The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Faraja Jube
11 July 2008
Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda yesterday reiterated his stance that Zanzibar is not a sovereign country, rejecting the Isles' Attorney-General's assertion that he may have erred in his earlier interpretation of its status.
Mr Pinda, for a second time in a week, told Parliament in Dodoma that Zanzibar "cannot be a country outside the United Republic of Tanzania".
The Prime Minister maintained that what he had said earlier in the week was correct, arguing that it was backed by relevant sections of the constitutions of both Zanzibar and the United Republic of Tanzania.
He was answering a question by the leader of opposition in Parliament, Mr Hamad Rashid Mohammed, during the Prime Minister's question session.
Mr Mohammed, the Civic United Front (CUF) MP for Wawi in Pemba, had asked Mr Pinda to give the Union Government's response to AG Iddi Pandu Hassan, who told the Isles' House of Representatives on Tuesday that Zanzibar is, indeed, a country.
Mr Pandu had told the representatives that Mr Pinda had erred by saying that Zanzibar was not a country and could, therefore, not exercise sovereignty outside the Union Government.
According to Mr Pandu, the Prime Minister either had a slip of the tongue or misinterpreted the constitutional provisions.
"The Prime Minister slipped a bit like many other human beings but he knows that Zanzibar is a country save for his translation of English words into Kiswahili that confuse nation and state," Mr Pandu said to thunderous applause in the House.
Mr Pandu said Zanzibar is a country with full constitutional authority to exercise its powers. He said that Mr Pinda had only mixed up the words nation and State.
"Mr Speaker, I would like to allay fears among the representatives and the public by stating that Zanzibar is a country, according to the Constitution. Our colleague, the Prime Minister, merely slipped on the issue," Mr Pandu said.
The Attorney-General said that following the unification of the former Tanganyika and Zanzibar, the latter retained its authority as a country and state that was independent but without a separate nationhood.
He said that as a consequence of the union, Zanzibar lost its nationhood, as did Tanganyika, when the founding fathers of the two countries, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and Sheikh Abedi Karume, decided to enter into the arrangement.
Yesterday, Mr Pinda insisted that he was the one on the right and asked that the attorneys-general of the Union Government and Zanzibar to meet and address any constitutional confusion that may have arisen.
The Prime Minister said the controversy surrounding the issue might have arisen from the interpretation of the language used in the provisions of the constitution as to whether Zanzibar is a sovereign state, nation or country.
"I think the controversy originates from interpretation of the clauses. It might be better for the attorneys-general from both sides to sit down and look into the matter, and, if it is necessary, forward the issue to the constitutional court for clarification," Mr Pinda said.
"I have keenly followed up the hot debate that transpired in the Zanzibar House of Representatives over the statement I made last week on the status of Zanzibar within the United Republic of Tanzania," he said.
"Chapter One, Sections 1 and 2 sub-section 1 of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania state that Tanzania is one state and is a sovereign united republic, and that its territory consists of the whole area of Tanzania Mainland and the whole areas of Tanzania Zanzibar and includes the territorial waters," he added.
"Chapter One, Section 1 and 2 sub-section 1 of the Zanzibar Constitution states that Zanzibar is part of the United Republic of Tanzania, and consists of Unguja and Pemba Isles with all other surrounding isles, which before the union, were part of the People's Republic of Zanzibar."
The Premier went on to quote Chapter 9, Sections 1 and 2 of the Zanzibar Constitution, which states that Zanzibar is a democratic country with full fledged social rights and its authority originate from the public."
Last Tuesday, members of the House of Representatives from both the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) disagreed with Mr Pinda's interpretation of the issue and demanded that the Zanzibar Government clarify their country's status.
The minister of State in the Chief Minister's Office, Mr Hamza Hassan Juma, was among those angered by Mr Pinda's remark that Zanzibar was not an independent country outside the Union Government within which it can only exercise its sovereignty.
Mr Juma warned that people issuing statements that undermine Zanzibar's sovereignty would come to regret it. Zanzibar, he added, was a state like any other in the world.
The heated contributions during the Isles' Budget debate, which echoed the deep-seated suspicions in the Union, forced the Zanzibar Attorney-General to come up with a statement clarifying the position.
During the debate, the members called for constitutional amendments, which would also recognise the Zanzibar's President as the Vice-President in the Union Government.
Currently, President Amani Abedi Karume of Zanzibar is not the Union Government's Vice-President. Dr Mohamed Shein, who was President Jakaya Kikwete's running mate in the 2005 General Election, holds that position.
Contributing to the Budget of the President's Office on the Constitution and Good Governance, the Zanzibar representatives said that constitutionally, there is no country called "Tanzania" but the "United Republic of Tanzania", as a result of the unification of Zanzibar and Tanganyika.
A nominated representative, Mr Ali Mzee Ali, said that Zanzibar is a state and "will continue to be a state forever". He said statements referring to Zanzibar as not a state "are in bad taste and could lead to the break-up of the union.
"I have heard unusual statements, including that of the Prime Minister, who said Zanzibar is not a state yet the Constitution of Zanzibar says in chapter two that "Zanzibar shall be a state and it will always be," said Mr Ali, to applause from fellow representatives.
He cautioned against statements referring to Zanzibar as not being a state. "I don't want to witness Zanzibar breaking away from the union since there are many counties that united like us but didn't last long," added Mr Ali.
Mr Ali said that the Republic of Tanzania came into being after the Zanzibar Revolution of January 12, 1964, which formed Zanzibar as a sovereign state. It was later united with the Tanganyika to form Tanzania, with Mwalimu Nyerere as the President and Sheikh Karume, as the Vice-President.
He said that as a state, Zanzibar has a President, a House of Representatives, and a judiciary, which are the criteria of a sovereign state.
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