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Katiba review team gets set to go

The Chairman of the Constitutional Review Commission, Judge Joseph Warioba

TANZANIANS from all walks of life have been invited to air their opinions towards the re-writing of the constitution. They have been urged to do so without fear or limitation.

The Chairman of the Constitutional Review Commission, Judge Joseph Warioba, told a news conference in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday that his team will start collecting views from the people soon.

"We are ready to receive views without any restrictions. Even those who think the Union between Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar should be scrapped are also free to give their opinions," the retired judge and former first vice-president and prime minister said.
He cautioned contributors against impatience, urging them to air their views without using abusive language or insulting other people.

"One should be able to listen to what others are contributing even if he/she does not agree with the respective view," he said.
Apart from public meetings that would be conducted countrywide, Tanzanians are also free to send in their contributions through phone, e-mail, blogs as well as social networks such facebook and twitter.

Judge Warioba also advised Tanzanians who would make contributions towards the new constitution to avoid making complaints and instead go straight to the point. "Had it been possible, we would want to get opinions from all Tanzanians. This is, however, impossible given the geography of our country," he observed, adding:

"Nevertheless, the commission will strive to ensure that it gets views that stand for a majority of Tanzanians."  The 30-people commission will be split into seven groups and each will  visit different regions in the country where it would spend a month in each, save for smaller regions.

To start with, eight regions of Dodoma, Kagera, South Pemba, South Unguja as well as Manyara, Pwani, Shinyanga and Tabora, would be visited, according to Judge Warioba.   On the other hand, he said, the commission has recognised that there is a need to educate the people on issues that would be considered in the new constitution, noting that uninformed people would not be in a position to make productive suggestions.