Magufuli extends working contract of TCRA director general for five years

Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli has directed the Minister for Works, Transport and Communications, Isack Kamwelwe, to extend the working contract of the Tanzania Communications and Regulatory Authority (TCRA) Director General, James Kilaba, after it expired.

Dr Magufuli gave the directive Friday on January 18, 2019 during a ceremony to receive the Authority’s Telecommunications Traffic Monitoring System (TTMS) from a consortium of the companies the SGC/GVG of Switzerland.

Speaking during the event, President Magufuli said he made the decision after being satisfied with outstanding job done by Mr Kilaba in supervising the government reforms that aimed to benefit Tanzanians.

“I commend the board and TCRA staff under the director general, Mr James Kilaba, for his outstanding job.

“They were celebrating the expiry of your contract, but I want to tell you that I have given you another period of five years to continue dealing with them,” the president said.

“Therefore, the minister (for Works, Transport and Communications, Mr Kamwelwe) will make the extension process and that there is no end of contract, but extension,” added the president

Without naming anybody, Dr Magufuli said there were some people who were happy with Mr Kilaba’s retirement, noting that his decision has reverted things in the interest of the country.

He said Mr Kilaba and another woman official in the authority had received numerous threats from people who would like to “work in darkness.”

“A letter stating the woman was a member of Chadema came to me, but provided she is working efficiently with the authority, I’m not bothered with her political affiliations, whether she is a member of CCM, CUF or Chadema,” said Dr Magufuli.

“I told her to work hard...we want Tanzanians who can work hard regardless of their political attachments. We are all Tanzanians working for the development of the country,” the president added.

The head of state explained that there were some CCM cadres dressed in green uniforms, but probably they were thieves and more corrupt than those affiliated to CUF and Chadema. He noted that theft had no religious and political relationship.