Tanzania Parliament applauds as fired Agriculture Minister asks first question as a back bencher

Dodoma. Three days since he was fired from the position of Agriculture Minister, Dr Charles Tizeba stepped into Parliament as a back bencher on Tuesday, November 13, 2018 where he threw a question to the government side, raising applauses from legislators.

On Saturday, November 10, 2018, President John Magufuli fired Dr Tizeba and his Industry, Trade and Investment counterpart, Mr Charles Mwijage over how the two had handled the cashew nut price row pitying farmers and buyers.

Mr Japhet Hasunga and Mr Joseph Kakunda who have replaced Dr Tizeba and Mr Mwijage respectively, were sworn-in on Monday, November 12, 2018 at a State House function that was also attended by the two former cabinet ministers.

And when he stepped into the debating chamber as a back bencher on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, Dr Tizeba received applauses from both the majority and minority sides of the House when he threw a supplementary question to the government for which he was a cabinet minister until four days ago.

The rounds of applauses, characterized by table thumping and ululation, forced Dr Tizeba to pause for a while before proceeding with his question.

As would have been expected, he spent his first minute thanking President Magufuli for giving him a chance to serve in his cabinet as well as the Speaker of Parliament Mr Job Ndugai and his Deputy, Dr Tulia Ackson for the cooperation accorded to him during his days as a minister.

He then went on to ask the government as to when will it (the government) deliver some ferries to help his voters in his Buchosa Constituency.

He said Buchosa Constituency has a total of 28 islets which are currently served by only two ferries. One of the ferries, he said, is old and faulty and that this creates fears that it may cause an accident.

Responding to the question, the Deputy Minister for Works, Transport and Communication, Mr Atashasta Nditiye said the government was aware of the challenge and that it has already dispatched a team of experts to the constituency over the issue.

“The team will propose the best way to work on the challenge…The situation is so bad that at times, people would even engage in fighting so as to find their way into the ferry,” he said.