Shein appoints loyalists to Cabinet

        Zanzibar. Isles President Ali Mohammed Shein yesterday unveiled his Cabinet of 15 ministers and seven deputies, mainly loyalists from his ruling party.

Only three members of the Cabinet were picked from the Opposition to form the new government Dr Shein has reiterated is not a negotiated union with his rivals from the other camp. The ministers, who will oversee 13 ministries, two of them without portfolios, are scheduled to take their oath of office today.

Out of 15 ministers, seven are presidential appointees to the House of Representatives, six constituency members of the House of Representatives while the remaining two are Special Seats Representatives.

Announcing the team at Mnazi Mmoja State House, Dr Shein expressed optimism the ministers would hit the ground running. He warned he would not hesitate to sack anyone who is not up to the task.

Dr Shein challenged the appointees to “mercilessly” tackle corruption and other unethical deeds.

Compared to his first cabinet lineup (2010-2015), the number of ministries has dropped from 16, which were under 19 ministers (three without portfolios). However, the number of deputy ministers has remained the same. The number of female ministers has also dropped from eight (four full ministers, four deputies) in the last Cabinet to seven in the current cabinet (four full ministers and three deputies).

The list of seven House Reps who were appointed by the President on Monday includes Ms Amina Salim Ali who has now been appointed as the minister for Industries and Trade. Ms Ali is a veteran politician and diplomat and is resuming her place in the Revolutionary Council after 15 years. Another veteran diplomat and politician Ali Karume has been appointed minister for Works, Communications and Transport. This will be the second spell for Mr Karume in the Revolutionary Council after serving as the deputy minister for Industries and Trade from 1972 to 1978.

The duo are among the firebrand conservative CCM politicians in the Isles, and are known for their hardline stance on the main Opposition party CUF.

Others are Mr Mohammed Aboud Mohammed who retained his position as the minister in the Second Vice President’s Office, which he held for the last five years, and Ms Moudline Cyrus Castico, who is making her fresh start in the Revolutionary Council and has been entrusted with the ministry of Labour, Empowerment, Youth, Women and Children.

Dr Shein also appointed three opposition leaders and they are ADC’s Hamad Rashid Mohammed who will lead the ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, Livestock and Fisheries. Mr Mohammed is returning after three decades. He served in a number of cabinet positions for both Zanzibar and Union governments before he was expelled from CCM in the late 1980s alongside other six colleagues led by incumbent CUF secretary general Seif Shariff Hamad. Others are Ada-Tadea’s Juma Ali Khatib and AFP’s Said Soud Said, who are ministers without portfolio. Dr Shein, however, noted that the appointment of the three did not mean the government would be that of National Unity (GNU).

“As I have said when inaugurating the House of Reps on Monday that no opposition party had met the constitutional requirements for power sharing arrangement. However, after five years of having a mixed cabinet, I thought it was prudent to appoint the three who didn’t ditch the rerun elections to the House of Reps and subsequently to the Revolutionary Council so we can maintain cohesion and diverse opinions in the government, and help Zanzibar move forward,” he said. Dr Shein said his government would not push for constitutional changes to repel GNU and blamed CUF for boycotting the re-run elections saying had they participated all requirements of forming GNU would have been met.

Meanwhile, the Finance and Planning docket went to Dr Khalid Said Mohammed (Representative for Doge Constituency). Before the elections, Dr Mohammed served as the permanent secretary in Second Vice Prevsident’s Office. Another newcomer, Mr Rashid Ali Juma (Amani), has been appointed minister for Information, Tourism, Culture and Sports. Others who have been appointed include veteran politicians Haji Omar Kheri (Tumbatu), who retained his position at the President’s Office Regional Administration, Local Government and Special Departments, and Mr Haroun Ali Suleiman (Makunduchi) President’s Office Constitution, Legal Affairs, Public Service Management and Good Governance. Mr Mahmoud Thabit Kombo (Kiembesamaki) has been promoted from being deputy minister for Health to full minister in the same docket, while Mr Issa Haji Ussi (Chwaka) who served as deputy minister for Infrastructure and Communications has been promoted to full minister in President’s Office and Chairman of Revolutionary Council.

Special Seats MPs Riziki Pembe Juma and Ms Salama Aboud Talib have been appointed minister for Education and minister for Lands, Water, Energy and Environment respectively.