DR.ASHA ROSE MIGIRO IS EXPECTED TO TAKE UNION PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION FORM.
Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Dr Asha-Rose Migiro, is expected to collect union presidential nomination form here on Monday, Professor Ibrahim Lipumba on Sunday became the first opposition presidential hopeful to collect the document for the country’s highest office.
Prof Lipumba, who is the National Chairman of the Civic United Front (CUF), one of the parties forming the coalition of opposition parties, UKAWA, collected the form in Dar es Salaam, announcing that he is the right aspirant to successfully fly coalition’s flag in the October election.
Dr Migiro’s move to collect the form brings the number of the ruling party—CCM women who have so far appeared to pick the documents to four.
Other women who are eyeing the presidency through CCM are former cabinet minister and current African Union (AU) Ambassador to the United States, Ms Amina Salum Ali; former deputy finance minister and one-time Iringa MP, Ms Monica Mbega, and the Director of National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Dr Mwele Malecela.
According to the timetable released here, Dr Migiro will pick up the form at 3pm after Mr Salum Marupu, a CCM official, who is expected to arrive at the CCM headquarters at 10 am.
In addition, the Vice-President, Dr Mohamed Gharib Bilal and the Minister for Transport and Urambo East Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Samuel Sitta, will today return their nomination forms.
Dr Bilal and Mr Sitta collected the documents on June 4 and 5 respectively. According to information obtained from the CCM headquarters, Dr Bilal will return the form at noon while Mr Sitta will return his at 8 am.
Dr Migiro was once the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and a Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. She was the third DSG at the UN, a mission that she completed in June, 2012.
The two cadres - Dr Migiro and Mr Marupu - who are expected to pick the forms today, will bring the number of those who so far collected the forms to 34.
Meanwhile, addressing CUF members in Dar es Salaam, Prof Lipumba, pledged to form the union government that would fight corruption, adding that he would promote transparency in public expenditure. “I am the right person as UKAWA flag bearer.
But I would be ready to support any person who would be appointed instead of me,” said the former presidential advisor on economy during the Second Phase Union Government.
Prof Lipumba pointed out that health service would be free for every mother and children when in the office, noting that investing in health care, especially for children, is to strengthen national basics. “Forty two out of 100 children are suffering from malnutrition.
Children are not my voters but I will work on the problem,” he pledged. Prof Lipumba said his government would also address unemployment problem by creating more employment opportunities, saying ports would be among the areas which could create more jobs.
“We can create more employment opportunities through port towns by encouraging investors to put up more industries in the towns.
Unemployment has caused a number of problems,” he observed. Prof Lipumba said infrastructure would be improved, adding that this would encourage more landlocked countries to use the country’s ports, thus promoting economic growth.
“As 90 million employments are expected to move elsewhere from China due to massive technological advancements in that country; we should grab the opportunities,” said the former University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) economics lecturer.
Prof Lipumba said he would improve agriculture and that the sector would be used to provide enough raw materials for local industries.
