As I was preparing to write this article, I received
the sad news of the death of veteran politician Edward Ngoyai Lowassa. I wish therefore, before proceeding with
today’s topic, which is indicated in the heading above, to pay tribute to our
fallen leader. I first got to know Edward Lowassa when I was
elected to Parliament as Member for Ukerewe, and Deputy Speaker of the National
Assembly; as a result of the 1990 general election. That is when I came into
close contact with Hon. Edward Lowassa, who had been appointed ‘Minister of
State’ in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), and whose docket included
responsibility for Parliamentary Affairs. He was a trustworthy leader, with
many leadership endowments.
His most notable impact on the politics of Tanzania, emerged during the 2015 Presidential election; when he failed to secure nomination by his political party CCM, and defected to the CHADEMA led coalition of Opposition political parties (UKAWA); where he was duly nominated. When the election results were announced, he had secured such a huge number of votes (the kind that had never before been garnered by the opposition parties combined); which nearly “chilled CCM to the bones”. But his defection was only an exercise in domestic ‘political tourism’; for he subsequently returned to his home base in CCM. May his departed soul rest in eternal peace. Amen.
The passage of the ‘reconciliation’ legislative Bills.
On Friday, 2nd February 2024; the National Assembly (Bunge) unanimously passed three crucial ‘political Reform’ Bills. This is the first leg in the process of enacting statutes, which will be completed when they receive the President’s Assent. That is when they will become law. These new laws will, indeed significantly, re-shape our political landscape; for they will have addressed some of the long-standing grievances that have been voiced repeatedly by the opposition political parties, regarding what they consider having been an “uneven political playing field” It is for that reason that “all eyes were focused on Bunge, when the House was debating these Bills.
For the benefit of those of our readers who may not be sufficiently familiar with the law-making process, I should explain that the function of enacting statutes is what brings the two ‘arms’ of Parliament together. Parliament’s two arms are the National Assembly (Bunge), and the President of the United Republic. What this means, is that the legislative Bills which are passed by the National Assembly, must be assented to by the President, for them to become part of the law of the land.
To satisfy the President that a given Bill has indeed been passed by the National Assembly, the Clerk of the National Assembly personally must sign a certificate to that effect, which is printed at the bottom of every such Bill, before it is submitted to the President for his action. In that connection, I cherish my memory of the days when I was the holder of that position (for nearly a decade) from 9th December, 1962; during which, all of the Acts of Parliament that were enacted, invariably carried my signature on the relevant certificates.
Thus, as soon as the process of reprinting these Bills to include all the amendments which were introduced during the National Assembly debates, they will be submitted to President Samia for her constitutional Assent; which, of course, will be promptly given; considering the fact that they are a major step forward in the implementation of her innovative “4Rs” philosophy.
The relevant Bills.
The three Bills being referred to are: (i) the National Electoral Commission Bill; (ii) The Presidential, Parliamentary, Parliamentary, and Local Elections Bill; and (iii) The Political Parties Affairs (Amendment) Bill. They had been introduced in the National Assembly for the ‘First Reading’ stage, in November 2023. The process, which was completed on Friday 2nd February 2024, included the ‘Second Reading’, the ‘Committee of the whole House’, and the final ‘Third Reading’ stages. When the President’s Assent has been obtained, they will be published in the official Gazette of the Union government, for the information of the general public.
The passage of ‘National Electoral Commission Bill. Is of particular significance, especially for the welcome political reliefs that will be gained from its implementation. This is because the complaints that the National Electoral Commission “lacks independence” has been raised constantly by the Opposition parties, whenever they lost the elections, starting from their loss of the first multiparty general election of 1995. The passage of this Bill has, at last, provided this long awaited “independent Electoral Commission”.
The complete parliamentary legislative process.
