{{Dar es Salaam.}} {Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Minister Bernard Membe (pictured), who unsuccessfully sought the CCM nomination for the presidency, has quit elective politics.}
The Mtama lawmaker, who made it to the top five list that saw Works Minister John Magufuli clinch the ruling party’s ticket, told The Citizen he had laid down his political tools for good.
Earlier, there was speculation that Mr Membe would retreat to his constituency and seek re-election so Chama cha Mapinduzi could consider him for a post should the party win the general election. But he appears to have decided that this would not happen anytime soon.
Speaking to The Citizen on Wednesday at his residence in Dar es Salaam, Mr Membe said he would focus on campaigning for the chosen one, Dr John Magufuli.
Asked whether he would ever return to his constituency to seek a Parliamentary seat, Mr Membe said he had been serving the people for 15 years and it was time to say goodbye to those who voted for him.
He added: “I have been an MP for 15 years, eight of those years as a foreign minister. I made that decision even before thinking of vying for the presidency. My focus now is to take part in the campaigns for our party candidate in the October general election.”
Mr Membe’s predecessors–former President Benjamin Mkapa and sitting President Jakaya Kikwete–were Foreign Affairs ministers before they were elected to the top job.
When he was asked what happened in Dodoma during the ruling CCM nomination, Mr Membe said money came into play to ensure his State House dream did not materialise. He is happy, though, that the candidate who has been endorsed has a clean record and pledged to participate fully in his campaigns.
Mr Membe was a national security analyst in the President’s Office from 1978 to 1989. He then attended Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC, where he studied international relations from 1990 to 1992.
He was next assigned as an adviser of the Tanzanian High Commissioner in Ottawa, Canada, where he served until 2000.
He was elected a CCM Member of Parliament representing Mtama constituency in 2000 and was re-elected in 2005 and 2010.
President Jakaya Kikwete appointed him the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs after the 2005 general election. A Cabinet reshuffle in October 2006 saw him become the Deputy Minister of Energy and Minerals.
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