AfricaPress-Tanzania: VICE- CHAIRMAN of the ruling CCM, Philip Mangula, has assured Tanzanians that there is no need to worry following the death of its Chairman, Dr John Magufuli, saying the party strictly continues to implement its manifesto. He urged party leaders and those implementing the 2020- 2025 election manifesto not to give up and panic because things will go as planned.
“Nothing will change…the CCM manifesto will guide us,” said Mangula.
Mangula made the remarks on Friday in Chato District of Geita Region during the burial ceremony of the late iconic leader, Dr Magufuli.
He added; “It is a huge loss for our party and country at large, but we should not lose hope. We should put God first as Magufuli had always been telling us.” Mzee Mangula said that despite the great loss of their late leader, Dr Magufuli, the new President Samia Suluhu Hassan will not start new plans but rather oversee the ones available and lead the way because the party’s executive organs are still present.
“There is nothing to worry about, both President Samia and the late Dr Magufuli were CCM’s flag bearers and campaigned all over the country in the 2015 and 2020 general election, articulating their plans and priorities as detailed in a 303- page manifesto for the next five years … things will go as planned,” said Mzee Mangula.
He added, “Let us not despair that he has left us, it is true that we have lost a hero and a good supervisor, and we were all impressed by how several things were being implemented in the country at a rapid pace, but the good thing is that he did not do it alone, he was with the then Vice-President Samia and the cabinet.”
Expounding further, he said the party has lost a hero who was able to unite them as they air out their views. Magufuli was the Chairman of the CCM Central Committee that met every four months to reflect on the country’s development, and members of the CCM’s National Executive Committee met every six months for the same under his leadership.
The members of both committees who passed the manifesto are still present, he said, and they are in charge of overseeing its implementation, saying fortunately President Samia is also a member of the Central Committee.
“The members are the same and the difference is in speed and creativity in doing what was pledged.” Mr Mangula said since President Samia worked closely with the late Dr Magufuli, it was clear that she knows all the plans and strategies that are in place.
The body of Dr Magufuli, who died in Dar es Salaam on March 17, 2021 of a heart condition known as chronic atrial fibrillation at the age of 61, was laid to rest on Friday.
It concluded a week-long exercise of bidding farewell to the fallen leader that had been conducted in Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Zanzibar, Mwanza and Chato. The icon
