Allowances here to stay, says PM

Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda yesterday ruled out the possibility of allowances budgeted for in the 2011/12 financial year being scrapped.Answering a question in Parliament, Mr Pinda said those advocating the scrapping of allowance allocations in the Budget should understand that it was a constitutional issue.
“This is a constitutional issue, and there is no way the government can act without following due procedure, which can take a long time,” Mr Pinda said when answering Mr Mohamed Habib Mnyaa (Mkanyageni-CUF), who had asked the Prime Minister to state the government’s stand on the debate on whether or not MPs should receive sitting allowance.

Mr Pinda said Article 73 of the Constitution talked about MPs’ benefits, making parliamentarians’ sitting allowances a constitutional matter that could not be changed through the pressure of one person. He added, however, there was no problem if an MP chose to forfeit his or her allowance, saying the money could be used for other purposes.

“I think there is no problem if an MP directs that his or her allowance be kept by the Treasury for other uses... this is not the first time that such a decision has been made,” Mr Pinda said. Chadema legislators, led by Mr Zitto Kabwe, have been demanding for the scrapping of sitting allowance, saying it was not justified.

Mr Kabwe, the Kigoma North MP, has argued that MPs and civil servants were being paid salaries monthly, and do not deserve extra payment when they go about their official duties. But Mr Pinda said he doubted whether Chadema arrived at the decision out of patriotism. Earlier, Mr Mnyaa said the allowance debate had caused hostility between MPs and voters, with the latter thinking that parliamentarians were squandering public resources.

He accused some MPs and the media of misleading the public, and asked the Prime Minister to clarify on the matter. Mr Pinda said there were two types of allowances –discretionary and non-discretionary. He added that the government had no powers to suspend payment of discretionary allowances, but could do so with discretionary allowances.

Mr Pinda said MPs’ sitting allowance was discretionary, and was recognised under the law and therefore could not be scrapped arbitrarily. The Prime Minister said Chadema MPs were being insincere by claiming that they do not need allowances.
“Chadema MPs may be supporting the idea, but they know deep down that they desperately need the money,” he said, adding that there was nothing wrong if MPs used their allowances to help their voters. On whether the government would take legal measures against those opposed to allowances, which were enshrined in the Constitution, Mr Pinda said there was no need to reach that stage.

“I don’t think that we need to reach that stage as the issue is not as big as some people think…it is a very minor issue.”Mr Pinda added his voice to the debate that has attracted the attention of a number of prominent individuals, including former German president Horst Kohler, who on Wednesday warned that the government’s image was at stake.

Prof Kohler said in Dar es Salaam that donors were closely monitoring the debate, adding that it might end up tarnishing the government’s image before development partners if it was not handled properly. Responding to a question during a dialogue at Movenpick Hotel, he said the debate did not present a good picture of the country’s expenditure priorities.

Prof Kohler felt that it was not in order for a country like Tanzania, which received substantial assistance from donor countries, to set aside huge sums as allowances for government officials, who were also being paid salaries. Giving an example of his own country, he said: “In Germany, such officials have to foot their own bills while attending official duties.” He added that payment of allowances was not a proper way of spending taxpayers’ money.

Prof Kohler said at the Maendeleo Dialogue, organised by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and the Tanzania Development Initiative Programme (Tadip), that Western countries were likely to react once they had all the facts on the allowances debate.

Opposition MP Zitto Kabwe has written to the Clerk of National Assembly, declining sitting allowance during Parliament’s ongoing Budget meeting in Dodoma.

Prof Kohler urged the government to uphold transparency and accountability.  He noted that Tanzania had made great strides in development, but added that a lot more needed to be done to promote the rule of law, saying this would enhance the public’s confidence in the government.