Parliament performance this week was put on a slate during debate, with MPs complaining that the law making organ is a letdown to the public.
Debating the 2014/2015 budget discussion, some MPs expressed dissatisfaction with discussion among legislators who complained about the budget but supported it, while being aware that it cannot be implemented.
They took issues with the government’s failure to adopt recommendations by the parliamentary budget committee which required the government to identify and take up new sources of revenue.
The Treasury’s failure in the 2014/15 Budget to incorporate new revenue sources proposed in Parliament, according to the Budget Committee chairman Andrew Chenge, is evidence of a lack of creativity and commitment in fixing the deficit that affected implementation of development projects.
He wondered why despite a number of proposals made in the House, the National Budget was laden with the same traditional revenue sources.
The government’s expenditure trend was even more worrisome, as it spent more than what it collected each year, said Mr Chenge who was presenting the committee report on the 2014/2015 government financial plan.
“This challenge arises from indiscipline in public expenditure,” he said, asserting that the first step in the Five-Year National Development Strategy is to reduce tax exemptions to the minimum, particularly discretionary ones, which the government has not fully done.
Tax exemptions, the strategy says, currently are not well monitored and cost the government 3.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually.
Secondly, the state was supposed to bring in the informal sector and tax incomes that are not channelled through the payroll and invest in infrastructure projects meeting strict selection criteria.
Tanzanians making earnings abroad are another potential source of revenue mobilisation. Though official statistics are not readily available, it is estimated, for example, that there are about 100,000 Tanzanians in the UK alone.
By encouraging such Tanzanians to invest back home, and given a well formulated system, the government could significantly increase revenue collection through taxes on domestic investments and businesses of such Tanzanians living abroad.
The government could create a conducive environment for this to happen, including enactment of an Act on dual citizenship, improvement in banking processes, reduction in costs of money transfers and facilitating remittances.
But reacting to this, Muhambe MP Felix Mkosamali (NCCR-Mageuzi) blamed Mr. Chenge for complaining so much about the government’s failure to adopt those recommendations, saying the legislature need to put in place legislation to ensure the government acts within the frame set out by what is approved by Parliament.
He said the ruling party should support a motion to have such law enacted as the aim is to improve government performance.
“This Parliament is not serious because it decides on important matters but the government does nothing and no action is taken… Instead people just complain here, and still we have powers to change things,” he said.
He said the country cannot move ahead if Parliament cannot play its watchdog role effectively, noting that it was a shame in the eyes of the public.
He accused the Budget Committee of taking a lot of money in sitting allowances yet it was not doing enough to change the trend, instead of just complaining about government’s failures to listen and to heed House proposals.
Earlier in the week, Special Seats MP Engineer Stella Manyanya (CCM), blamed fellow legislators for insincerity in the House, saying they were not doing enough to help improve lives of the people.
Many Tanzanians were living in abject poverty and the MPs were not doing everything possible to rescue them, she said.
“You talk of improving agriculture but rural based farmers have not been reached…..we are all here not changing policies and laws to make their lives easier,” she said.
According to the Rukwa Regional Commissioner, politicians should support initiatives aimed at improving living standards of the poor Tanzanians.
Contributing on the debate, Special Seats MP, Chiku Abwao (Chadema) also wondered why all recommendations made by the Budget Committee are neglected by the government.
“Why do we have to approve such budgets every year…..if the government cannot listen to parliamentary committee something should be done,” she declared.
Chonga MP Haroub Muhammad Shamis (CUF) also wondered why MPs keep on passing such budget despite a lot of complaints from the floor.
He argued that the 2014/2015 budget is not in line with the 2025 vision which requires a 10 percent economic growth rate yet it shows a one percent economic growth rate increase over the previous year or less.
“If the trend continues, it will take the country 30 years to achieve the 2025 vision and Parliament has remained a toothless bull dog and cannot take any measures,” said Mr Shamis.
Parliamentarians just complain and finally pass the budget, the CUF legislator intoned.
