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Tanzania's CUF factions now fight over control of money

Saturday October 22 2016

There is no respite in the woes afflicting the Civic United Front (CUF). The party’s secretary general Seif Sharif Hamad has now written to banks in Tanzania asking them to be on the lookout for “impostors” who may try to open an account in the name of CUF.

Sources inside CUF said Mr Hamad’s decision follows a recent failed attempt by members allied to Prof Ibrahim Lipumba to open a new account for the party in Dar es Salaam, which they say may be aimed at accessing the Tsh100 million ($45,620) per month that the Registrar of Political Parties has been depositing into the party’s account since July.

The office of the Registrar of Political Parties confirmed that it recognises Prof Lipumba as the CUF chairman, and Mr Hamad as the party’s Secretary General.

Asked what will happen if Prof Lipumba furnishes the office of the registrar with details of a new bank account of the party, assistant registrar of Political Parties Sisty Nyahoza said: “The Office of the Registrar does not work with either Prof Lipumba or Mr Hamad, but with CUF. The law gives provisions of what is to be done if a political party wants to change its bank account and how to notify the Registrar of Political Parties of such a change. If the law is adhered to, we will have no problem recognising the new bank account.”

According to the Political Parties Act, Tanzania’s political parties are required to maintain a bank account in which all the money they receive must be deposited.

It includes membership fees, voluntary contributions, proceeds from party’s business undertakings and donations. It is to this account that the government disburses subventions to political parties.

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The law requires that the subventions must be spent on the party’s parliamentary activities, civil activities, legal election-related activities in which a party has nominated a candidate and any other reasonable requirement of a political party.

In return, political parties are required to submit to the Registrar the party’s annual financial statements audited by the country’s Controller and Auditor–General.

Prof Lipumba had served as the party’s chairman since 1995. In August last year, he wrote to his party and declared at a press conference that he had resigned as the chairman of CUF. About a month ago, Prof Lipumba returned, claiming he is still the national chairman of CUF, because no proper party organ sat to endorse his resignation last year.

READ: Tanzania: Lipumba, Hamad lock horns over control of opposition CUF

In a related development, the court has allowed the registered board of trustees of the CUF to file a suit to request for orders to quash the decision of the Registrar of Political Parties to recognise Prof Lipumba as lawful chairman of the CUF.

According to CUF lawyers, the party will also ask for prohibitive orders to restrain the Registrar from what they view as unlawful interfering in the internal affairs of political parties.

Prof Lipumba contested for union Presidency via a CUF ticket in the 1995 and 2000 general elections when he lost to Benjamin Mkapa, and in 2005 and 2010 elections when he lost to Jakaya Kikwete.

In the 2015 general election, CUF and three other opposition parties — Chadema, NCCR-Mageuzi and NLD — formed an alliance called Ukawa, to nominate a single opposition candidate, Edward Lowasa who lost to the incumbent, President John Magufuli.

When he was tendering his resignation last August, Prof Lipumba said it was to show his profound rejection of Ukawa’s decision to nominate a ruling party front runner (Lowasa) who defected to Chadema in the last minute after his party CCM, picked Works Minister Dr John Magufuli as its nominee.

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