AFTER a heated debate in the National Assembly yesterday the government withdrew in the last minute the Framework for the second five-year development plan 2016/17-2020/2021 due to technicality slip-ups.
Finance and Planning Minister Dr Philip
Mpango made the withdrawal following the directive by Presiding
Chairperson, Mr Andrew Chenge, few minutes after the august House had
resumed its evening session.
At the heart of the matter, according to
Mr Chenge, were a number of technical faults which led to the tabling
of the motion contrary to the Standing Orders.
The former Attorney General and seasoned
lawyer stressed however that the technical mix-up did not in any way
violate the constitution of the land as claimed by some lawmakers from
the opposition.
“The government should have brought
before the House a sketch of the plan for legislators to put their
contributions after which the final version is presented before them. I
now advice the government to come up with the draft.
“It should as well be understood that
the annual and five-year development plans are usually presented to MPs
in a seminar and not full house session.
This is usually done in March before the
budget framework,” he explained. Mr Chenge noted further that even if
the assembly was to discuss the draft plan it should have done so as the
House Planning Committee rather than Full House Session.
“On the other hand, we were required to
suspend some Standing Orders to accommodate the time change since the
plans are required to be debated during the October/November session,”
he explained.
Earlier in the morning session, the
government came under fire from opposition for presenting the frame work
rather than the second five-year development plan for 2016/17 to
2020/21 as required by Standing Orders of the assembly and the
Constitution of the land.
Mr Chenge was forced to prematurely
adjourn the morning meeting at 12:23 for more consultations after a
number of legislators from the opposition sought the guidance of the
chair in regard to the matter.
The move by the opposition MPs followed
the tabling and presentation of the framework in the august House by the
Finance Minister, outlining government’s priorities for the next five
years. Shorty after the minister’s presentation, a number of opposition
legislators stood up, seeking the guidance of the chair. Kigoma Urban MP
Zitto Kabwe (ACT-Maendeleo) charged that it was improper for the House
to entertain the framework rather than the plan.
His sentiments were echoed by the
Opposition Chief Whip, Mr Tundu Lissu (Singida East-Chadema), who cited
Section 63 (3) (c) of the constitution which requires the National
Assembly to discuss both long and short term development projects to be
presented by the government.
The Standing Orders of the assembly as
well requires annual development plans to be debated during the October/
November meetings. “What the minister has presented before us is not
the plan but just a framework and this is contrary to the Standing
Orders and the constitution,” Mr Lissu charged.
After the MPs made their arguments, Mr
Chenge said he would think over them and issue a ruling at a later
stage. He went on to call the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee
on Budget, Ms Hawa Ghasia (Mtwara Rural-CCM), to present the views of
the committee.
As Ms Ghasia was presenting the report
of the committee, some MPs from the opposition were seen moving around
consulting with each other and the same was happening for cabinet
ministers.
When it was time for the opposition to
present its views Mr Chenge called in Mr David Silinde (Momba-Chadema)
who took to the podium but would not present the report which had been
tabled earlier by the camp.
“We came here to discuss the plan but
what is before us is a draft. The opposition camp will not present its
views unless the government makes changes on the document,” Mr Silinde
said as he left the podium.
Mr Chenge for his part wondered as to
why the opposition was not ready to present a report it had earlier
tabled as required by the Standing Orders.
At this juncture, Mr Chenge decided to
adjourn the session for consultations until the evening meeting where he
made the directive to the Minister to withdraw the motion to which he
did straight away.
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