Revealed: Reasons behind rows among presidential appointees

 

By Jacob Mosenda

Education writer/journalist with The Citizen

Mwananchi Communication Limited

Summary

·         Poor vetting system is among many reasons that analysts say leads to conflicts among the appointees

Dar es Salaam. Inadequate communication and understanding of responsibilities, personalities, and a lack of a vetting procedure are among the reasons for clashes among ministerial leaders, it was

disclosed yesterday.

This comes as President Samia Suluhu Hassan, in swearing in some civil servants on Monday, reiterated her warning about disputes between senior leaders in her government.

The President pledged that she would not tolerate any further disagreements and that individuals discovered in such situations would be sacked.

The Head of State disclosed that she and key government officials had worked hard to resolve conflicts with such leaders, particularly those sitting on the same docket, and that there would be no time to reconcile those bent on pointless battles.

“Next time, all of you will be fired,” the President stated firmly.

Speaking to The Citizen about the reasons for the conflicts, retired Permanent Secretary in the President’s Office (Public Service and Good Governance), Dr Laurian Ndumbaro, said personalities and a lack of understanding of responsibilities were the key causes.

Elaborating, he said: “You can find in that ministry that people did well and there were no conflicts, but some were appointed and clashed because of personalities.”

Dr Ndumbaro stated that the President who appointed them controls how disputes are resolved.

“There are also systems in place, but because the president is their disciplinary authority, all those appointed by the President are their authority,” he said.

“But most of the time the chief secretary has the disciplinary authority for the President’s appointees and ministers and deputy ministers.

The President herself deals with it and there are other ways she uses to do so,” he added.

Clarifying about the limits of responsibilities in the ministry, Dr Ndumbaro said that in any ministry the office bearer is the minister.

“Thus, the deputy minister is given responsibilities by the Minister...however, if you delegate the tasks to someone, it doesn’t mean that you can’t do the work, you can sometimes do it,” he said.

“The PS also has his executive assistant and he is the one who assigns the duties to the deputy PS in writing.”

For her part, a retired PS from the same ministry, Ms Ruth Mollel, mentioned poor communication as one of the reasons.

“I think it depends on the theories of each leader in his position in decision-making: do they communicate or not? It is good for the PS, before you do something that maybe the minister should be aware of, you inform him first,” she said.

In order to overcome these conflicts, she said the minister should not interfere with the duties of the PS.

“I think the problem is communication,” she noted.

Vetting gap

But, Dr Yusto Mvungi, an expert in public service and good governance from the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), said having one person with the power to appoint without any vetting process was a major source of the current situation.

“It may happen that the permanent secretary thinks that he has practical ability and sometimes education and experience, so since no vetting or interviews are done, they think that everyone is better than the other,” he said.

He also said that not knowing each other’s responsibilities correctly has been a major source of the appointed officials finding themselves doing the same job even when the other is supposed to take the other’s place only when he is absent.

“You find that the minister is a professor, the deputy minister is a doctor, and the PS is a professor; here, without orientation, the sessions to resolve conflicts between them will never end,” he noted.

For her part, Dr Eunice Nnkya, a researcher on good governance and a former lecturer at UDSM said that since the President has the power to appoint, there should be a strategy to help the nominees understand their responsibilities as stipulated in the Constitution.

“In order to avoid these conflicts, as a nation, we must consider having senior government officials, such as ministers, deputy ministers and permanent secretaries, be vetted before being sworn in; this will help prevent competition within the ministries,” she explained.

She pointed out that there should be a panel of experts in governance, administration and public service (not politicians) who will choose the best

She emphasised that, as it is, everyone now wants to be seen by the appointing authority. If the minister is always there, it is assumed that the work of the deputy minister will not be visible.

“Having a verification procedure like our neighbours (Kenya) will help to avoid conflicts; otherwise, people can easily kill each other because one feels the other is fighting for their interests, even where the permanent secretaries are not supposed to act as politicians,” she said, adding: “Right now, everyone wants to work as a politician, that’s the biggest problem and we have to think differently,” she stressed.

Stipulated responsibilities

Pertaining the responsibilities; all Ministers who are members of Cabinet by virtue of Article 54 of the Constitution shall be appointed by the President after consultation with the Prime Minister and they shall be responsible for such offices as the President may, from time to time, by writing under his/her hand and the Public Seal, establish.

In addition to the ministers referred to in sub-article (1) the President may, after consultation with the Prime Minister, appoint Deputy Ministers. All deputy ministers shall not be members of the Cabinet. The President may appoint any number of deputy ministers who shall assist ministers in the discharge of their duties and functions.

On the other hand, the PS, who is also appointed, leads the ministry’s strategic planning and coordinates its implementation.

He or she is responsible for effective internal control, assists the minister in planning, implementing and monitoring broad-based issues, and manages performance guidance within the ministry’s administrative branch.

The PS is also the most senior civil servant of a ministry charged with running the ministry’s day-to-day activities.