Mzindakaya: Bunge losing direction

“We have many educated MPs now than ever before, but their conduct raises more questions than answers…Let our MPs act courteously and not thuggishly.” MR Chrisant mzindakaya, ex-lawmaker The Citizen Reporter Dar es Salaam. MPs should strive to strengthen national unity irrespectuve of political leanings, longtime CCM member Chrisant Mzindakaya said yesterday.  In so doing, the National Assembly will remain focused, he said, warning that Parliament had lost its authority. Mr Mzindakaya also urged CCM MPs to stop confrontational politics with opposition parties and instead concentrate on implementing their party’s election manifesto. Mr Mzindakaya, who served as a Kwela MP for decades, told a news conference that failure to implement the CCM Election Manifesto could make the MPs lose their seats in the 2015 polls.Apart from politics, Mr Mzindakaya also served as a minister and regional commissioner.  “Tanzania is now a leading country in the world when it comes to noisy politics while its economy is reeling,” noted Mr Mzindakaya, who is also the National Development Corporation (NDC) board chairman.“It’s a shame and annoying to see such antics taking place in the august House,” he said. Recently, four Chadema MPs were thrown out of the House for allegedly violating Parliamentary Standing Orders. Booing, heckling and talking back to the Speaker or session chairs have become commonplace in the House. “The integrity of a person is not about academic qualifications but his or her acts. We have many educated MPs now than ever before, but their conduct raises more questions than answers…Let our MPs act courteously and not thuggishly,” he cautioned. He called on poorly performing ministers to step down because they are accountable for their mistakes of those committed by their subordinates.  He also said CCM members who were habouring the ambition to succeed President Jakaya Kikwete in the 2015 General Election should hold their horses and concentrate on implementing their party’s manifesto first. He asked the government to heed advice of former leaders.  “It’s shocking to see a ward or district leader is opposing a statement by a former president or a prime minister. This is indiscipline.”He proposed that a body be set up to enable retired leaders to have a forum of advising the government.