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Survey: Some lawmakers not up to the mark
2008-05-08 10:00:07
By Angel Navuri
Some voters in the country have expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of a number of lawmakers, saying they were inactive in bringing development to their respective constituencies, The Guardian has leant.
A countrywide survey conducted for a week has shown that rural areas that have many voters are the most vulnerable in terms of development.
``Since we elected our MP, he has never come back to us. He is in town. Development to us is a pipe dream,`` said Ally Hassan of Inshinablandi village in Shinyanga.
He charged that most people who fight sought to represent people in Parliament did so for their own personal interest, but not for the benefit of their constituents.
He said politicians, including MPs, often gave false promises to the voters in their quest for an elective post.
``When they come to us asking for votes, they give us a lot of promises including solving some of our problems, but after that they never fulfil their pledges,`` he said.``
Salma Mohamed from Mtwara Rural District explained that when an aspirant had got what they wanted they won`t even visit the constituency unless it was absolutely necessary.
She said being an MP should not be an excuse to pay a visit to the constituency.
``They always pretend to be busy in the city and don`t think of even paying a visit to the constituency. They don`t have to visit the place every day but at least once a month would be reasonable,`` she said.
Alon Mlenga from Mapogoro Village in Iringa Region said some MPs became rude to their electorate, forgetting that they would need their votes again in the coming election.
``Sometimes the MPs use very rude language when the people confront them with problems they want solved, and if they don`t show the way or come up with a solution the people lose confidence in them because they know they won`t do anything to help them,`` said Mlenga
He explained that sometimes an MP won`t even call a meeting to meet with the people and listen to their problems or their options that they would like to share with them.
Dotnata Geme of Makifu village in Iringa said often development in most areas was brought about through the cooperation of the people by raising funds.
She said the area MP was expected to give support to their people when they are busy struggling to make ends meet and not to be just an on-looker.
``The government should enact a law that will force non-performing MPs to step down even if they were elected by the people,`` said Gospaline Sade of Mapogoro area in Iringa.
She said such a law spur MPs into action and improve their performance and hence bring development to their respective areas.
When contacted for comment, National Assembly Speaker Samuel Sitta explained that non-performing MPs were normally disciplined by their parties.
``So far there is no punishment for such MPs,`` he said. He explained that in other countries there were laws that forced MPs who were performing poorly to step down.
He however noted that an MP could not solve most of the problems facing a constituency as their solution mostly depended on government budget.
Sitta however, added that often an active MP could be a catalyst development in their constituency while an inactive lawmaker would be a stumbling block to development.
Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) secretary general Yusuf Makamba said it was up to the voters themselves to decided whether or not to retain a legislator whom they viewed as uncommitted.
Makamba said such MPs could only be disciplined by the voters themselves in the 2010 elections by not voting for them.
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