Revisiting the Plight of the Union: Why Still Embracing Pragmatism and Political Expediency

Rasul A. Minja

Abstract


One issue that has featured prominently since the beginning of the Tanzanian constitutional making process has been the ‘Union question’. Dozens of written works have in the past dealt with this theme but the current article focuses on two volumes, which have in recent years reenergized the Union debate. The analysis reveals that even the position of a leading legal scholar, Issa G. Shivji, has been changing overtime on the structure of the Union. It appears analytical stance on this issue has also been informed by pragmatism and political expediency in the same way as the politicians who have been put on spot. The argument of prohibitive costs of running a fully-fledged federation has incessantly been featuring in the Union debate. Reliable figures are yet to be unveiled on the actual costs of running the Union. Meanwhile, some of the academicians have jumped into the politicians’ rhetoric ship just to instil the fear of the unknown.

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References


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 [ISSN 0856-0056 (Print) & ISSN 1821-889X (Online)]