union government’s powers.

“They argued that by tabling in the House of Representatives laws passed by the Union Parliament before they come into effect in Zanzibar made the Zanzibar constitution superior to the Union constitution,” Mr Warioba said.

He added that most of Zanzibaris felt that the Union government favoured the Mainland over the Isles and that Zanzibar had lost its autonomy and identity.

After going through the complaints, Mr Warioba said CRC concluded that the Union government, which is required to handle union matters and non-union matters in Tanzania Mainland as per the 1977 Constitution, was mainly focusing on the Mainland when it comes to development.

Mr Warioba said the commission considered all union setups that were proposed, and concluded that a three-tier union was the best for the country in the prevailing circumstances.

He said although one government was the logical choice for a strong union, few Zanzibaris would accept the idea.

CRC considered the current Union system, and reached the conclusion that many things were supposed to be done and some, if carried out, could lead to a constitutional crisis.

“Since Tanzania is one country, a law passed by the Union Parliament is supposed to be used in both parts of the Union without any condition, but to do that, Zanzibar’s constitution has to be amended,” Mr Warioba said.

“We thought that that would be very difficult because in order to amend Zanzibar’s constitution, a referendum must be held...we found this to be impracticable.”

Among some notable changes CRC has recommended in the draft constitution is the separation of foreign affairs and international relations.

Elaborating, Mr. Warioba said while foreign affairs should continue to be treated as a union issue, each country should be at liberty when it comes to international relations.

In order to protect the country from challenges arising from a three-tier government system, CRC has come up with three proposals.

It recommended that there should be only one citizenship – that all people should be the citizens of United Republic of Tanzania.

Mr Warioba said under this recommendation, all Tanzanians should have equal political, economic and social rights in both parts of the Union.

THE CITIZEN TANZANIA: