Tanzania bans private security for RCs and DCs

Regional commissioners and administrative secretaries at a leadership training meeting held in Dodoma yesterday. PHOTO|JONATHAN MUSA

Summary

• The new development is likely to restore more confidence in the public service because some appointees allegedly misused their powers

By Noor Shija

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Dodoma. Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa yesterday issued a directive to regional and district commissioners not to employ guards and assistants from the streets--instead they should use those in the  public service.
The Premier also ordered restriction of misuse of power that allows them to  detain individuals for 48 hours.
Orders of detaining public servants in political rallies were common in the past few years.
According to the Regional Administration and Local Government Act 1997 section 15 (1), the regional and district commissioners were authorised to order the arrest of an individual person and remanded for 48 hours after it was proved that the particular person had committed a certain offence. Mr Majaliwa made the statement in the capital Dodoma when opening a four-day training seminar for regional commissioners and regional administrative secretaries (RASs).
Mr Majaliwa directed 26 regional commissioners from Tanzania Mainland to stop the habit of hiring private guards or personal assistants, saying that the task of obtaining such people is done by their RASs.
“If you want to have personal assistants, you need to ask your RAS. You can even ask the latter to bring you three optional names and you choose only one, which is not bad, but hiring people from the streets who have no public service ethics is not allowed,” said Mr Majaliwa.
Mr Majaliwa’s statement comes at a time when some regional and district commissioners are spotted walking with personal guards, who are well known as ‘bouncers’.
Mr Majaliwa reiterated that having personal assistants from the streets contributed to the leakage of the government’s secrets because such personal assistants lacked public service ethics.
 “The order of arresting and detaining a person should be implemented only if the release of that particular person will cause some problems such as being affected himself or the public being harmed due to his release.
“This should not be that one member of the public has defied your directives or has queried you much and then you use that law to detain that particular member of the public,” warned the Prime Minister. Mr Majaliwa also wanted those leaders to be aware of protocols by respecting one another including district commissioners respecting regional commissioners when visiting their areas of authority.
He said there were some district commissioners, who were not respecting regional commissioners just because they also regarded themselves as presidential appointees.
Mr Majaliwa wanted those leaders to respect protocols by being aware that in their areas of authority there were other government leaders including magistrates, judges and political leaders, whose duties were also supposed to be respected by them. The Premier also wanted those leaders to respect retired government leaders including retired presidents, retired ministers, retired RCs and even retired DCs when visiting their areas of authority. Mr Majaliwa also touched on the issue of government vehicles about those leaders, especially RCs, saying that the latter were not supposed to use private cars once their official vehicles had broken down.
“You cannot remove the number plate of a government vehicle and then place it on your private car that could even be a Mark II (Toyota) or place it on your grand posh vehicle,” said Mr Majaliwa.
For his part, the minister of State in the President’s Office, (Public Management and Good Governance), Mohamed Mchengerwa, said until yesterday a total of 128,700 public servants had been promoted including being paid their cash arrears.