I`ll work for tolerance - Msekwa

Newly elected Chama Cha Mapinduzi Vice Chairman (Mainland) Pius Msekwa gestures as he speaks during an exclusive interview with our reporters in Dodoma yesterday.
CCM Vice Chairman (mainland) Pius Msekwa has said he will strive to create harmonious relations with opposition parties for the good of the country.

In an exclusive interview with The Guardian yesterday, Msekwa, who was recently elected as the ruling party`s vice chairman, said party relations could be in two areas during elections and after elections.

He said because each party`s objective was to win during elections, CCM would make sure that it undertook its election campaigns in a manner that would not embarrass or harm its rivals.

`My main task is to create a culture of tolerance among the parties, a culture whereby CCM can agree to disagree with other parties without fighting or confrontation,` he said.

Msekwa said once the elections were over, CCM would endeavour to create harmonious relations with other parties which have representation in parliament in order to work for the betterment of the people.

`In parliament, political parties need to work together. Here, CCM needs to cooperate well with the Opposition so that different government documents, such as government budgets or bills can be endorsed,` he said, adding `my main mission is to further improve those relations.`

CCM enjoys a majority of seats in the parliament?with 273 seats out of 318. Three parties are represented in the House.

These are the Civic United Front with 32 seats, Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo with 11 seats and United Democratic Party with one seat.

Msekwa also defended the new culture in CCM whereby children of prominent politicians were taking up elective posts in the party. He said: `This is healthy for party democracy.`

The just-ended CCM election has seen a number of children of leading politicians taking up elective posts, a situation seen by some political analysts as likely to introduce the element of dynasty in the country`s political affairs.

But yesterday Msekwa said: `It would have been a problem if they were appointed by their parents to party posts. This was an election. They were voted in by members in an open market. I do not see any problem with it.`

He said the tendency was healthy for the party because it indicated that the children were following the footsteps of their parents because they were also satisfied with CCM policies.

Asked about rich businessmen who were increasingly taking up senior CCM posts, Msekwa said there was no problem in businessmen joining politics, adding that his party was open to all Tanzanians.

There have been growing concerns that CCM has been hijacked by the rich and was slowly moving away from its rank and file support base.

Of late, there has been an influx of big businessmen vying for elective posts through the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi.

Msekwa said that every CCM member had the right to elect or be elected.

`CCM does not discriminate against people basing on their race, religious affiliation or one`s occupation. All members are treated equally,` he said.

Asked about the growing tendency of chief-whipping whenever it came to issues of national interest versus party interests? when CCM MPs would sit as a party committee to block serious national issues raised by opposition MPs, Msekwa said: "Who measures whether what the opposition MPs are saying are issues of national interest and not party interests"`