Tanzania: Bashiru - Membe Can Still Appeal His Expulsion From Ruling Party

CCM secretary general Bashiru 

By Samuel Kamndaya

Dar es Salaam — CCM secretary general Bashiru Ally said yesterday that former Cabinet minister Bernard Membe can appeal his expulsion from the party, or decide to vie for the presidency through

any registered opposition political party.

Last week, CCM's Central Committee expelled Mr Membe from the party. It also reprimanded former secretary-general Abdulrahman Kinana, while another former secretary general, Mr Yusuf Makamba, was pardoned after he reportedly apologised.

The trio had been probed by the party's Ethics Committee over "disciplinary" issues.

In a rejoinder, Mr Membe told The Citizen's sister paper Mwananchi last Friday that his expulsion from CCM was a deliberate move to prevent him from challenging President John Magufuli for the ruling party's ticket for the presidential race later in October this year.

Asked if his expulsion had in any way dimmed his dream to run for the top political office on the land, the former Mtama MP and long-serving foreign affairs minister, said "dreams do not die".

He told Mwananchi that he was not surprised at the decision and said he knew about it over a month ago.

"The problem is the presidency. They should not bother twisting (the truth)... that ooh its ethics or what I have not done. The real issue is the presidency," said Mr Membe in a telephone interview.

But, speaking to Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL) editors yesterday, Dr Ally said he believed Mr Membe needed time to reflect on the party's decision and probably, utilise the party's appeals' hierarchy.

"If he is sure that he was axed due to the presidency, then let me say that his punishment has nothing to do with national laws. It only has something to do with CCM's rules and procedures and therefore, he can still contest on the ticket of any other party and we meet in the 'political playground' as the General Election approaches," said Dr Ally.

He said the decision by the CCM's Central Committee can be challenged through an appeal at the party's 170-member National Executive Council (NEC).

"It is the NEC that should ultimately endorse a decision by the 24-member Central Committee. Mr Membe needs to consult with colleagues and well wishers. He needs counselling for I understand that the punishment is harsh and he needs time to reflect on it," he said.

Being secretary-general, said Dr Ally, he acts as secretary to all of the party's decision-making organs, saying he was not surprised when Mr Membe said the decision to axe him from the party was merely the making of the CCM chairman [President Magufuli] and its secretary (Dr Ally himself).

"He must carry his own cross," said Dr Ally.

Being secretary general, said Dr Ally, he was the one to receive Mr Membe's grievances against the decision [if at all there is].

"I cannot write to inform him about the central committee's decision until it (the decision) is endorsed by the NEC. What if the NEC finally decides that he be forgiven?" he stressed.

Dr Ally wished Mr Membe all the best in his political endeavours, noting however that he would be happy to welcome him back as a new member of the ruling party.

"I have signed 14 letters for former members who have returned to the ruling party. I am the one who welcomed former prime ministers Edward Lowassa and Frederick Sumaye. I will be happy to welcome Mr Membe back one day and I am sure, he will return," he said.

Dr Ally, who formerly taught political science at the University of Dar es Salaam, called upon his party's followers to desist from the allure of celebrating when CCM axes one of its members.

"We should celebrate when they return. Losing a member is as bad as death," he said.

During the party's NEC meeting in Mwanza in December last year, it was resolved that the trio be summoned before the party's national security and ethics committee and respond to ethical allegations facing them.

The CCM's NEC also received, discussed and endorsed a report by the party's national security and ethics committee in which its chairman, President John Magufuli, forgave three party members who had asked for clemency from him after they had admitted to have breached the party's ethics.

The three were Mr January Makamba, Mr Nape Nnauye and Mr William Ngeleja who are all members of Parliament and once served as cabinet ministers.

CCM 'is worth Sh1 trillion'

Forget about his candid and professionally-balanced analyses of politics, the first time that Tanzanians came to know about Dr Ally's involvement in active politics was in December 2017 when CCM chairman, President Magufuli, appointed him to head a committee charged with accurately determining the ruling party's assets and liabilities.

While others believe that his elevation to the CCM secretary general was informed by the role he played in that committee, Dr Ally says he has been in active politics since his days as a secondary school student.

But that may not be a big deal, the issue now is that CCM is 20 times richer than it was initially thought.

"Our committee aimed at sealing the loopholes through which some individuals and organisations were using the party's funds to their own advantages. We have now realised that CCM's total properties are valued at Sh1 trillion," he said.

Before President Magufuli became the party's national chairman, the assumption was that the ruling party had assets worth Sh50 billion only.

He said the party has a total of Sh31 billion in its bank account, up from only Sh3 billion those days. "And this does not mean that we are keeping the money idle. We are spending the money in line with the party's needs and requirements," he said.