What is stated above regarding the National Assembly stages in the process of passing a legislative Bill, is only a part of the elaborate legislative process that is always undertaken by the National Assembly in this particular regard. Thus, in the presumptive belief that there are many individuals among our readers, who are not so well informed about the Parliamentary processes, but some of whom are desirous of (or have the positive ambition) of becoming Parliamentarians, I will take this opportunity to enhance their knowledge and understanding of this important Bunge process, which is as follows: -
All proposals for ‘new’ or ‘amendment’ legislation, are submitted to the National Assembly in the form of Bills. A ‘Bill’ in this context, simply means ‘a draft for a new law’. It may be an entirely new law, or a proposal to amend an existing law. Such Bills are submitted to the National Assembly either by a member of the government (a Minister, or the Attorney General), in which case it is called a “Government Bill”; or it may be submitted by an ordinary Member of Parliament (MP), in which case it is called a “Private Member’s Bill”. The preliminary process.
The Rules provide that all such Bills must be published in the official Government Gazette, not less than twenty-one days before they can be introduced in the National Assembly for the ‘First Reading” stage. The published document must show the full text of the Bill, plus a statement of its objectives and reasons. There is also a requirement for a second publication of such Bills which must be done not later than seven days after the first publication.
His most notable impact on the politics of Tanzania, emerged during the 2015 Presidential election; when he failed to secure nomination by his political party CCM, and defected to the CHADEMA led coalition of Opposition political parties (UKAWA); where he was duly nominated. When the election results were announced, he had secured such a huge number of votes (the kind that had never before been garnered by the opposition parties combined); which nearly “chilled CCM to the bones”. But his defection was only an exercise in domestic ‘political tourism’; for he subsequently returned to his home base in CCM. May his departed soul rest in eternal peace. Amen.
The passage of the ‘reconciliation’ legislative Bills.
On Friday, 2nd February 2024; the National Assembly (Bunge) unanimously passed three crucial ‘political Reform’ Bills. This is the first leg in the process of enacting statutes, which will be completed when they receive the President’s Assent. That is when they will become law. These new laws will, indeed significantly, re-shape our political landscape; for they will have addressed some of the long-standing grievances that have been voiced repeatedly by the opposition political parties, regarding what they consider having been an “uneven political playing field” It is for that reason that “all eyes were focused on Bunge, when the House was debating these Bills.
For the benefit of those of our readers who may not be sufficiently familiar with the law-making process, I should explain that the function of enacting statutes is what brings the two ‘arms’ of Parliament together. Parliament’s two arms are the National Assembly (Bunge), and the President of the United Republic. What this means, is that the legislative Bills which are passed by the National Assembly, must be assented to by the President, for them to become part of the law of the land.
To satisfy the President that a given Bill has indeed been passed by the National Assembly, the Clerk of the National Assembly personally must sign a certificate to that effect, which is printed at the bottom of every such Bill, before it is submitted to the President for his action. In that connection, I cherish my memory of the days when I was the holder of that position (for nearly a decade) from 9th December, 1962; during which, all of the Acts of Parliament that were enacted, invariably carried my signature on the relevant certificates.
Thus, as soon as the process of reprinting these Bills to include all the amendments which were introduced during the National Assembly debates, they will be submitted to President Samia for her constitutional Assent; which, of course, will be promptly given; considering the fact that they are a major step forward in the implementation of her innovative “4Rs” philosophy.
The relevant Bills.
The three Bills being referred to are: (i) the National Electoral Commission Bill; (ii) The Presidential, Parliamentary, Parliamentary, and Local Elections Bill; and (iii) The Political Parties Affairs (Amendment) Bill. They had been introduced in the National Assembly for the ‘First Reading’ stage, in November 2023. The process, which was completed on Friday 2nd February 2024, included the ‘Second Reading’, the ‘Committee of the whole House’, and the final ‘Third Reading’ stages. When the President’s Assent has been obtained, they will be published in the official Gazette of the Union government, for the information of the general public.
