Vice President Ms Samia Suluhu Hassan
Dar es Salaam. After more than a week of paying last respects to the late former president John Magufuli, the attention is now slowly changing to other national issues which Tanzanians expect from the new Head of State, Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Ms Hassan was sworn-in as Tanzania’s first female president on March 19, 2020 to replace Magufuli who suddenly died from an underlying heart condition.
Magufuli was laid to rest on Friday March 26 at his ancestral village in Chato and some peo- ple started hinting on what they expected from Ms Hassan who promised to complete the work left by her predecessor.
The Catholic Church Bishop for Rulenge Ngara Diocese Severine Niwemugizi and representative of Chato elders publicly mentioned Magufuli’s dream of making the home town an administrative region.
Ms Hassan allayed their fears, saying it would be done on merits and in honour of Magufuli and directed officials to com- plete the process.
Tanzanians are now turning their eyes to other pending issues including the appointment of the new vice president, possible Cabinet modification, ruling party (CCM) leadership and the new leadership style.
“We cannot exactly predict but I believe she will do some changes,” said Dr Richard Mbunda of the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM). About the leadership style,
Dr Mbunda also expects to see changes. “You know, a leadership style goes hand in hand with person- ality. She will definitely change but let’s wait and see,” said Dr Mbunda.
Ms Hassan has publicly declared to fulfil Magufuli’s dream with African leaders who attended the state funeral on Monday promising her support and cooperation.
“The country is in safe hands. We will start where Magufuli ended,” she said.
“For those who doubt a female leader, I want to assure you that the one speaking in front of you now is the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, and happens to be a woman,” she said.
Former Tanzania presi- dents and religious leaders also expressed their optimism and promised support for the new leader, telling Tanzanians not to worry.
Prof Mohammed Bakari of the UDSM said his main focus for now was on the selection of the new vice president and filling the CCM leadership vacancies but hinted on healing the nation in the political arena.
“Under the immediate previous president, politics was that important. He focused on implementing developmental projects and actually banned political activities, like rallies,” said Prof Bakari.
“That resulted in divisions with the opposition complain- ing repression. So, we expect to see a slightly different approach and I trust the new president has learnt some lessons,” he said.
“It’s not easy to see big chang- es due to the government systems, ruling party arrangements and the fact that there are forces which want to maintain the status quo. But at least she will make a difference,” added Prof Bakari.
The opposition also hinted on reconciliation in their mourning statement. “As we continue mourning, let us use this period to open up a new chapter for rebuilding national unity and respect to freedom, justice, rule of law, democracy and people-centred development,” said Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe in a statement.
“We hope the incoming president Samia Suluhu Hassan will respect these values and lead the nation to reconciliation. We believe she will also revive the process of getting a new constitution, considering that she was deputy chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly.”
Next Vice President
One of Ms Hassan’s jobs ahead is for her to consult her ruling party and propose a name for the vice president post. The name will have to be approved by the National Assembly with at least 50 percent of the MPs, according to the constitution.
The names currently being speculated include former ministers January Makamba and Emmanuel Nchimbi and the foreign affairs minister Prof Palamagamba Kabudi and Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa. According to the 1977 Constitution, since the president is from Zanzibar, the vice president must come from the Mainland.
Cabinet modification?
There has been a debate about whether Ms Hassan should dissolve the Cabinet with the bar association Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) advising that she should dissolve and form a new Cabinet including the appoint- ment of new Prime Minister in 14 days.
However, the minister for Constitution and Legal Affairs Mwigulu Nchemba said it’s not constitutionally binding her to dissolve the Cabinet. But the analysts believe she will do some appointments in an attempt to lineup her working team.
“From the political logic, we expected Samia to install her political authority by appointing the Cabinet but the constitution left a vacuum about that. However, I believe she will make some changes in government departments and show her direction,” said Dr Mbunda.
CCM leadership The ruling party CCM has also called for a meeting of the General Assembly to endorse Ms Hassan as the new party chairperson following the death of Magufuli.
Under CCM’s traditions, the president is always the party chairperson. As the chairperson, Ms Hassan will also be in a position to appoint the new party secretary general to replace Dr Bashiru Ally, who was recently appointed chief secretary and ambassador.
No comments :
Post a Comment