{PRESIDENT John Magufuli has thanked leaders of different religious denominations, institutions and individuals who prayed for him to become the Head of State of the Fifth Phase government.}
Dr Magufuli made the remarks during the Harvest Thanksgiving Mass at Saint Peters Roman Catholic Church at Oysterbay in Dar es Salaam.
On his fourth day in office and first Sunday since he was sworn-in as the Union President, Dr Magufuli arrived at the church premises at 06:50am, accompanied by his wife, Janet.
“I express my gratitude to the people of Tanzania from all faiths for their prayers. I beg you to continue praying for me to be able to fulfil my promises and uplift the welfare of the people,” he stated in a brief appreciation remarks.
He went on to point that he realised he owed the people of Tanzania a lot; pledging to work hard to improve service delivery as a way of ‘clearing’ the obligation.
“Your prayers are crucial and they will enable me to move this country to next level,” President Magufuli told fellow believers at the church.
In a welcome remark earlier, the Chairman of the Saint Peters’ Parish Congregation, Dr Adelhelm Meru, pointed to the fact that Tanzanians and Africans in general have a culture of congratulating friends, relatives or neighbours when they make an achievement.
“This is the culture we have inherited from the old generations and thus I ask you Mr President to come and greet the congregation,” Dr Meru, who is also the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, remarked.
Dr Magufuli has been a worshipper at Saint Peters’ Parish just like the late Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and the Third Phase President, Mr Benjamin Mkapa.
The mass at the church yesterday was as well attended by among other believers the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), Judge (Rtd) Damian Lubuva, Judge (retired) Thomas Mihayo and former Tanzania Ambassador to Italy, Professor Costa Mahalu.
Since taking office last Thursday, Dr Magufuli has proved himself as a hardworking president. Even with almost two months of campaign rallies across the country he has kept on performing his duties without having a rest.
On Friday, shortly after the swearing-in Attorney General George Masaju whom he had re-appointed as AG shortly after his (Dr Magufuli) inauguration, he made an impromptu visit at the Ministry of Finance, where he directed officials to chart ways of boosting revenue collections and check tax exemptions, mostly enjoyed by large-scale businesses.
On his third day at the State House, Dr Magufuli held a meeting with all permanent secretaries (PSs) and their deputies as well as the Governor of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), Professor Benno Ndulu and the Commissioner General of Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Mr Rished Bade.
During the meeting, President Magufuli directed that no public official will be allowed to travel abroad for any assignment in the meantime and instead such duties should be performed by the Tanzanian envoys in respective countries. The president challenged the technocrats to go out to rural areas to learn and solve a myriad of problems facing people there.
DAILY NEWS
Leave a Reply