EDITORIAL: Give the people a hearing

>Members of the Constituent Assembly (MCAs) want to maintain the clause in the Constitution that forbids a petition against the winner of the presidential vote. This is truly shocking. What the MCAs are proposing is that once the winner of the presidential votes is announced, no one has the constitutional right to appeal.

>Water is life, the saying goes. Yet many Tanzanians die not for lack of the precious liquid but for drinking it when it is  contaminated and unsafe for human consumption. That is why we consider most valid the concern expressed by the medical officer in-charge at Mwanshimba Dispensary in Tabora, Dr George Kavella, who noted that the health of 17,000 people in the ward is at risk because they drink dirty water from a dam.

MPs James Lembeli of CCM and Philemon Ndesamburo of Chadema have urged their fellow Constituent Assembly members to put aside narrow political interests when debating the draft constitution.

>Minister for Energy and Minerals Sospeter Muhongo did himself no favours when he announced on Thursday that his ministry would not submit oil and natural gas production sharing agreements (PSAs) to the Parliamentary Public  Accounts Committee.

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Wako: Give people the Constitution they want
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President Jakaya Kikwete flips through text of address he is expected to deliver in Constituent Assembly in Dodoma today, signalling the official opening of the CA's 70-day meeting, as he flew from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma yesterday. Constituent Assembly ...
Wako 'lectures' CA on KatibaDaily News

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>Deaths on our roads are increasingly ceasing to be newsworthy material. A very sad situation indeed, but that is where we have reached, given that no week passes without a report on scores getting killed or maimed through road accidents. Everyone is concerned, but what are we doing about it?

Suicide is a disturbing incident because, unlike death caused by, say, an illness or an accident, the decision by someone to take their own precious life is extremely disturbing and negative. It is one of the reasons why suicide is considered sinful in some cultures where the “culprit” is denied befitting funeral. One of the latest reported cases in Tanzania relates to 25-year-old Charles Bruna, a resident of Kitunguru Village, in Mara Region’s Serengeti District.

>It isn’t surprising that, as the 2015 General Election tempo builds up, rough play is emerging. It is like some among us are bent on proving—as it oft said—that politics is a dirty game. Electioneering is a component of politics in which crooked conduct comes to the fore as individuals vie for political posts that are up for grabs from the grassroots to the national level.

Few weeks ago Tanzanians were made to believe that they will not be bothered by a referendum on the proposed constitution until after General Election slated for October next year.