Dar es Salaam: There is no disputing the fact that many of those aspiring to become parliamentarians in this country today are basically driven by the desire for economic gain and political power, and not the spirit to serve the people. And we all know that wealth has become the primary qualification for a person to be elected to the august House. The wealthier one was the greater one's chances to be voted into office. The recent legislation on "Elections Expenses" might reduce the problem, but it definitely won't eliminate it.

Our politics has become so corrupt that it is now regarded as the most lucrative "profession" in this country. Professors, even those in the rare professions like medicine and engineering are leaving their jobs in droves and joining politics with the objective of going to Parliament. A friend of mine who is an engineer (and is dedicated to his profession) remarked, rather jokingly, the other day when we were discussing politics and particularly the issue of corruption in elections, that twenty years from now all professionals in Tanzania will be in politics; and that the country will be more corrupt than it is today. He said that the most disappointing thing was that most professors who joined politics (for the sake of money and power) did not add value to the management of the economy and public affairs in general, and actually were a liability (rather than an asset) to the taxpayers who had paid for their education in the first place. I could not agree with him more!

Since many of our legislators did not go to Parliament with the aim of serving the people, it is hardly surprising that they have failed to live up to their mandate. They can't abide by the binding contractual obligation to attend parliamentary sessions and participate fully in the deliberations of the House. This obligation, which is more demanding, especially when Parliament is sitting to deliberate the national budget as is the case presently, is one of the basic responsibilities of an MP.

I say this responsibility is very crucial during the budget session because it is on this occasion when legislators are required to seriously and exhaustively scrutinise the budget (and evaluate government's performance) before they give their assent to it. It is also during this time that our lawmakers articulate and analyse critical national issues and various problems facing their respective constituencies, which require greater government attention.

During the budget session, the longest and most important of all the four parliamentary sessions held in a year, many people across the country become very attentive to House debates in Dodoma. In the House, they expect to see their representatives in full attendance and in action in the course of deliberations. But, sadly, what we have witnessed for years now (and I have had the occasion to write about this critically in this column in the past) is the persistent lack of discipline of attending sessions on the part of a great number of parliamentarians. Except on the "Budget Day" and during closing sessions, when we see an almost full House, most legislators have shown a tendency of staying away from Parliament in order to attend to their private business or party affairs.

This has become a norm, which distorts the concept of representation. The practice not only denies the electorate fair, genuine and effective participation in the decision-making process through their elected representatives, but also casts Parliament in a bad image. Those who have been following the ongoing Bunge session on their TV screens certainly know how serious this problem is. Invariably, when ministers are presenting their estimates and during parliamentary debates on the same, more than half of the seats are empty.

And sometimes the attendance is so annoyingly poor that the House looks almost empty! At one time (I think it was during last year's budget session, if my memory serves me well) this kind of situation caused the "standards and speed" Speaker Samuel Sitta, who I commend for his disciplined attendance in parliament, to express his concern over the problem of MPs' absenteeism; he promised to deal with it squarely by exercising strict application of parliamentary regulations.

However, he does not seem to be backing his pledge with deeds because, as I said, many MPs continue to abscond at an alarmingly higher rate. People want to see him walk the talk. MP-absenteeism, especially during budget sessions, has become a matter of grave concern among the public; many see truant legislators as lacking seriousness in the budget which touches on all aspects of national life and the well-being of the citizenry. This is despite the fact that tour parliamentarians are paid hefty allowances for attending Bunge sessions. These allowances are dished out of the public coffers, and what the people are saying is that the money must be earned and accounted for.

* Comment by Evarist Kagaruki.