No bias in appointing cadres, says Magufuli

Dar es Salaam. The CCM chairman, President John Magufuli, yesterday ruled out bias in appointing to government positions members of the ruling party’s three wings.

Addressing the nineth congress of the CCM parents’ wing in Dodoma, Dr Magufuli said posts would be distributed evenly and on merit. CCM’s other two wings are UWT (women) and UVCCM (youth).

Dr Magufuli made the remarks when responding to a request by outgoing parents’ wing chairman Abdalla Bulembo, who had asked the Head of State to appoint more cadres from the wing to the government and Parliament as nominated MPs.

Mr Bulembo said UWT and UVCCM members had the lion’s share of government and parliamentary appointments among cadres from the three wings, and asked Dr Magufuli to consider more members from the parents’ wing.

“Many members of the parents’ wing can fit in various leadership positions, but only a handful are appointed. I therefore request you to consider more of our members for various leadership positions,” he said.

But Dr Magufuli said equity and merit would be considered when appointing members of CCM’s wings to various posts.

Earlier, Dr Magufuli condemned what he termed as “indecent” content broadcast by some television stations, saying this was leading to rapid erosion of morals.

He specially took issue with music videos showing people who were “half naked”.

Dr Magufuli directed the Ministry of Information, Arts, Culture and Sports and the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) to strictly enforce regulations governing broadcast media to curb moral decline.

“Some stations promote the erosion of morals by broadcasting indecent content, and yet the ministry and TCRA are there. I wonder why they don’t take appropriate measures against such stations. “TCRA has the authority to suspend or institute legal measures against any broadcaster that violates regulations, but it has been handling them with kid gloves,” Dr Magufuli said.

He urged members of the parents’ wing to elect leaders who would contribute to the transformation of the organisation and the party in general.

“This election is crucial as far as the future of the party is concerned. Don’t elect leaders on the basis of religion, ethnic background or economic status. You should elect good and committed leaders who will take the wing to the next level.

“Incoming leaders should also take good care of assets belonging to the wing for the benefit of the entire organisation,” he said.