THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

Constitution

Constitution is the body of laws and basic principles that a country or an organization is governed by

National constitution

National constitution is the basic laws and principles of the state which govern all activities of the state. National constitution guarantees certain rights to the people. It is the fundamental laws found in one or more documents which consists state power and define the relationship between organ of the state and the citizens

TYPES OF THE CONSTITUTION

There are two types of constitution

a. Written constitution

b. Unwritten constitution

A. Written constitution

This is the type of constitution whereby, laws and basic principles are written down in a single document. It acts as a standard reference to which government activities reflect upon it and minimize the chance of wrong interpretation. Many countries adopt this type of constitution

Advantages of written constitution

i. It is easy to make reference

ii. It make the process of constitutional changes easy

iii. It is easy to preserve

iv. It clearly shows separation of powers among pillars of the state

Disadvantages of written constitution

i. It is bureaucratic in the process of changing content

ii. It is expensive to make constitutional changes

iii. It is not easy to include current issues on time

iv. It may be subjected to misinterpretation of legal terms

B. Unwritten constitution

This is the type of constitution in which the basic laws and principles are not contained in a single document, consisting of several different sources. A good example is Britain where its constitution is based on status, customers, etc

Advantages of unwritten constitution

i. It is flexible and easy to change

ii. It allows easy and quick decision making in time of urgency

iii. It allows a new condition of the government to be resolved through passing a legal legislation

Disadvantages of unwritten constitution

i. It gives the court too much work of handling legal issues

ii. It does not clearly express fundamental rights of individuals

iii. It does not consist of codified constitutional laws and principles

iv. It is difficult to ascertain the unconstitutionality of an act

v. It is difficult for making reference

Importance of having a Constitution

i. Constitution protects the rights of an individual. The government of Tanzania protects the constitution because it protects the individuals rights in the country

ii. Constitution creates equality. Always the constitution ensures that, the government is fair and justice to its citizens. There is the presence of equality due to the citizens respect the constitution

iii. It describes the form of the government. Constitution describes the form of the government used in a particular country. For example Tanzania there is republic and union government

iv. Constitution resolves the disputes in the country. Also the government of Tanzania protects the constitution because it gives the guideline on how to resolve the disputes among the people in the country.

v. Constitution sets the limit of power to the leaders. Constitution defines the limit of power of the leaders in their positions. Those leaders in the country are required to rule according to the constitution

MAJOR CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN TANZANIA

Since independence, there are five constitutional developments that have taken place in Tanzania as follows;

I. Independence constitution 1961. This was the constitution adopted in Tanganyika which declared Julius Nyerere as the Prime Minister of Tanganyika soon after independence. It based on ministerial level

II. Republic constitution 1962. This was the second constitution which declared Julius Nyerere as the first President of Tanganyika

III. Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania 1964. This was the constitution which declared the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar to form Tanzania.

IV. Interim constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania 1965. This constitution declared Tanzania as a single party state in both mainland and island. TANU from mainland and ASP from Island (Zanzibar)

V. Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977. This is the permanent constitution which declared the union between TANU and ASP to form CCM. This is the current constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

The structure of the constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania is divided into ten chapters as follows;

Chapter one. This chapter is divided into three parts

a. The United Republic of Tanzania and the people.

This part talks about the; proclamation of the United Republic of Tanzania as a single sovereign state, its territory, declaration of the multi party state, exercising of state authority and the franchise (permission to vote for above 18 years)

b. Fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy

This part describe, the interpretation of the government which include the United republic of Tanzania, Revolutionary government of Zanzibar, local government authorities, the government and the people

c. Basic rights and duties of the citizens

This part explains about equality of human being, equality before the law, right of life, freedom of conscience, right to the privacy and personal security. Duties of the society.

Chapter two. This chapter deals with the executive of the united republic of Tanzania and has three parts. Part one deals with the president, part two deals with the vice president and part three deals with the prime minister.

Chapter three. This chapter describes the parliament of the united republic of Tanzania and has the three parts. Part one touches the parliament. Part two is about constituencies, members and election of members. Part three deals with the procedures, powers and privileges of the parliament, also describe the function of speaker and deputy speaker and procedures of electing them.

Chapter four. This chapter describes the revolutionary government of Zanzibar, the revolutionary council of Zanzibar which is headed by President of Zanzibar and chief minister and the House of Representatives of Zanzibar.

Chapter five. This chapter describes about the judiciary system of the united republic of Tanzania. This chapter has six parts which give the description about high court of the united republic, appointment of judiciary personnel, the judiciary service commission, high court of Zanzibar, the court of appeal of the united republic, process of the courts and the special constitutional courts.

Chapter six. This chapter has two parts. Part one deals with the permanent commission of inquiry where its members are appointed by the president. Part two deals with the public leaders' ethics secretariat, whose main task is to investigate the conduct of public leaders.

Chapter seven. This chapter deals with the finances of the united republic of Tanzania and has two parts. Part one deals with the contribution and allocation of revenues. Part two discuss the consolidated fund and the conditions for withdrawal of the money, the expenditure and other matters concerning union fund.

Chapter eight. This chapter deals with the establishment and function of local government authorities such as municipal council and city council.

