Kingunge: Don’t attack Warioba

Constituency Assembly (CA) member Kingunge Ngombale-Mwiru speaks at the CA in Dodoma yesterday. PHOTO|HABEL CHIDAWALI 

By  Sturmius Mtweve ,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

Mr Ngombale-Mwiru said the stalemate could only be resolved through win-win negotiations.

Dodoma. Politicians have been warned against disparaging former Constitution Review Commission chairman Joseph Warioba and his team.

Constituent Assembly (CA) member Kingunge Ngombale-Mwiru, called on his colleagues to focus on core issues of the second draft constitution instead of attacking personalities.

“Our role is not to attack Judge Warioba, but to deliberate on the second draft constitution before us. Stop using CCM to tarnish the image of Warioba and his team…the party believes in respect and integrity,” Mr Ngombale-Mwiru said.

He noted that people had entrusted CA members with the task of going through the draft of the new constitution in a bid to address major socioeconomic challenges.

“The major challenge facing our people is abject poverty, as one third of Tanzanians - equivalent to 15 million people - live below a dollar per day. These are the challenges this constitution should focus on removing,” he said.

He ruled out the possibility of the two-third majority vote threshold which is required to make changes in the new constitution, given the existing hostile political atmosphere.

Mr Ngombale-Mwiru said the stalemate could only be resolved through win-win negotiations.

He expressed disappointment following the boycott of the Coalition of Defenders of the People’s Constitution (Ukawa) last week.

“The Ukawa members have shown a big weakness. I beseech them and their sympathisers as well to return to the Assembly to continue with the process of writing the constitution Tanzanians want,” said Mr Ngombale-Mwiru. The House, which was adjourned yesterday, is expected to resume in August