The party, he said, has put in place effective records and systems governing its finances and that the work ahead was on how to design an investment strategy that will make CCM a financially stable outfit that was completely independent.

"We do not intend to become a rich party. We just want to be independent financially," he said.

Fresh start on new constitution

If you thought Dr Ally does not support the idea of having a new Republican constitution, then you are way off the mark.

The idea - which he strongly supported during his days as a political science lecturer - remains intact in his brain but only that he had to tweak it so it can resonate with the party whose secretary general he now is and that the process must start afresh.

"The New Constitution debate is a healthy one which we must nurture. We must keep discussing so we can reach a common ground on issues that must be in the mother law," Dr Ally told MCL editors yesterday.

Former President Jakaya Kikwete tried to deliver a new constitution during his leadership but the efforts proved futile when politicians stuck to their parties' standpoints during the Constituent Assembly.

Key on the parties' differences was the issue pertaining to the type of union to be adopted between Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar.

While CCM - which boasts of its numerical strength in the law-making body - stuck to its two-government system, the opposition was for a three-government one which was proposed by the Joseph Warioba-led Constitutional Review Commission.

Looking back, the CCM chief executive officer, says he does not believe the new constitution - which the Constituent Assembly had finally delivered during the late days of Mr Kikwete's presidency - could be resuscitated. "That's food gone bad. We must start afresh," he said, noting however that a fresh constitution must be delivered in the foreseeable future. "When exactly, that I cannot say; but it is necessary".

The key ideology in the constitution that Dr Ally supports should be one that articulates Tanzania's political and economic freedom.

The constitution should compel any party that comes to power to protect the rights, freedom, the equality and the humanity of everyone in Tanzania. "As political parties, our policies must be based on these principles. As we go out during campaigns, we must tell voters on how best we can protect these issues," he said.

Independent Electoral Commission

It is CCM's view that some claims by the opposition that the National Electoral Commission (NEC must be reinstituted so it can be independent are somewhat misguided.

"NECis there according to the law and must not be swayed... .Our role as players in the electoral process is to ensure that NEC gets the needed trust and financial support so it can perform its tasks properly," he said.

As rightly promised by President Magufuli and repeated by Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation minister Palamagamba Kabudi, Dr Ally also believes the October General Election will be free and fair and that CCM will go through it parties yield in line with what they had sowed.

Are security organs working for CCM?

The arrest of the leader of opposition in Parliament, Mr Freeman Mbowe, shortly after he concluded a public rally in his constituency on Friday last week was not an isolated case for the opposition but to Dr Ally that should not be construed to mean that the police force was the ruling party's propaganda machinery. "We have 10 million members countrywide. Those that come to join us do not come by order from the police force," he said, insisting that criminal offences were being committed by people irrespective of their political inclinations.

He said as secretary general for the ruling party, he recalls to have been ordered to issue explanations on several occasions regarding misconducts of some of his party cadres by the Registrar of Political Parties.

Will CCM disburse Sh50 million per village?

In its 2015 election manifesto, CCM told voters that it would disburse Sh50 million in each and every village. With the 2020 General Election just around the corner, the pledge has not been implemented. However, if you think that that will be a boon to the opposition, then Dr Ally will show how to prove you wrong.

What President Magufuli's administration did as soon as it assumed the power to govern Tanzania was that it embarked on an analysis of what to start with. "So we started with free education," he said.

The decision to not immediately disburse Sh50 million per village also came after the government realised that the cooperative societies that were to be channels of disbursing the cash were also in bad shape technically. "So if were to disburse the cash, we would be sending most top officials for cooperative societies to the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) for questioning," he said.

The government has also connected electricity to households across 8,000 villages as part of the implementation of the Sh50 million per village pledge. In the same vein, the Magufuli administration came up with a policy that directs district and municipal councils to direct 10 per cent of their development budgets in form of interest-free loans to women, youths and the disabled in their areas.

Is CCM bribing opposition members?

Tanzania has experienced a new form of politics during the past four years where over 3,000 councilors and about 13 MPs - who were elected on tickets of opposition parties - decamped to the ruling party. The opposition believes the ruling party was using its financial muscles to muzzle the opposition in such a way that some of them were being bribed or given leadership position after decamping.

Vivid examples include Mr Mwita Waitara who became deputy minister as well as Mr Patrobas Katambi and Mr Julius Mtatiro, among others, who were appointed district commissioners after becoming CCM members. But according to Dr Ally, the appointments were purely based on merit. "How much money would be required to bribe Edward Lowassa, Frederick Sumaye and Vincent Mashinji to decamp to CCM?" he enquired, noting that many more opposition members would soon decamp to the ruling party.