MP for Segerea and deputy minister for Labour and Employment Makongoro Mahanga displays to journalists at his residence in Segerea, Dar es Salaam yesterday, what he claimed were dubious CCM primary election voter cards seized by his agents. PHOTO |VENANCE NESTORY
Dar es Salaam. Deputy minister for Labour and Employment, Dr Makongoro Mahanga, yesterday quit CCM and announced he is heading for the main opposition outfit, Chadema.
Dr Mahanga becomes the first minister in the current government to jump ship and join former Premier Edward Lowassa who joined Chadema on whose ticket he will run for the presidency.
The deputy minister quit CCM only hours after he was defeated in his bid for re-election for a third term as MP for Segerea. Chadema immediately said it was ready to welcome him into the fold to strengthen their onslaught geared at removing CCM from power via the October 25 polls.
“We welcome Dr Mahanga to join us as we look to build a stronger Opposition in readiness to take over the government. We welcome all Tanzanians of goodwill to join Chadema’s efforts to save the country from CCM’s poor leadership,” said the opposition party’s spokesperson Mr Tumaini Makene, adding:
“CCM and its government are not only doing what is against the people, they are also doing thing that hurt the party’s own existence. With its free fall, we’ll now obviously the government- in-waiting. We’re looking forward to welcoming many more members from CCM.”
Dr Mahanga becomes the second minister to defect while in office in Tanzania’s recent history. The only other minister to have resigned in a similar manner was Mr Augustine Mrema in the early 90s. Coincidentally, Mrema quit as minister for Labour and Employment, the same ministry that Dr Mahanga has been serving, albeit as deputy minister.
Yesterday, the disappointed Bunge aspirant told journalists at a packed press conference at his home in Segerea that he was quitting CCM over witch-hunting from unnamed senior politician and government official.
Dr Mahanga was the deputy minister for Labour and Employment for ten years of President Jakaya Kikwete’s administration and MP for Segerea constituency.
He said has instructed his driver to hand over the government vehicle to the ministry and that he would ask the Chadema to receive him.
The new development comes just few days after former PM Lowassa decamped to Chadema following his defeat in the CCM presidential nomination process, an outcome he described as unfair. He later picked up nomination forms to contest the presidency through the opposition’s coalition popularly known in its Kiswahili acronym, Ukawa.
Dr Mahanga is a close ally of the former Premier, but he was quick to deny any link between his move and that of Mr Lowassa.
He instead said that blatant disregard of party rules in the primaries was the reason for his decision to leave.
Speaking last week, Mr Lowassa said he was defecting CCM because it disregarded its own rules and regulations and rules during the presidential nomination which gave victory to Works minister John Magufuli.
“What happened was pure rape of democracy because they made sure my name didn’t appear amongst those which were submitted to the Central Committee,’’ he said, adding:
“I will be lying to Tanzanians if today I were to say I still love CCM, for it’s no longer a party that brought me up and I can unequivocally state that it has lost the sense to lead this nation,’’ he said.
Yesterday, Dr Mahanga said: “I want to state clearly that I have no grudges against CCM members in Segerea constituency who, in 15 years of my leadership as their MP, accorded me ample cooperation in bringing development, but I have problems with a few leaders in CCM who have been tampering with democracy,’’ he said.
The 60-year-old politician further complained that he was wondering why President Kikwete never promoted him to full minister for a whole ten years.
“I am a capable person; I wonder why I was made to remain stuck in the deputy minister slot for all these years,’’ he said, adding that he was a good friend both Mr Kikwete and Mr Lowassa.
“My mentors in politics were Mr Lowassa and Mr Kikwete and I cannot deny being a close friend of Mr Lowassa because we have been family friends for many years,” he said.
Asked if he was conscious of the fact he was losing his plum post as minister, Mr Mahanga remarked: “Even as we speak, I have directed my driver to hand over my vehicle to the ministry because from today onwards I am no longer a minister although I still wanted to enjoy the air conditioning of that VX,’’ he said.
There are indications that many CCM members who are being axed in their party’s primaries will hop into the Opposition. Last week, Chadema Chairman Freeman Mbowe said there was a large number of CCM members who were set to join Ukawa. He was speaking few minutes after he handed over a Chadema former PM.
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