Sumve MP Richard Ndassa (left) and his Lulindi counterpart Jerome Bwanausi congratulate one another after their election as chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of Parliament’s Energy and Minerals Committee in Dodoma yesterday.
PHOTO | EMMANUEL HERMAN
What you need to know:
A source in the meeting said after the results, members decided to unanimously endorse Mr Bwanausi as vice chairman in view of his vast experience in the post.
Dodoma. Sumve MP Richard Ndassa yesterday took over as chairman of Parliament’s Energy and Minerals Committee.
Speaking to The Citizen shortly after being elected yesterday, Mr Ndassa said one of his priorities would be to advise the government on how to handle mining, oil and gas contracts it enters into with foreign investors.
“I know that this is an area that has caused many ministers, deputy minister and permanent secretaries in the Ministry of Energy and Minerals to lose their jobs. Therefore, I will be very careful in dealing with this area and the best way of handling is for the government to heed the committee’s advice,” he said.
Mr Ndassa was elected chairman following the resignation of Mr Victor Mwambalaswa after he was implicated in the Tegeta escrow account scandal.
Mr Jerome Bwanausi (Lulindi-CCM) was re-elected vice chairman.
He landed the post after being defeated by Mr Ndassa in the chairmanship race. Mr Ndassa obtained 11 votes against Mr Bwanausi’s five.
A source in the meeting said after the results, members decided to unanimously endorse Mr Bwanausi as vice chairman in view of his vast experience in the post.
Confirming the results, the director of Parliamentary Affairs, Mr John Joel, said the Budget and Constitution, Justice and Administration committees would hold their elections later.
“At this point I don’t know when they are going to hold their elections but they will definitely do so because parliament resolutions compel them to do so,” he said.
Some of the resolutions reached at the end of the fierce debate on the escrow account scandal called for the removal of three heads of parliamentary committees after they were implicated in the scam.
