Fever as top CCM echelons meet
A series of meetings by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to be chaired by party Chairman John Magufuli, kicksoff today with the Central Committee session, ahead of sweeping reforms expected to come from amendments of the party’s constitution, including a considerable reduction of the number of membership in its decision making organs.
The 40-year old party, a merger of the then Tanganyika National African Union (TANU) and Afro-Shiraz Party (ASP), is set to make changes on its constitution and regulations of 1977 which were last amended in 2012.
At the magnificent Dodoma Conventional Centre, the Chairman of CCM, Dr Magufuli, is expected to preside over the National Congress on Sunday where members are expected to endorse proposals to reduce by over a half the members of its decisionmaking sessions.
Through these changes, the party will trim down memberships to the Central Committee (CC), the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the party’s National Congress (NC).
Party members who sit in CC will come down from the current 34 to 24; and those on NEC from 338 to 234 members. The NC on its part will have its members reduced from the current 3,800 to just 1,800.
Prior to the NC on Sunday, Dr Magufuli is today expected to preside over the CC meeting, the party’s top decision-making organ and thereafter the NEC session slated for tomorrow.
The designated capital of Dodoma is now a beehive of activity with members from the ruling party across the country heading here for the meetings. A spot check at the CCM headquarters yesterday witnessed party cadres exchanging views ahead of the historic meetings.
Young pioneers were seen decorating the headquarters and surrounding areas with the party flags as preparations for the gatherings gain momentum A statement availed to the media last week by CCM Deputy Secretary General (Mainland), Mr Rodrick Mpogolo, said the meetings were crucial to the re-organization process announced by the party chairman last year.
The CCM’s Secretary for Ideology and Publicity, Mr Humphrey Polepole, described the meetings as ‘historic’ given the agenda on the table -- amendments of the party’s constitution and regulations.
It has since been learned that according to the CCM constitution of 1977, in an edition issued in 2013, the National Congress is mandated to erase, fine-tune or add changes to amendments between the year 1977 when the party was established, to 2012 when the first adjustments were made.