Chapter nine. This chapter contains the provision on the armed forces and describes the powers of the commander in chief of the armed forces

Chapter ten. This chapter has miscellaneous (various) provisions. It include resignation of personnel from the various offices, procedure of succession in government offices, interpretation of terms in the constitution, title, commencement and application of the constitution and the union matters

How the constitution is made

The current constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania was passed by the Constituent Assembly on 25th April, 1977 and published in the government gazette on 26th April, 1977. The constitution making process in Tanzania involves the four major stages as follows;

i. Stage one. This stage involves collecting citizens' views and opinions for the new constitution. This is done by a special commission which is elected by the President of the United Republic of Tanzania

ii. Stage two. This stage involves the formation of the Constituent Assembly. The Assembly is nominated by the President of the United Republic and it comprises of all members of the National Assembly of the United Republic of Tanzania, all members of the House of Representative of Zanzibar

iii. Stage three. This stage involves the formation of citizen constitutional forums by the constitutional review commission. The forums are based on the geographical diversity of the United Republic of Tanzania and involve representatives from various groups of people within the communities. The major role of these forums is to collect public opinion on the draft constitution through meetings organized by the commission.

iv. Stage four. This stage involves referendum. This is process whereby eligible citizens vote to decide on the proposed constitutional bill made by the Constituent Assembly

The Relationship Between Constitution and the government

i. Government activities reflect constitution. All government activities should reflect upon the constitution. The leaders perform the government activities as per constitution

ii. The constitution defines the forms of the government. The constitution defines the forms of the government to be used in the country

iii. Constitution established the organs of the state and outlines their powers. The constitution established the state organs such as Executive, Legislature and Judiciary and outline the powers of those organs

iv. Constitution provides the guidelines to choose the government leaders. The government leaders are elected as per constitution and those who are elected take an oath to defend the constitution and lead according to the constitutions guidelines

v. Constitution puts the principles of equality and democracy and government implements them. The government has to be based on principles of democracy, human rights, social justice and observance of sovereignty of the state as the constitution prescribes

vi. Taking the oath of leaders. The appointed government officials and leaders are sworn in and take an oath to defend and protect the constitution

Ways of safeguarding the Constitution

i. Provision of public education. Government and non- governmental organization should educate the public about the constitution and its importance to the people in the country

ii. Provision of punishment to those who violate the constitution. A person who violates the constitution should be arrested, tried in the court of laws and if found guilty is fined or jailed

iii. Dissolving the constitutional board. Constitution board is dissolved after finishing its task hence the constitution is supreme and no one is above it

iv. Derive the enacted laws from the constitution. All laws must be derived from the constitution and no one can make the laws that contradict the constitution

v. Protected by the court of laws. The court of laws protect the constitution by ensuring that all people are allowed to enjoy their rights

vi. Existence of clear separation of power. The powers of the state are divided into three pillars whose functions are to ensure that, there is no organ that violate the Constitution.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Concept of constitutional amendments

Constitutional amendments, is the process of improving or changing some laws and clauses in the constitution. The constitution of the united republic of Tanzania of 1977 has many amendments. These amendments were made for the changing needs of the society.

The major amendments which were made include the following;

i. Introduction of Bill of Rights in the constitution in 1984. Bill of right is a proposal for a new law which can be originated either from government or private bill. Bill of right was introduced in order to guarantee the essential rights and civil liberties of the citizens as well as to protect against the oppressive of government actions

ii. introduction of multi party system in Tanzania in 1992

iii. In 1995 another amendment introduced the vice president as the president's running mate in the election. Also president of Zanzibar become the members of the cabinet

iv. Another amendment of 2000 were as follows

a. It changed the mode of electing president. Previously the president was elected by majority votes. This amendment allowed president to be elected by highest votes

b. It increased the number of seats allocated to women in parliament to thirty percent (30%)

c. The independence of judiciary and its power on legal matters were established

d. It established the Human rights and good governance commission

e. The President's power to appoint up to 10 Members of Parliament.

Constitutional Principles

i. Sovereignty of the people. In modern democratic theory, sovereignty resides in the people. That is to say, the source of power or authority is the people. This has been accommodated in both constitutions of the United Republic of Tanzania and Zanzibar.

ii. Supremacy of the constitution. A Constitution is considered to express the will of the people and as such, it is supreme. The Union and Zanzibar constitutions both declare the supremacy of the constitution and clearly stipulate that any law which is contrary to the Constitution shall be 'null and void', meaning it will not have legal force.

iii. Separation of power. This principle refers to state power being separated and vested in three pillars of the state. The union constitution stipulates three pillars of the state which are Executive, Legislature and Judiciary

iv. Independence of Judiciary. This means that, Judiciary should be independent from the other State pillars. The functions of the Courts should not be interpreted or influenced by other pillars of the state

v. Rule of law. The rule of law means that the exercise of political power is in accordance with rule of laws of the state. The power is to be exercised within these rules and laws and not according to personal whims or desire of the ruler.

vi. Respect of Human Rights. The constitution of the united republic of Tanzania respects the human rights by introducing the bill of right in 1984. This was created in order to ensure that the constitution regard the principle of democracy

QUESTIONS

1. Define the following terms

a. Constitution b. National constitution c. Constitutional amendment d. Bill or rights

2. Differentiate between written constitution and unwritten constitution

3. Briefly explain how the constitution of the united republic of Tanzania is made.

4. Identify major constitutional amendments to the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977.

5. Identify five major changes introduced in the constitutional amendments of 2000

6. Elaborate five constitutional development adopted in Tanzania since independence

7. The government of Tanzania employed various measures to achieve the dream of safeguarding the national constitution. As a Minister of Constitution and Laws, provide five reasons on why the government employed such measures to attain that dream?

8. Constitution in any country is important in the implementation of all government activities. In the light of this statement, explain the relationship between the government of Tanzania and the constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania

9. Suppose you are the Minister for Constitution and Laws in Tanzania, propose five measures that can be taken to protect the constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977?

10. With reference to Tanzania's constitution, explain why it is necessary to have constitution principles.