The passage of ‘National Electoral Commission Bill. Is of particular significance, especially for the welcome political reliefs that will be gained from its implementation. This is because the complaints that the National Electoral Commission “lacks independence” has been raised constantly by the Opposition parties, whenever they lost the elections, starting from their loss of the first multiparty general election of 1995. The passage of this Bill has, at last, provided this long awaited “independent Electoral Commission”.
The complete parliamentary legislative process.
What is stated above regarding the National Assembly stages in the process of passing a legislative Bill, is only a part of the elaborate legislative process that is always undertaken by the National Assembly in this particular regard. Thus, in the presumptive belief that there are many individuals among our readers, who are not so well informed about the Parliamentary processes, but some of whom are desirous of (or have the positive ambition) of becoming Parliamentarians, I will take this opportunity to enhance their knowledge and understanding of this important Bunge process, which is as follows: -
All proposals for ‘new’ or ‘amendment’ legislation, are submitted to the National Assembly in the form of Bills. A ‘Bill’ in this context, simply means ‘a draft for a new law’. It may be an entirely new law, or a proposal to amend an existing law. Such Bills are submitted to the National Assembly either by a member of the government (a Minister, or the Attorney General), in which case it is called a “Government Bill”; or it may be submitted by an ordinary Member of Parliament (MP), in which case it is called a “Private Member’s Bill”. The preliminary process.
The Rules provide that all such Bills must be published in the official Government Gazette, not less than twenty-one days before they can be introduced in the National Assembly for the ‘First Reading” stage. The published document must show the full text of the Bill, plus a statement of its objectives and reasons. There is also a requirement for a second publication of such Bills which must be done not later than seven days after the first publication.
These rules were
made for the purpose of giving the Members of Parliament sufficient time to
read, and digest, the proposed Bills, in order to enable them to make adequate
preparations for debating them in the House, when the time comes. An essential
step in these preparations, is the Bills’ consideration in the appropriate Standing
committees of the National Assembly. It is the Speaker’s function to allocate
such Bills to the relevant committees, which are required to conduct “public
hearing” sessions, in order to collect the views and opinions of the general public,
on these proposals.
The underlying
principle of this exercise is that of involving “people’s participation” in the
law-making process. This is important, and indeed necessary, based on the concept that most, if not all ‘legislative
Bills’ have, in reality, two specific aspects; the obvious one is the legal aspect, but the other is the political aspect. The legal aspects are
normally taken care of by the Parliamentary draftsman; but the political
aspects are not his responsibility.
This
is where the “public hearing” process plays a very crucial role, because the
participants will hopefully be looking at the merits, and demerits of the
relevant Bill, from the point of view of the general community.
The process within
the National Assembly.
We briefly referred above to the ‘three readings’ stages of this process. The “First Reading’ is purely a formal stage, intended to put on record the fact the relevant Bill has been formally received by the National Assembly. This is simply done by the Clerk of the National Assembly. only reading the ‘long title’ of the Bill. No discussion takes place at this stage. And if the Speaker has not yet referred the said Bill to the appropriate Standing committee of the Assembly, he will do that immediately thereafter. The committee has no power to make any amendments to it, but can recommend, in its Report to the House, that such amendments to be made.
The ‘Second Reading’ takes place at a time decided by the Speaker, which is usually the next meeting of the House. The proceedings take place on a motion formally moved by the Minister responsible for that Bill, in the words “that the Bill be now read a Second time” and proceeds to provide an elaboration on its contents. The Minister is followed by the Chairperson of the relevant committee, who will present the committee’s Report, outlining the considered views and opinions of the committee, and detailing all its recommendations. Thereafter, where the House has an ‘Official Opposition’, the “shadow Minister” then takes the floor, to present the views of their side of the House.
When all these formal presentations are completed, that is when the motion is ready for general debate by the House. Upon completion of this general debate, the Bill is referred to the “Committee of the whole House, which actually consists of all the MPs present, sitting as one committee.
Its function is to give detailed consideration of the Bill, clause by clause, giving approval to each of the clauses, when fully satisfied. This gives an opportunity to any Member wishing to make comments on any of the clauses to do so.
