{"id":395542,"date":"2011-04-25T02:56:05","date_gmt":"2011-04-25T02:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/25\/makinda-defends-parliament\/"},"modified":"2011-04-25T02:56:05","modified_gmt":"2011-04-25T02:56:05","slug":"makinda-defends-parliament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/25\/makinda-defends-parliament\/","title":{"rendered":"Makinda Defends Parliament"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Citizen<\/a> (Dar\u00a0es\u00a0Salaam)<\/p>\n

Mkinga Mkinga<\/p>\n

24 April 2011<\/p>\n

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The Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Anne Makinda, has defended the last parliamentary session against criticism by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC).In its survey, the LHRC listed at least five areas in which the session performed poorly, but Ms Makinda told The Citizen on Sunday that it was unfortunate that the centre published its findings without consulting the National Assembly.<\/p>\n

“I’m the chief executive of Parliament, and yet I wasn’t interviewed on its conduct…I don’t think that is fair,” she said.Parliament had been successful, she added, but many failed to appreciate this because they were ignorant of how the House operates. She added that it was not possible to assess MPs and Parliament, in general, in just one session.<\/p>\n

“We have conducted three sessions since last December. The first session was largely for the swearing-in of MPs, while the second analysed the President’s speech. The third session, which ended recently, dwelt on law-making,” Ms Makinda explained.However, she conceded that most of the new MPs were not well versed in parliamentary regulations.<\/p>\n

That was why her office had started educating the first-time legislators on how the House functions, the Speaker said, adding that this would enable them to make positive contributions in the future.”We are working to ensure that all MPs are conversant with the relevant rules and regulations, and we hope that by the time we start the Budget Session in June, they will all be in the picture,” Ms Makinda said.<\/p>\n

The LHRC listed five flaws that marred the recent parliamentary session in Dodoma. The session, which ended on April 16, marked the first time the current Parliament engaged in serious debate, including discussing a Bill that had sought to review the constitution.<\/p>\n

The LHRC urged the Speaker of the National Assembly to enforce the relevant rules and regulations to ensure that Tanzanians do not lose trust in the august House.<\/p>\n

A report on the third session of the 10th Parliament shows that there are growing misunderstandings among MPs on what is expected of them.<\/p>\n

Presenting the findings, LHRC deputy executive director Imelda Urio said many MPs seemed unaware that their task was to constantly keep the government on its toes to get satisfactory answers and explanations.She said another weakness was the government’s decision to table many Bills under the certificates of urgency. This denied MPs and others a chance to thoroughly scrutinise the “rushed” Bills.<\/p>\n

“Of the five Bills that were discussed in Parliament, three were brought under certificate of urgency. We ask ourselves why they were rushed. To come up with something that is half-cooked is not in the best interest of the majority of Tanzanians. It will not be surprising if the laws resulting from the Bills will be brought to Parliament for amendment in the very near future,” Ms Urio said.<\/p>\n

Normal procedure<\/strong><\/p>\n

But Ms Makinda said tabling bills under certificate of urgency was a normal procedure. She said the Bills were brought after the respective committees were satisfied that they were in order.<\/p>\n

“Sometimes you cannot avoid emergencies… that is why there is that category of certificate of urgency,” she said, noting that had been the normal practice for years and not only in Tanzania.<\/p>\n

Bills that were brought under certificate of urgency were the Constitutional Review Bill 2011, Judiciary Administration Bill 2011 and Miscellaneous Amendments Bill 2011. Ms Makinda said she was optimistic that future sessions would be flawless after the MPs familiarised themselves with the House Standing Orders.<\/p>\n

She blamed the use of unparliamentary language by some MPs on their ignorance of the regulations.<\/p>\n

“I cannot rush to punish them straight away…a good parent doesn’t punish children before teaching them to differentiate the bad from the good…in the House, I’m just like a parent who needs to provide guidance to children,” Ms Makinda said.Commenting on partisanship during debates, which was also raised in the LHRC report, the Speaker said MPs should ignore their political affiliation when discussing issues of national interest.<\/p>\n

Asked to evaluate the august House as its head, Ms Makinda said she believed it was on the right path, although there had been problems caused by the “ignorance” of new MPs.”Some MPs think that Parliament is a forum in which to play political games. We are going to educate them on this, and I’m sure they will mend their ways,” she said.<\/p>\n

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