Fresh from winning re-election, Tanzanian President John Magufuli has re-appointed Philip Mpango as finance minister and promised continued reforms to the mining sector as his government targets 8% annual economic growth in the next five years.
Magufuli won a controversial poll in October that the U.S. State Department and election observers said was marred by irregularities. He garnered 84% of the total vote.
His swearing-in for a second term came swiftly as Tanzanian laws bar any legal challenges to elections results once announced by the National Electoral Commission.
Magufuli’s choice to retain Mpango signals confidence in a minister who aided the execution of his policies that spurred the Eastern African nation to average growths of 6.5% during his first term in office. Tanzania also show to low middle-income economy status.
As finance minister since 2015, Mpango helped the president push through an industrialization drive and implementation of big infrastructure projects such as the dam in River Rufiji and the new Standard Gauge Railway linking the commercial hub Dar es Salaam with the administrative hub Dodoma and eventually landlocked Rwanda. There was also revival of the national carrier, Air Tanzania.
Magufuli told lawmakers on Friday his government aims to expand the economy by at least 8% and one of his key priorities for his second term is continued reforms of the mining sector.
“There are some people who have been issued with exploration and mining licenses but they have not worked on them, we will revoke the licenses and distribute the areas to small and artisanal miners,” he said in parliament.
“The steps that we will take in the next five years will help the mining sector to contribute at least 10% of the GDP by 2025.”
Gerson Msigwa, the director of presidential communications, said in a statement that the president had also re-appointed another ally Palamagamba Kabudi, as minister of foreign affairs.
