Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Tuesday picked the country’s finance minister to be her deputy, as she puts her new team in place following the sudden death of her predecessor John Magufuli.
The former president was buried on Friday after a week in which tens of thousands came out to pay their respects around the country, leading to a stampede in Dar es Salaam which left 45 dead on March 21, police announced Tuesday.
Magufuli, 61, a COVID-Sceptic who had just begun a second term in office, was said by authorities to have died of a heart condition on March 17 after a mysterious absence, however the opposition insists he had coronavirus.
His successor Hassan, the country’s first female president, on Tuesday announced her choice of finance minister Philip Mpango as her deputy, which was endorsed by all members of parliament. He will be sworn in Wednesday.
Mpango, a former economics lecturer and senior economist at the World Bank, in February caused alarm on social media, when he appeared coughing and gasping at a press conference outside a hospital to dispel rumours he had died of Covid-19.
He told parliament Tuesday he would ensure Magufuli’s many infrastructure projects were completed and would “work tirelessly in helping the president to remove our people from poverty.”
Richard Mbunda, a political science lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, said Mpango’s appointment was a surprise but “we needed someone a bit neutral like him to avoid divisions within the ruling party.”
Magufuli was hailed for his fight against corruption and massive infrastructure projects, but was criticised for the stifling of democracy and crackdowns on the media, civil society and the opposition.
