Tanzania: New cabinet expected today

(SomaliNet) Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete’s much awaited announcement on the new cabinet line up was yesterday pushed forward to today.

“The cabinet will be announced on Tuesday at 10.00am,” a two-line press statement issued in Dodoma by the office of the Press Secretary to the President and signed by Premmy Kibanga, read.

On Friday, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Samuel Sitta, informed the House that the new cabinet would be announced yesterday, and the ministers sworn-in tomorrow.

The new ministerial team might be relatively smaller than the previous one, which comprised 61 full and deputy ministers.

It is also expected that President Kikwete will choose a team of people who possess two qualities, mainly efficiency and diligence.

The ‘new face syndrome’ seems to be less predominant this time around, as people now focus more on personal capacity to deliver and safeguard national interest rather than anything else.

The new premier, Mizengo Pinda, isn’t a new face. He was a minister in the previous team, yet he is generally accepted as an effective leader.

However, the appointment of new faces will usher the coming of yet another era.

The cabinet was dissolved after President Kikwete accepted former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa’s letter of resignation.

The former premier had been implicated by a parliamentary probe committee that investigated the Richmond corruption scandal.-Guardian