DAR ES SALAAM, Nov 24 – Former United Nations Habitat Executive Director Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka has been appointed Tanzania\’s Lands Minister in a new Cabinet announced by President Jakaya Kikwete on Wednesday.
President Kikwete who was re-elected late last month to a final five-year term has retained Bernard Membe as Foreign Minister.
Hussein Ali Hassan Mwinyi, the son of a former president, was appointed Defence Minister in a line-up which comprises 29 ministers and 21 deputy ministers.
Mr Kikwete won 61 percent of the vote in the October 31 elections to gain a second term, but opposition groups complained the polls were not transparent.
The elections were Tanzania\’s fourth since the resumption of multi-party politics in 1992.
Ms Tibaijuka left the Nairobi-based UN Habitat in September after leading it since its formation in 2001 to replace the UN Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS).
She was elected into Tanzania\’s Parliament in the October general election.
After his re-election, Mr Kikwete urged the nation to overcome past electoral squabbles while warning that "troublemakers will not be tolerated."
"It was difficult… there were blows and wounds during the campaign. Nonetheless, the time has come to heal them," said Kikwete, 60, during his swearing-in ceremony to a new five-year term.
Mr Kikwete, who captured 61 percent of the vote said that his re-election along with the resounding victory of his Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party in legislative polls "proved Tanzanians continue to have confidence" in the ruling party.
Mr Kikwete enjoys a positive image abroad and is credited with steering his country\’s economy to one of Africa\’s highest growth rates.
Although his rivals officially conceded defeat, Kikwete\’s closest opponent Wilbrod Slaa had requested, in vain, a recount of preliminary results announced by the electoral commission.
Several foreign election monitoring groups also reported irregularities in the voting, which was nonetheless conducted peacefully despite a few scuffles during the counting process.
Larger than France and Germany put together, Tanzania is among the world\’s poorest nations and its 43 million citizens rely mainly on subsistence agriculture.
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