Dodoma, Tanzania – President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Tuesday picked the country’s finance minister to be her deputy, as she puts a new team in place following the sudden death of her predecessor John Pombe 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.
Magufuli, 61, 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, told parliament on Tuesday that he would ensure Magufuli’s many infrastructure projects were completed and would also work tirelessly in helping the president to remove Tanzanian people from poverty.
