President orders officials implicated in gemstone reports to step down

Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli has ordered public officials implicated in two reports probing diamond and tanzania mining and business, to step down.

He said this on Thursday, September 7, at State House those sooin after receiving the reports submitted to him by Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa.

Dr Magufuli said the public officials should step down in order to give state security and investigative organs to conduct their work effectively.

The reports have been written by two select Parliamentary Committees formed by Speaker Job Ndugai. The committees handed the reports to Mr Ndugai in Dodoma on Wednesday, September 6 who immediately passed them to Premier Majaliwa.

The reports by the two teams have named several public officials as having a hand in the rot which surrounds the gemstones business.

“You might be handsome, good person and innocent but the committees have named you as among those who were involved in subjecting the country to huge losses. And I believe that the committees were not bent to oppress anyone,” he said adding:

“There are people who have been appearing in every scandal and they are in Parliament where they enjoy immunity. I think Parliament should change its regulations to allow them to be made accountable.”

He also directed the Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa to hold a meeting with mining experts and all ministries involved in mining and the select parliamentary committees in order to start the process of amending the laws government gemstones business in the country.

Also the Prime Minister has been tasked to act on all recommendations in the committee reports for the interest of the public.

“Some of people may asking why we are in late amending the laws. The answer is very simple, we believe this is the right time to do so,” said President Magufuli.

He thanked the committees for putting the nation interest first and disregarding their political affiliations when doing the work.

The event was attended by Speaker Ndugai, Prime Minister Majaliwa, religious leaders, representatives of Dar es Salaam elders and students from higher learning institutions.