MPs: Leaders a cause of land disputes in the country

 

 SOME political leaders and government officials at district levels have been cited to be the main cause of some of the crisis especially those linked to farmers and pastoralists which are taking place in some parts in the country, the Parliament has been informed. Contributing to the report of the Parliamentary committee on defense and security which was tabled yesterday, some legislators said that there are greedy politicians and district executives who are perpetrating the situation for their interests and are not willing to serve the public for the interest of the nation. They have however, wondered as to why the government does not show a keen interest to solve the matter which is seen to be growing at an alarming rate an aspect that is likely to breach peace in those ravaged areas. Juma Nkamia (CCM) Kondoa South, said that, many rural crisis are caused as a result of failure by district executives to solve such matters which have left many people in destitute state as some have their houses torched  Citing the situation in his constituency, he said that, the situation is not all that good between farmers and pastoralists as most district executives have been showing their weakness in solving such matters by favoring one side mostly pastoralists. Moses Machali (NCCR-Mageuzi) Kasulu urban has accused members of the committee for their failure to take legal action against district executives including District Commissioners who also serves the capacity of being district security officers  in the country whom they visited and informed of their bad performance as far as security in the district is concerned. He named Kasulu district Commissioner Danny Makanga for what he did to in his constituency and noted that, the top most district government official has been favouring pastoralists whenever farmers in the area raises complaints for help, and undoubtedly no action is taken so far to help them. The legislator has strongly blamed his district commissioner for having not talking the issue into a broader perspective, and hence his people are suffering in pain. A 21 paged report has ashamed other legislators in the house especially of the opposition camp when it has highlighted the issue of the bomb that exploded at a Saint Joseph Catholic Church, of the Olasiti in Arusha city. Godless Lema (Chadema) Arusha urban wondered why the committee did not give a detailed report of a bomb that had exploded at a political meeting which his party Chadema had convened at Soweto grounds in its normal progressive campaign of membership awareness in a public rally. He queried and noted that, the committee did not do the right thing bearing the fact that, the two terrorist incidences had happened in one place and almost at a closer date, that one should not have forgotten it as all that suffered are Tanzanians irrespective of the political affiliations.

The National Assembly building for Tanzania as it looks from outside

He said that, there are some crisis which are caused by government officials who do not take people’s interests as normal citizens of this country, but tend to show their actions as to b e favoring the ruling party.  When reading the report on behalf of the Chairperson of the committee Anna Abdallah, the Namtumbo legislator (CCM) Vita Kawawa highlighted various issues as part of the implementation of the committee between March and November 2013. He said together with various challenges facing the ministry defense in the country, the committee has discovered that, the government is still faced with lack of enough sophisticated rescue drilling machines from the crumble of a collapsed building. Also he noted that, the government does not also have enough rescue marine equipment from any marine disaster in the country and many others. He said, the continued lack of these rescuing equipments in the country would cause numerous deaths of people who got trapped in a particular marine disaster. Apart from rescue equipments, the committee has also discovered that, long term debts the government has not paid to food suppliers to prisoners in the country mostly  due to budget constraint, an aspect that the government spends Sh. 500 to each prisoner instead of the recommended Sh. 3,500 per each one of them per day. The report further noted that, there is a high congestion of inmates in most prisons in the country which has now become a hard core problem that needs to be rectified. Contributing on the issue, Diana Mkumbo Chilolo (CCM) special seat said that, this is unfair and totally inhuman. She said adding that, the government should quicken the process of paying the suppliers’ debts in order to let them supply enough food for inmates in prisons. She has also called on the government to pay attention to some important matters as related to transport issue for police staff, magistrates who are working under serious hard conditions in some rural areas in the country in order to facilitate the people’s cases a cause of which she said rural look at important quicken the payments of magistrates in rural areas, as these arte noticed to be among the factors causing poor performance of such sensitive government organ when it comes to human rights. She advised measure to be taken by the committee which stands for the parole in prisons to allow prisoners convicted in shorter terms to serve their sentences under approbation.