Nation has high expectations on you, Magufuli tells envoys

Dar es Salaam. Two cabinet ministers, the new Chief Secretary, three envoys and a commissioner of the Justice Service Commission (JSC) were yesterday sworn in by President John Magufuli at State House.

These included Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, the minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports and Prof Palamagamba Kabudi, who becomes the minister for Constitution and Legal Affairs.

Others were the Tanzania ambassador to Germany, Dr Abdallah Possi, Mr Job Masima, the envoy to Israel, Sylvester Mabumba who will represent the country in the Comoros.

Mr Alphayo Kidata becomes the new Chief Secretary while Judge Stella Mugasha was sworn in to take duties at the JSC.

President Magufuli urged all the appointees to work hard and be patriotic adding that it was crucial for civil servants to always first defend national interests.

“The nation holds high expectations on you. I’m sure you will never let us down. We expect positive results from your appointment and promotions,” said Dr Magufuli.

For her part, Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan commend the appointees and urged them to work hard for the better future of the country.

“We all have the duty of promoting unity and solidarity in our beloved country, national development is possible only where there is harmony,” she said.

For their part, the appointees promised to work had and ensure they advanced national interests.

“It’s a big surprise to me as I wasn’t prepared to speak anything today, but I thank President Magufuli for his continued trust on me. I promise I’ll not let him down,” he said.

“I had a very difficult moment since yesterday (Thursday morning and tonight) when I received news of the appointment. I couldn’t figure out how my name attracted such amount of trust from the Head of State, but I promise to work hard,” said the new Constitution minister, Prof Kabudi.

Tanzania’s envoy to Germany, Dr Possi vowed to promote the country’s interests in his new working station.

Earlier, President Magufuli received diplomatic credentials from six different ambassadors who will represent their countries to Tanzania.

They included Andreas Panayiotou from the Cyprus who is residing in Muscat, Oman, Maj Gen Abdul Kabir Bangladesh whose residencies are in Nairobi Kenya and the Nepal ambassador Amrit Rai who lives in Pretoria South Africa.

Others were Michael Burrel of theRepublic of Congo, who lives in Kigali Rwanda, Ecuardor ambassador, Denys Toscano Amores, who resides in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the New Zealand envoy living in South Africa, Richard Mann.