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| Dr. John Pombe Magufuli |
The Tanzania Episcopal Conference has congratulated Dr. John Magufuli on his election as the new President of Tanzania for a period of five years.
Speaking to the Kiongozi Newspaper (an ally of AMECEA Online News) recently the Bishops wished that the new President should give public interest a priority instead of that of individual.
The TEC President Rt. Rev Tarcisius Ngalalekumtwa, on his part said that he wanted the new president to restore the confidence of Tanzanians in their government. "This is like a father –child relationship. As a father, children expect that he takes all the responsibilities in the family,” he said.
Most Rev. Josaphat Lebulu, Archbishop of Arusha said that the new President should be patriotic to the country and that he should serve all people equally regardless of their political affiliation and ideologies. "The president should not serve the interest of his party but of all the Tanzanians,” he said adding that “Magufuli needs to emulate President Julius Nyerere who served all people equally.”
Commenting on the new Constitution process which began two years ago, Archbishop Lebulu said that the first draft of the constitution should be respected because it reflected the opinions of the people. "The good work which was done on the first draft by Justice Warioba should not be thrown away,” he said.
Bishop Severine NiweMugizi of Rulenge-Ngara Diocese said that the country is now recovering from the tensions of general election. He wished that President Magufuli could implement the commitments he made during the campaign which includes enhancing the rule of law in the country. "Leaders must also respect the rule of law and that all citizens must be treated equally regardless of religion, region, ethnicity or political affiliations," he said.
President Magufuli was sworn in as the fifth President of Tanzania on 5th November 2015 in a ceremony that was attended by among others President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda; Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Felipe Jacinto Nyusi of Mozambique, Joseph Kabila of DRC, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Jacob Zuma of South Africa and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya.
By Sarah Pelaji, Kiongozi Newspaper, TEC
