‘Village leaders must tackle disputes’

SUNDAY NEWS Reporter

PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has said Local Government Authorities have immensely contributed to disputes between communities in the country for not holding regular meetings as stipulated by the law.

Mr Majaliwa told the National Assembly when moving a motion to adjourn the sixth session of the eleventh parliament in Dodoma that in his subsequent tours of various regions he received a lot of complaints from citizens that most of the problems that bedeviled them were not solved on time at village, street and ward levels.

“The main intention of the Fifth Phase Government is to help all Tanzanians regardless of their locations, but I have realised that some of the problems that ought to be solved at village level are forwarded to national authorities or are waiting for tours of leaders in the executive,’’ he insisted.

The Premier asked district and regional leaders to visit their villages and look for final solutions to problems that afflict residents in those areas. At the same time, Mr Majaliwa said all meetings provided for in the by-laws should be timely conducted with the minutes forwarded to decision making bodies.

He further asked legislators who are part of the District Councils, to supervise closely on the directive. The Local Government Act suggests that after every three months, there should be village general meetings as well as holding of meetings if the need arises.

According to the Premier, failure to look for solutions to problems facing people was against the government’s plan and equally against article 146(1) of the country’s Laws. The constitution clearly states that the purpose of having local government authorities is to transfer Local authority to the people.

Local government authorities shall have the right and Government power to participate, and to involve the people, in the planning and implementation of development programmes within their respective areas and of 1984 generally throughout the country.

“Ward Executive Officers (WEOs), Village Executive Officers (VEOs) and local government leaders have obligations to preside over statutory meetings and table income and expenditure reports in their respective areas,’’ said Mr Majaliwa. He further directed district and regional leaders to inculcate a culture of visiting citizens in their areas to solve problems afflicting them.

Mr Majaliwa also asked District Executive Directors (DEDs) countrywide to supervise efficiently regular meetings of the villages and streets as provided for by the law including instituting appropriate actions against leaders who would fail to implement the directive.

Meanwhile, Mr Majaliwa insisted that every household should have a reserve of food so that the nation can have proper food security. “As the government struggles to make sure that the nation has enough food, it is equally the obligation of every family to ensure that it has its own reserve