TANZANIA: DEMOCRATIC PROCESS STUMBLES IN PARLIAMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DAR ES SALAAM 001267

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2017
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV EAIDEGZ TZ
SUBJECT: TANZANIA: DEMOCRATIC PROCESS STUMBLES IN PARLIAMENT

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission D. Purnell Delly for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
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1. (C) In response to his questioning of an opaque and
irregular mining industry deal made by the Government of
Tanzania (GOT),a popular Member of Parliament from the
opposition CHADEMA party was recently suspended from
participating in parliamentary sessions for four months. The
blatant overstepping of parliamentary rules by the majority
CCM party backfired, resulting in public outcry across the
country. The episode is indicative of the GOT's continuing
problems with corruption, efforts to conceal corrupt
activities, public frustration at perceived strong-arming by
CCM, and the opposition's limited ability to counter the
majority party. End summary.

Background: The Buzwagi Gold Deal
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2. (SBU) The Tanzanian mining industry (primarily gold
mining) has come under intense criticism in recent years,
leading President Kikwete to direct a review of the GOT's
deals with mining companies during his December 30, 2005
inaugural address. Government and industry practices are
complicated by a Byzantine system of regulations, including
tax, transparency, and environmental rules that many GOT
officials are unable to decipher.


3. (SBU) In this context, Minister of Energy and Minerals
Nazir Karamagi flew to London in February 2007 on behalf of
the GOT to sign a contract with Barrick Tanzania (a
subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation of Canada) to allow
Barrick to develop a gold mining project in Buzwagi (northern
Tanzania). The signing of this contract was secretive and
marked by irregularities. For example, at the insistence of
Minister Karamagi, the contract was signed in a London hotel
as opposed to the Tanzania High Commission, and the text of
the contract has never been made public. It remains unclear
whether any laws were broken by the Ministry or Barrick in
the course of the deal. However, the scrutiny applied to the
deal by opposition political parties, local media, and
various civil groups, combined with the GOT's overreaction to
this scrutiny, has now developed into a political maelstrom
in its own right.

Zitto's Claims in Parliament
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4. (SBU) On July 17, Honorable Kabwe Zitto, Member of
Parliament for Kigoma North district (DOB: Sept 24, 1976),
initiated a debate on the Buzwagi deal in Parliament. Zitto
is a young, popular, outspoken member of the CHADEMA party.
Zitto criticized the deal, specifically questioning how a
particular section of the Income Tax Law of 1973 was being
applied to Barrick, why the contract had been signed at a
hotel in London, and why any contract had been signed at all
during a period when the government was ostensibly reviewing
international mining contracts following the President's
directive of December 2005. During the ensuing debate,
Minister Karamagi defended his actions and those of his
Ministry. After Karamagi's address, Zitto stated that
Karamagi had not told the truth regarding the revision of the
Income Tax Law of 1973 and its application to Barrick, and
filed a Notice of Intention to bring a private motion to
investigate the circumstances under which the deal was made.


5. (SBU) Note: On August 24, East Africa Law Society
Secretary General Alute Mughwai, who has followed the matter

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and been quoted at length discussing it in the press, told
PolOff that based on Parliamentary transcripts, neither Zitto
nor Karamagi appeared to fully understand the legal issues
they debated on July 17. However, according to Mughwai,
Zitto's motion was tabled in accordance with the standing
orders of Parliament. End Note.


6. (SBU) A month later, on August 14, Honorable Zitto made a
motion to investigate the Buzwagi deal, following up on his
earlier Notice of Intention. From the floor, he questioned
the tax treatment of Barrick, the secretive signing in
London, the absence of environmental impact assessments, and
the absence of advice from the Mining Advisory Committee
prior to the signing. Zitto's motion to form a probe of the

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deal was debated at length, and was rejected by Parliament in
a vote along strict party lines with all Members of
Parliament from the four opposition parties voting for the
probe, all CCM members against.

CCM Response: Suspend Zitto
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7. (SBU) Following the rejection of Zitto's motion, Mudhihir
Mudhihir, a CCM Member of Parliament, moved that Zitto be
penalized for making unsubstantiated statements to Parliament
and slandering Karamagi during his statements on July 17.
The motion passed, again along strict party lines, with the
result that Zitto was suspended from Parliament for a period
of four months.


