Five faces reflected from the plea of increased allowances by the Constituent Assembly members

By Frederick Fussi | 21 February 2014 

Many Tanzanians have different opposing views following the appeal of Constituent Assembly members about their argument of lowly paid allowances.

I have been so much tempted to share my views concerning the matter because of two main reasons.

Firstly, I did my undergraduate research on the impact of allowances on organizational performance; the case study of Ilala Municipality. Secondly, the argument of CA members shall enable the public to understand my theory on the relationship between resources and leadership. Today I will not embark on the former reason but the later.

My theory on resources and leadership asserts that resources are obvious scarce and leaders’ ability to allocate resources fairly to their people is naturally strong but leaders artificially choose to become weak at the expense of opportunities, life pressures and attitude and hence vice versa is true. You therefore need to have leaders who choose to remain strong in whatever pressing situations.

The CA members are naturally strong to accept the allocated allowances but they became weak over the opportunity they got to write our new constitution, life pressures that the allowances are inadequate for them to survive in Dodoma and attitude that they think to deserve an increased pay.

I see their argument into five faces. Firstly the nation and its government is suffering from a severe lack of money to adequately finance its activities including descent allowances for the CA members. This is because the best assumption remains that; if they were decently paid they would not lament. This is enough to illustrate that most Tanzanians aren't paid decently.

Secondly, CA members are portraying a true image on how most of Tanzanians are poor income earners. A primary school teacher paid Shs. 300,000 per month is ironically represented by a CA member lamenting that Shs.300, 000 per day paid in a total of 70 days to 90 days is a low payment. A critical lesson should be drawn here.

Thirdly, there are many other Tanzanians whose voice of being lowly paid have not been adequately amplified, therefore the CA members should not forget that many of us are also lowly paid and thus they should write the constitution with an agony of low payment of allowance and consequently write the citizen centered constitution that cares about well-paid salaries.

Fourthly; it also portrayed an image of how we Tanzanians are not serious with important issues. Instead of the CA members to concentrate on the important issue of writing the strong and lasting constitution they are moved by personal interest on asking increased allowances.

Fifthly, it portrays that we did not need the new constitution and that our problem was not the new constitution rather our genuine need is equitable and fairly share of the national cake among Tanzanians. The allowances of all CA members in aggregate would make more than 10 billion; this is a national cake, worth to be wisely shared with a justified cause and writing new constitution is one of them.

The fight over increased allowances is an indication that the roots of our problems are rarely addressed as they appear to be.  One needs a critical eye to debate over the this issue. This should be an alarm over the upcoming elections in 2014 for local government and General Elections in 2015, we need to get leaders whose eyes day and night are looking at the roots of our problems. Knowing the root of the problem is to solve the problem ninety nine percent, one remaining percent is obvious the conclusion chapter of the solution.