Dar es Salaam. The Tanganyika Law Society (TLS)
governing council has written to President John Magufuli seeking an
audience with him in a bid to introduce their new leadership team.
Newly
elected TLS president Tundu Lissu yesterday told The Citizen in an
exclusive interview that they dispatched the letter to the State House
on Monday.
According to him, if they get invited, they
expect, apart from familiarizing themselves with the Head of State and
his senior aides, to engage him on various issues of national interest
including the execution of rule of law in the country.
“Hopefully,
our letter has reached its destination and we are keeping our fingers
crossed, hoping to invited. During the meeting, TLS will receive his
opinion on areas that he thinks that we should change our course of
action. Hopefully, we believe he will listen to our views on matters of
legal affairs as well,” he said.
Mr Lissu, who is also
Singida East MP (Chadema) and Chief Whip of the Official Opposition Camp
in Parliament, was elected TLS president early this month. Mr Godwin
Ngwilimi is the new TLS vice president. Other elected members of the
association’s governing council are Jeremiah Motebesya, Gida Lambaji,
Hussein Mtembwa, Aisha Sinda, Steven Axweso, David Shilatu and Daniel
Bushele.
His election bid to be chair the TSL was
openly opposed by the government, led by President Magufuli who on Law
Day warned lawyers not to elect politicians into the TLS leadership with
the then minister for Constitution and Legal Affairs, Dr Harrison
Mwakyembe, threatening to deregister the association, accusing it of
being too political.
In another development, Mr Lissu
advised the government to amend mining laws and withdraw the country
from countries which have ratified the Multilateral Investment Guarantee
Agreement (Miga) in order to end ongoing dispute over gold and copper
concentrate export.
According to him, changing Tanzania’s laws alone was not enough to end the dispute and increase transparency in the sector.
He
said since the country is a Miga member and had signed bilateral
agreement with the country of origin of the mining firms there were
possibilities to be sued at the international courts for investment
dispute settlement.
“Once we change the laws we will be sued at the International Investment Dispute Settlement.
The
only place we can make as a starting point is withdrawing from Miga and
bilateral investment treaties with countries where the companies come
from. By doing so, the country will be safe of being charged,” he
argued.