The ‘Third Reading’ stage.
This is the final stage in that elaborate process. It takes place immediately after the ‘Committee of the whole House’ has completed its consideration of all the Bill’s clauses. The House then resumes its business; and the Minister responsible for that Bill, reports on the proceedings of the committee; and moves another motion, requesting the House to give final approval to that Bill. A voice vote is then taken. If the majority of the MPs present say “YES” (which is normally the case), the Bill is deemed to have been duly passed by the National Assembly; and the Clerk again reads its ‘long title’.
Assent to Bills by the President
There is a theoretical possibility of the President refusing to give his/her Assent to a Bill, which is provided for in article 97 (2) of the Constitution, which also provides for the procedure to be followed in the event of this happening; namely that, if that happens, and the National Assembly again passes the same Bill, with not less than two-thirds majority of all its Members, and is re-submitted to the President for his Assent; then he is obliged to give that Assent, within twenty on days. Failing which, he must dissolve Parliament, in order to allow for new elections to take place.
We briefly referred above to the ‘three readings’ stages of this process. The “First Reading’ is purely a formal stage, intended to put on record the fact the relevant Bill has been formally received by the National Assembly. This is simply done by the Clerk of the National Assembly. only reading the ‘long title’ of the Bill. No discussion takes place at this stage. And if the Speaker has not yet referred the said Bill to the appropriate Standing committee of the Assembly, he will do that immediately thereafter. The committee has no power to make any amendments to it, but can recommend, in its Report to the House, that such amendments to be made.
The ‘Second Reading’ takes place at a time decided by the Speaker, which is usually the next meeting of the House. The proceedings take place on a motion formally moved by the Minister responsible for that Bill, in the words “that the Bill be now read a Second time” and proceeds to provide an elaboration on its contents. The Minister is followed by the Chairperson of the relevant committee, who will present the committee’s Report, outlining the considered views and opinions of the committee, and detailing all its recommendations. Thereafter, where the House has an ‘Official Opposition’, the “shadow Minister” then takes the floor, to present the views of their side of the House.
When all these formal presentations are completed, that is when the motion is ready for general debate by the House. Upon completion of this general debate, the Bill is referred to the “Committee of the whole House, which actually consists of all the MPs present, sitting as one committee.
Its function is to give detailed consideration of the Bill, clause by clause, giving approval to each of the clauses, when fully satisfied. This gives an opportunity to any Member wishing to make comments on any of the clauses to do so.
The ‘Third Reading’ stage.
This is the final stage in that elaborate process. It takes place immediately after the ‘Committee of the whole House’ has completed its consideration of all the Bill’s clauses. The House then resumes its business; and the Minister responsible for that Bill, reports on the proceedings of the committee; and moves another motion, requesting the House to give final approval to that Bill. A voice vote is then taken. If the majority of the MPs present say “YES” (which is normally the case), the Bill is deemed to have been duly passed by the National Assembly; and the Clerk again reads its ‘long title’.
Assent to Bills by the President
There is a theoretical possibility of the President refusing to give his/her Assent to a Bill, which is provided for in article 97 (2) of the Constitution, which also provides for the procedure to be followed in the event of this happening; namely that, if that happens, and the National Assembly again passes the same Bill, with not less than two-thirds majority of all its Members, and is re-submitted to the President for his Assent; then he is obliged to give that Assent, within twenty on days. Failing which, he must dissolve Parliament, in order to allow for new elections to take place.
However, in our case (where practically all
the Bills that are submitted to the National Assembly, are ‘Government Bills)’,
this is absolutely inconceivable, and it cannot possibly happen. I
cannot recall the ‘crazy’ reason why this provision found its way into our
constitution, and I have purposely described it as a ‘crazy” provision, simply
because, it actually provides for a very serious, and politically unhealthy
confrontation, between the President and the National Assembly. It will
probably never happen. piomsekwa@gmail.com
/0754767576.
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