8. (C) In an August 21 meeting, Member of Parliament and
CHADEMA Secretary General Wilbrod Slaa told PolCouns that
Mudhihir had attempted to make this motion several times
during the August 14 debate on Zitto's motion, but that the
Speaker of Parliament Samuel Sitta (CCM) had not granted him
the floor. According to Slaa, at one point Sitta told
Mudhihir, "It is not yet time for that," leading the
opposition to believe that the entire episode to suspend
Zitto had been plotted ahead of time within the CCM
leadership.

Public Outcry, Threats Ensue
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9. (SBU) The combination of Zitto's popularity and reputation
as a respected critic of the administration, the severity of
the punishment, and the perceived injustice both to Zitto and
his constituents led to an immediate media frenzy. Within a
week, numerous civil society groups had issued statements
condemning Parliament's action. The East Africa Law Society
(EALS) released a statement saying that the punishment was
undemocratic and contravened Parliament's standing orders.
In a conversation with PolOff, EALS Secretary General Mughwai
stated that the suspension was illegal, and likely
unconstitutional as well. Civil society groups held
demonstrations in Dar es Salaam and across the country
showing support for Honorable Zitto, and called for the
immediate resignation of Speaker of Parliament Samuel Sitta.
In a full page editorial in the August 24 "Citizen"
newspaper, Professor Issa Shivji (retired professor of law at
the University of Dar es Salaam and considered by many to be
the country's foremost legal scholar) offered scathing
criticism of the ruling party and provided detailed,
technical criticism of the majority's claims to legality in
its actions.

Punishment Overstepped Parliamentary Rules
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10. (SBU) As a technical matter, the Standing Orders of
Parliament do allow for punishment of a member who lies or
slanders another member. However, for such punishment to
occur, the member must be accused at the time he makes the
statement in question, and he must be given an opportunity to
prove that the statement is not a lie. A variety of lesser
punishments are provided for in the rules, including
suspensions of one, five, and twenty days. For third time
offenders (which Zitto was not),stiffer punishment is
allowed. In its suspension of Honorable Zitto, the majority
relied on a provision in the rules that allows Parliament to
dictate any punishment it chooses for severe infractions.
The majority ignored the rule that even in severe cases, the
accused must be given an opportunity to prove that his
statements were in fact true.


11. (SBU) In response to the public outcry, Speaker Sitta,
the Deputy Speaker, and the Clerk to the Assembly (all CCM
officials) released no less than six statements forcefully
proclaiming the legality of Parliament's action. One
statement of the Clerk to the Assembly, Damian Koka, went so
far as to warn "the so-called activists" who had protested
Parliament's suspension of Zitto that "their words aim at
misleading the public on Parliament's decision," and claiming
that as such, they violated the Law of Parliamentary
Privileges, Ethics and Powers. The Clerk added that
Parliament would not hesitate to take legal action against
any individual who violated this law.

Warning to Hon. Zitto: Watch your step

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12. (SBU) Since his suspension from Parliament, Kabwe Zitto
has embarked on a national tour to explain and rally support
for his case, promote government accountability, and campaign
against those members who engineered his suspension. As of
September 7, national and regional police issued a warning to
Zitto and others to refrain from "issuing statements that
threaten law and order" and announced that they were
launching an investigation of all Zitto's recent activities
and statements.

Comment
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13. (C) In imposing an unusually harsh punishment on a young,
popular MP for his questioning of suspicious government
activities, the CCM majority clearly underestimated the
Tanzanian public's frustration with both perceived corruption
on the part of GOT officials and the high-handed tactics the
ruling party has used to silence criticism of such officials.
While it remains unclear whether any laws were broken in the
signing of the Barrick contract, the deal has now become
synonymous with the scandals that have plagued the energy
sector in Tanzania. The CCM majority's actions in Parliament
constituted a blatant abuse of power and a threat to the
democratic process, and CCM is suffering politically from the
miscalculation.


14. (C) CCM's saving grace in this instance has been the poor
handling of a golden political opportunity by the young Kabwe
Zitto and his CHADEMA party. Instead of taking a cautious
approach, gaining public sympathy and playing the role of
reluctant martyr, Zitto has engaged on a poorly conceived
campaign to "teach a lesson" to the CCM majority - a goal he
has little chance of accomplishing. It remains to be seen
whether the opposition will be able to harness the public
outrage that his suspension created to effect any real change.
GREEN