Local News

Kikwete nominates three MPs

pRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete (right) and Mr James Mbatia (left)

PRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete on Thursday nominated three members of parliament (MPs), including the National NCCR-Mageuzi Chairman, Mr James Mbatia.

Others are a renown geologist,  Professor Sospeter Muhongo and an economist, Ms Janeth Mbene. The Directorate of Presidential Communication said in a statement on Thursday that the nominations were with immediate effect. The Constitution empowers the president to nominate up to 10 MPs.

Analysts say the nominations could be part of Mr Kikwete's process of appointing new ministers, following his announcement that he would soon recompose the cabinet and bring in some new faces in the line-up.

The MPs recently roundly flogged the government following the Controller and Auditor General's (CAG's) report that revealed massive embezzlement, dubious transactions and outright theft in ministries, local authorities and other public offices.

Three parliamentary committees recommended that eight ministers whose ministries were implicated in the CAG's report should resign. The nominations bring to six the number of nominated MPs in the National Assembly since Mr Kikwete started his second term in office in November 2010.

Other nominated MPs are Ms Zakia Meghji, Professor Makame Mbarawa, who is the Mnister for Communication, Science and Technology and Mr Shamsi Vuai Nadhodha, who is the Minister for Home Affairs.

Ms Mbene formerly worked with Oxfam International, the UN Development Programme, the International Labour Organisation and several other international non- governmental organisations.
 
She is currently serving as the Founder and Executive Director of SIA Limited, a private firm that provides capacity-building support for small and medium enterprises. She was a nominated MP in the ninth Parliament. She holds degrees in economics, international trade and finance.

Prof Muhongo is a professor of geology. He is currently the editor-in-chief of the Journal of African Earth Sciences. He is a fellow of several professional societies including the Geological Society of London and the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences.

He is also the Vice-President for the Commission of the Geological Map of the World (CGMW) since 2005 todate. He also worked as a visiting researcher, University of Mainz, Germany between 2000 and 2009.

He was the founder and first Executive Director of the International Council for Science (ICSU) - Africa Region. ICSU is a non-governmental organisation with global membership of national scientific bodies (121 members) and international scientific unions (30 members).

In 2009, he was among the nominated candidates for the post of Director General of UNESCO. In 2004 he was the first person to receive the Robert Shackleton Award for Outstanding Research, for his work in the precambrian geology of Africa.

He also received the Tanzanian National Award (TAST Award) for Outstanding Research in Science and Technology in 2006 from the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH). Prof. Muhongo is an Honorary Professor of Geology at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

In 2011, he was conferred with the French academic excellence award known as Order des Palmes Academiques, with a grade of Officier (Officer), the order of merit that was originally established by French Emperor Napoleon.

Mr Mbatia has been the National Chairman of the NCCR-Mageuzi since 2005, and at one time was the MP for Vunjo Constituency in Kilimanjaro Region.