Will Samuel Sitta beat the odds to deliver Tanzania’s proposed new constitution in time? This is the question observers are asking as the country enters a critical stage in the review of the supreme law of the land amid missed deadlines, competing party interests and teething issues.

It is a familiar job to a familiar man. Having served as Speaker of the National Assembly for five years (2005-2010), things are expected to be not so hard for Mr Sitta, the Minister for East African Affairs who was recently elected the chairman of the Constituent Assembly (CA). But things may not be easy for the CA, with several sticking issues haunting it a month after it was constituted.  

Mr Sitta beat Hashim Rungwe, the 2010 presidential candidate on the NCCR-Mageuzi ticket, to the position that he will hold for two months or so. His main task will be to lead the CA in debating the second draft constitution and producing a third and final draft that will be subjected to a referendum later in the year.

One of the challenges Mr Sitta faces is time. According to the Constitution Review Act, the CA has an initial 70 days to do its work. It has already spent three weeks, its only achievement being the passing of the standing orders, election of the chairman and his deputy and swearing-in of the team.

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But his experience in running public forums could work for Mr Sitta, who says he has a solution to nearly everything — including the thorny issue of how members will vote, which has split the CA in the middle, one group gunning for an open vote and the other a secret ballot.

“Yes, members are divided on the issue but I think there is way out of it,” said Mr Sitta in an interview at his Dodoma home. “I believe how people vote depends on the issues they are voting on. There are issues which merit secret voting while others can be better decided using open voting.”

He says provisions in the draft constitution on the basic principles should better be decided by secret ballot.

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“We have religious leaders in the CA and it will not be good if we know their thinking on these issues,” he said. “Making them make public their stand on important issues might cause a conflict with their followers.”

Mr Sitta cited chapters one and six of the draft constitution, which talk about government and structure of the Union, as sensitive ones that merit a secret ballot.

On the issue of the Union structure, he has made it clear that he prefers the current two governments as opposed to the three proposed by the Constitution Review Commission. He however believes the current system requires an overhaul.

Judge Joseph Warioba, who led the CRC, which prepared the draft, is expected to present it to the CA this week. This means the CA will commence debate on the draft law next week, leaving it with under 60 days to finish its work.

The law however allows the CA to extend its tenure upon agreement of President Jakaya Kikwete and his Zanzibar counterpart, Dr Ali Mohammed Shein.

“That is what speed and standards mean; delivering a quality product on time,” said Mr Sitta.