Dodoma — THE National Assembly session begins here on Tuesday to deliberate on the government's budget for 2012/2013 financial year. Members of parliament started arriving over the weekend ready for the marathon budget session scheduled to end on August 22, this year.

The National Assembly will begin with the swearing in of new members of parliament. The new MPs are Professor Sospeter Muhongo, who was recently appointed Member of Parliament by President Jakaya Kikwete and subsequently as the Minister for Energy and Minerals.

The constitution allows the president to appoint 10 lawmakers. Other newly appointed MPs are Deputy Ministers for Finance, Ms Janet Mbene and Ms Saada Mkuya Salum, as well as James Mbatia who is National Chairman of the opposition NCCR-Mageuzi.

Finance and Economic Affairs Minister William Mgimwa recently announced that the government plans to spend over 15tri/- during the next financial year, up from 13tri/- in 2011/2012. Donors recently pledged to increase aid to Tanzania to 495 million US dollars for its 2012/13 budget but warned future disbursements could depend on how it tackled corruption and misuse of public funds.

Tanzania received 453 million US dollars of aid for its 2011/12 budget, but the government's medium-term goal is to cut donor dependency in its budget to just 10 per cent.

Meanwhile, Issa Yussuf reports from Zanzibar that the Union constitution review law will for the first time be read to the legislators in the Zanzibar House of Representatives tomorrow on the day when the Isles budget session begins, the House Clerk Mr Yahya Khamis Hamad said on Monday.

Briefing journalists about the activities scheduled for the budget session of the house, the clerk said that it is a constitutional requirement for the law to be introduced to the House before its application in Zanzibar.