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"id": 186320,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/186320/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Namwamba",
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"speaker": {
"id": 108,
"legal_name": "Ababu Tawfiq Pius Namwamba",
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"content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Bill. As I do so, first of all, let me say that, as we start this journey, we should remain alive to a number of realities. One of those realities is the history behind that process. The Tenth Parliament, and those of us who are privileged to be part of this process right now, should see ourselves merely August 6, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2415 as the latest instalments in a long process that has taken decades to get us here. Indeed, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, it was inspiring to watch the Minister for Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs and the Minister for Lands - my learned seniors - move and second this Bill, respectively. That is because the two of them, indeed, are living warriors that have been faithful during this long journey. I have said so because, for me, one of the things we shall achieve by enacting a new Constitution during the life of this House will be like erecting a monument to the gallant sons and daughters of this country that have shed their sweat, their blood and some have even lost their lives in pursuit of a just society, today and tomorrow. So, let us pause and learn from the efforts of those who have been there ahead of some of us, and also learn from the mistakes that have consistently prevented us from achieving this important goal. We could easily have had a new Constitution in the year 2005 but because we allowed so many issues that were not central to this agenda to take hostage of this process, we could not move. But today we are presented with a grand opportunity because we are living a truly constitutional moment. Constitutions by their very nature are made in terms of crisis, in terms of controversy; whether you are looking at the United States of America Constitution, the Philadelphia Convention of 1776, whether you are looking at the French Constitution in the aftermath of the French Revolution; they are all products of controversy and crisis. The crisis that almost brought this nation to its knees should, therefore, serve as a motivation for us to finally crack this complex issue. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the first Republic that we seek to replace through a new Constitutional dispensation, basically, was a successor to the Governor and all the deformities of the colonial states. Therefore, as we pursue the remaking of our nation, I have looked at the objectives and guiding principles of this Bill and I see a very clear intention to lead us to the birth of our second Republic that will be anchored on democratic constitutionalism as our central unifying public philosophy. We have an opportunity through a new constitutional dispensation to instal the rule of law in the place of the rule of man that we have witnessed over the last 40 odd years of Independence. Writing in his masterpiece, The Commonwealth of Ocenia, Harrington says: \"Gives us good names and they will make us better people. It is a fallacy. But give us good laws and they will make us better men\". It is a maxim that must guide every legislator like those of us here. Therefore, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I support this road map. But I also support it with caution and with the benefit of hindsight. Opinion has been expressed on the need to have organs that are representative. I hold a slightly different view. That there is such a diversity of interests in this country that you cannot have any organ of review that will pass the test of absolute representation. So, what we should be focusing on, and that is why I am persuaded to support a lean team of seven experts, we should be persuaded more by the imperative to get the job done and not merely to get everybody represented. That is a matter we cannot achieve. America did not achieve it at the Philadelphia Convention and we will not achieve it here. Let us get a team that does not necessarily because if we say we must have a Committee that represents ethnicity for instance, then you must a team of 42 basic ethnic cities. If you say you want to have a team that represents religious interest, then you must have a team that represents all religious interests including Dini ya Msambwa . So, our focus really should not be on representation of all these multiplicity of interests. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we should be more concerned with having a team that can deliver. Therefore, the only concern which I know within the relevant House Committee and 2416 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES August 6, 2008 with the hon. Minister, these concerns which should be ironed out as we travel this path are issues like phrasing out the manner in which we will put in place the Parliamentary Select Committee, how it is going to operate and such issues, which for me are not really a hinderance to us proceeding with debate on this Bill and its enactment. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I want to conclude by telling this House that when Nelson Mandela walked off Roben Island, he rallied the people of South Africa by telling them: \"That sometimes it falls on a generation to be great\" He told the people of South Africa: You can be that generation. The generation that heals the wounds of division and wrangles among various races and ethnic cities. I want to challenge the 10th Parliament that we have the opportunity to be that House that finally cracks the puzzle and hands the people of this country a new Constitutional dispensation. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}