AfricaPress-Tanzania: WHEN you climb the ladder, know that there is a possibility that one day you will descend, but make sure that the nature of your descent leaves a legacy that will be admired in history.
In the wake of serving the citizens as their Members of Parliament, some had time to deliver as expected, but some failed and were unceremoniously shown the door. However, all was not lost for some of them, they worked hard, and in the process impressed the Head of State, who later re-appointed them to head various ministries.
Below are some of the leaders whose time in office was measured by their activities which earned them respect or disdain as they vacated the offices. He is the Member of Parliament for Misungwi constituency since 2010. He served as a minister for Home Affairs in President John Magufuli’s cabinet for five months, from December 2015.
Out of the blue, on May 2016, Kitwanga turned up in parliament and answered questions while intoxicated, which earned him a kick out of the cabinet. He was the first minister to be fired since the cabinet’s appointment.
Mr Kitwanga had previously faced calls to quit before the incident by lawmakers who criticized his handling of the ministry, especially the 37bn/-fingerprint scanner supply contract between the Tanzania Police Force and a private local company, Lugumi Enterprises Limited.
Mr Kitwanga later came out and vehemently denied his involvement in the project. According to local media, he later declared that he had quit drinking once and for all due to the trauma he suffered during his suspension.
Legislator for Muleba North constituency since 2010, he served as the Minister of Industries, Trade and Investment in the fifth phase government, but on November 10, 2018, he was dismissed by President Magufuli on grounds of underperformance.
President Magufuli cited the case of a tea factory that remained idle for eight years as farmers looked for market to sell their produce as one of the reasons for his decision to drop him.
“I had to send the Prime Minister to resolve the matter, and now the factory is running under wananchi. I pushed them hard, and it reached a point I said to myself that if I continued I might break their legs, so I better find other people who can cope with my speed,” said President Magufuli at that time.
Another issue that made him lose his post was cashew nut price row pitting farmers and buyers, who complained that the prevailing price of 1,500 shillings per kilo did not even meet their cost of production, and it was later decided that the commodity should be sold at a minimum price of 3,000/-per kilogramme.
He represents Buchosa constituency since 2010, and he first served as the Deputy Minister of Transport. He was later appointed Minister of Agriculture. On November 10, 2018, he was dismissed as Agriculture Minister on grounds of underperformance along with his counterpart Charles Mwijage.
Dr Magufuli accused Dr Tizeba of failure to handle the distribution of fertiliser to farmers in Southern Highland regions during the farming season. Speaking on cashew marketing crisis, Dr Magufuli said he did not see any effort by Tizeba or Mwijage to resolve the matter.
The cashew crisis pitted farmers against buyers over prices. The farmers boycotted the ‘low’ cap price of 1,500/-set by the Cashewnuts Board of Tanzania, compelling President Magufuli to direct traders to buy the produce at a minimum price of 3,000/-.
But, despite his directive, buyers seemed to be in a goslow, leading to the four-day ultimatum by Premier Kassim Majaliwa. “Since I gave the directive to traders, followed by the four-day ultimatum, I didn’t even hear the agriculture minister scolding the buyers over their defiance,” Dr Magufuli stated.
He is Mwibara legislator through CCM since 2010. Lugola was appointed as Deputy Minister for State in the Vice- President’s Office (Union and Environment) from October 2017–July 2018.
President Magufuli on July 2018 appointed him as Home Affairs Minister, but later on 23 January 2020 he kicked him out for occasioning the country a loss of 1tril/- in a dubious deal between the Fire and Rescue Brigade and a Romanian firm.
He said the project was authorized by officials in the ministry without the knowledge of the Ministry of Finance and Planning and the approval of the National Assembly. On 1 February 2020, he was questioned by Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) over his alleged involvement in a 1tril/- fire fighting and emergency rescue equipment deal signed in Romania.
Mr Lugola was in office for 17 months. Representing Bumbuli constituency since 2010, in December 2015, he was appointed as the Minister of State in the Vice-President’s Office for Union Affairs and Environment. On July 2019, President Magufuli revoked his appointment, saying there was a lot of sluggishness in the way tasks were being handled at the ministry.
“Investors are still exposed to a lot of delays in accessing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), certificates. If need be, it should reach a point where investors should start investing and acquire the certificates later,” said Dr Magufuli.
He was elected as a Member of Parliament for Mtama constituency in the October 2015 elections, and was thereafter appointed as the Minister of Information, Culture, Artists and Sports in December 2015. Nnauye was relieved of his duty on March 2017 in a mini cabinet reshuffle by the president and was replaced by Dr Harrison Mwakyembe.
Nape Nnauye’s departure from the cabinet came after a report was released by an inquiry he set up to investigate Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Paul Makonda who was accused of storming the studios of a private radio and television station with armed policemen and threatened workers over a particular television programme.
The Member of Parliament for Musoma Rural was suspended on May 2017 as the Minister of Energy and Minerals after he was implicated in a mineral saga report. His position remained vacant until the first cabinet reshuffle of October 2017.
Announcing his decision, Dr Magufuli said there was an escalation of tension between the government and the mining industry, which denied being engaged in tax evasion. While receiving the report from a team he formed to probe the amount of gold and copper concentrate in mineral sands, President Magufuli advised Prof Muhongo to quit after he was implicated in the report.
“The minister is my friend and I like him very much, but I will not forgive him for this, I want him to reconsider his position, and I am advising him to step down,” Dr Magufuli said in a televised address after receiving the report. He was elected MP representing Sikonge in 2015.
He was appointed Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment on November 2018 and was sworn in on November 2018. His employment contract as a minister was terminated by president Magufuli on June 8, 2019, over cashews fallout.
“We purchased over 200,000 tonnes of cashew, how much has been sold? Being the Minister for Industry and Trade, how much cashew business has been done?” queried the president during his meeting with the business community.
Member of Parliament for Njombe West constituency since 2010, he was heading the Water and Irrigation docket. He was dropped in October 2017 in the cabinet reshuffle by President Magufuli. He has been a Member of Parliament for Mwanga constituency since 2000.
In the fifth phase government, he was appointed as Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism in 2015, but was dropped during a cabinet reshuffle in 2017.
However, all was not lost to some of them, and as an old adage states, time and chance happens to all, and this has been evident in the past four and half years of President John Magufuli’s administration, where we have witnessed some of the dismissed ministers bouncing back.
Dr Magufuli has proved time and again that in the course of serving, nobody is untouchable, especially when his or her performance is sluggish or does not meet the required expectations.
Mr George Simbachawene resigned as the Minister of State in the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local government) in 2017 after he was adversely mentioned in reports compiled by a committee appointed by National Assembly Speaker, Job Ndugai to investigate the trade in diamonds and Tanzanite.
He was later appointed as Minister for Home Affairs soon after the sacking of Kangi Lugola in January, 2020. Another legislator, Dr Mwigulu Nchemba, who was the Minister for Home Affairs, was dropped from the cabinet, but was later re-appointed as the Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs in May after the sudden death of the former Minister, Dr Augustine Mahiga.
