The Vice President of Tanzania, Dr Philip Mpango is stepping down from the post.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan reveals that Dr Mpango, who has been her deputy since she took power in April 2021, has officially written to her requesting to retire from the country’s second highest position.
However, President Samia, while accepting Dr Mpango’s request to take a rest, she has asked the outgoing Vice President to stay on board until when both the parliament and cabinet gets dissolved in August 2025 for campaigns, ready for the next General Elections coming up in October 2025.
During the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) meeting in Dodoma recently, the incumbent Samia Suluhu Hassan was unanimously chosen by party members to run for presidency in the forthcoming General Elections.
With Dr Philip Mpango stepping down, the ruling party has anointed Ambassador Emmanuel Nchimbi to be the running mate of Mama Samia, which means if CCM wins, he automatically becomes the new Vice President of Tanzania.
Nchimbi has served as the Tanzanian envoy to Egypt and Brazil at different times as well as being the Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Information, Sports and Culture as well as Deputy Minister of Defence.
He is now likely to replace Dr Mpango as the Vice President of Tanzania from 2026 onwards.
On the other hand, Dr Philip Isidori Mpango, prior to becoming the Vice President served as the Minister of Finance and Planning under the former Head of State, Dr John Pombe Magufuli who passed away in March 2021.
Previously, Philip Mpango worked as the acting commissioner general of the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), the executive secretary in the President’s Office (Planning Commission) as well as the deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.
Dr Mpango also worked as the personal assistant to the president (economic affairs), the head of the President’s Economic Advisory Unit, and as a senior economist for the World Bank.