Tabora — National Assembly Speaker Samuel Sitta said yesterday that he would continue to wage war on grand corruption and other forms of impropriety.

Mr Sitta made the remarks when addressing a well-attended rally at Tabora's Ali Hassan Mwinyi Stadium.

"I'll always make decisions which are for the good of the majority. I firmly believe that God is with me, and I'll never relent," he said during the meeting organised by religious leaders.

Mr Sitta warned of the emergence of a group of individuals who wanted all people to believe them and give in to their whims even if that was not the right thing to do.

"There is a group of people who have been circulating misleading information and forcing people to believe it I'm not going to accept that because I know they are wrong,"he said.

His wife, Margaret, supported her husband, saying he was selflessly serving law-abiding and upright Tanzanians.

"To us, life is just a journey the benefit of living is in death," Mrs Sitta, who is also the Community Development, Gender and Children minister, told the rally.

Earlier, Mr Sitta accused his detractors of deliberately distorting the truth with regard to what transpired during last week's CCM National Executive Committee meeting.

Mr Sitta, who is also a member of CCM's Central Committee, told a news conference in his Urambo Constituency that he was also "deeply disappointed and concerned" with the way CCM headquarters was handling resolutions passed by NEC.

Mr Sitta was speaking in the wake of reports that powerful members within CCM, who are apparently unhappy with the way he is presiding over the National Assembly, had sought his expulsion from the party last week.

He especially took issue with reports that he had apologised profusely during the meeting.

"There are a lot of rumours flying around with regard to what transpired in the NEC meeting. As a disciplined leader, I would not like to discuss what happened because the party decided during the meeting to form a committee that will look into these issues.

"I, however, would like to ask all those circulating rumours to the effect that I apologised and asked for forgiveness to make it clear what did I apologise for. I'm saying this because we all know that that the session was not convened to grill me,"Mr Sitta said.

He defended his conduct and Parliament, saying the august House was operating according to rules and regulations governing the legislature.

"The National Assembly operates according to laid down rules and regulations. Members who want to make any contribution first notify the Clerk of the National Assembly it's not true that there is a person who has been lining people up to debate any issue," Mr Sitta said.

On what transpired during the recent NEC meeting, Mr Sitta said it was annoying to see individual members "circulating lies" about the meeting's resolutions while the party headquarters had already issued a statement on what was decided.

"The meeting decided to form a three-member committee to look into the conduct of CCM parliamentarians. The committee will question MPs and other people, and we expect to get the results of its work in October at the earliest.

It's amazing that some people have already issued damaging statements even before the committee has started its work," he said.

He added that it was unfortunate that party headquarters had decided to remain silent as members issued contradicting statements on what was agreed during the NEC meeting.

Commenting on the reception he received in Urambo, Mr Sitta thanked all those who turned up to welcome him, but expressed his disappointment over reports that some regional CCM leaders were ordered not to take part in the reception.

He said no such order was given when CCM members such as Mr Edward Lowassa and Mr Andrew Chenge were received with pomp and fanfare in their constituencies after resigning from top government positions, adding that this pointed to the existence of double standards within the party.

CCM sources in Tabora said regional leaders were warned against organising a grand reception for Mr Sitta as part of a relentless campaign to clip his political wings and curb his influence within the party.

The warning was reportedly issued after the campaign to have Mr Sitta expelled from CCM during the NEC meeting failed.

But Urambo residents on Saturday turned up in their hundreds to receive Mr Sitta when he arrived in his constituency for the first time since the NEC meeting.

Observers have warned that CCM's clampdown on outspoken MPs would have negative consequences on the ruling party.

They said what happened in Dodoma last week was testimony to deep divisions in the ruling party, adding that this could ultimately lead to its demise.

But the party's secretary general, Mr Yusuf Makamba, has denied suggestions that the party had been split into feuding factions.

He said divergent views within the party were a healthy sign of democracy at work, contrary to other parties in which "decisions are made by a few people or even one person."