Edward Ngoyai Lowassa (born August 26, 1953) is a Tanzanian politician who was Prime Minister of Tanzania from 2005 to 2008, serving under President Jakaya Kikwete.[2] Lowassa has gone into record as the first Prime Minister to have been forced to resign by a fraud scandal in the history of Tanzania.[3][4] Following his resignation President Kikwete was obliged to dissolve his cabinet as required by the Constitution and with minimum delay, constituted a new one under a new Prime Minister, Mizengo Pinda.[5]
After the ruling CCM failed
to select him as its candidate for the October 2015 presidential
election, he left the party and stood instead as an opposition
candidate. He was defeated in the election by CCM candidate John Magufuli.
Contents
[hide]Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Edward Lowassa is the fourth child of the herdsman Ngoyai Lowassa who
worked part-time for the colonial government in the district of Monduli
as a tarish (village law enforcement). Lowassa has a sister named
Kalaine.[6]
Education[edit]
Education[edit]
Edward Lowassa joined Monduli Primary School (which was later renamed to
Moringe Primary School) in 1961. Lowassa was the school band leader at
Monduli Primary School and in 1967 he sat for the CPEE. He then went on
to advance his education at Arusha Secondary School in 1968 and sat for
his O-Level Certificate, the CSEE in 1971. For his A levels, he attended
Milambo Secondary School from 1972 to 1973 where he sat for his ACSEE.
Lowassa received his undergraduate degree in BA Fine and Performing
Arts.University of Dar es Salaam in
1977. At the University of Dar es Salaam, he encountered Jakaya Kikwete
and John Chilligati. In 1978 he was drafted into the army and fought in
the Kagera War between Tanzania and Uganda. Lowassa then went on to
earn a MSc. Development Studies from The University of Bath in the United Kingdom in 1984.[2]
Career[edit]
Lowassa served as Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office during President Ali Hassan Mwinyi's second term. He sought the nomination ofChama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) as its presidential candidate in 1995 but was eliminated in the early stages by the former President Julius Nyerere,
who strongly believed that Lowassa was not then correct material for
the Presidency. He retained his parliamentary seat and became a strong
backbencher in Parliament until 1997 when he was appointed Minister for
State in the Vice President's Office for Environment and Poverty.
Following the 2000 general elections, he was appointed Minister of Water
and Livestock Development and made his mark as a hardworking minister.
In 2005 Lowassa chose not to seek the CCM presidential nomination but
became a key campaigner for his long-time friend, Jakaya Kikwete, in his
bid for the presidential seat.
Kikwete, running on a CCM ticket, won the elections by beating other
contestants by a large margin. He received 82% of the votes. In return,
President Kikwete nominated Lowassa as Prime Minister on 29 December
2005. Parliament overwhelmingly confirmed the nomination, with 312 votes
in favour and two opposed, and Lowassa was sworn in on 30 December.[7] Lowassa has an extensive background in both parliamentary and government affairs.
Richmond corruption scandal[edit]
On February 7, 2008, Lowassa was forced to resign after being implicated
in the Richmond Energy deal corruption scandal. This followed a
parliamentary select committee report on an emergency power generation
contract between the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Ltd (TANESCO),
a public corporation, and a US company styled Richmond Development
Company LLC of Houston, Texas. The five-member select committee, headed
by Kyela MP, Dr. Harrison Mwakyembe,
found the contract to have been fraudulently concluded, hence
unconscionable. Richmond was contracted to provide 100 megawatts of
electricity each day after a drought early in 2006 but the Richmond
generators arrived late and did not work as expected. In spite of this,
the government paid Richmond more than $100,000 a day.[5] Lowassa's
office then influenced the government's decision to extend Richmonds
contract despite advice to the contrary form TANESCO. Two other cabinet
ministers who had held the energy portfolio, Dr. Ibrahim Msabaha and
Nazir Karamagi were forced to resign as well.[8][9]
Lowassa however denied that his office was involved in improperly
awarding a contract to US-based electricity company Richmond Development
in 2006.[3]
Barare Limited[edit]
On 7 April 1997, Edward Ngoyayi Lowassa and his wife Regina Mumba
Lowassa incorporated a company by the name of Barare Limited. They are
both listed as shareholders, each with 500 shares. They were also both
listed as directors of the company which was located on Maktaba Street,
Dar es Salaam. In May 2009, Barare Limited was the subject of a money
laundering investigation in the UK, after Lowassa's son, Frederick
Edward Lowassa was suspected of money laundering.[10]
Presidential aspirations[edit]
In 1995, Lowassa was among the more than 15 CCM aspirants for the
presidency, but he was stopped in his tracks by retired president Julius
Nyerere, who found him to have enriched himself too fast. Lowassa was
eliminated by Nyerere's fiat and that contest within the party was
eventually won by Benjamin Mkapa, who also won the election and became
Tanzania's third president.[11]
In 2005, Lowassa strongly backed his friend Jakaya Kikwete and the two
were dubbed "Boys Two Men" because of their strong political union that
eventually enabled Kikwete to defeat all his rivals within the ruling
party.[12]
In 2014, Lowassa faced a one-year ban from CCM after he was accused of
starting his campaign for presidency ahead of the authorized time. The
ban expired in February 2015, only to be extended by the CCM Central
Committee on the grounds that their final report was still not ready.[12]
In May 2015, Lowassa eventually launched his presidential campaign in
Arusha. He stated that his top priorities would be overhauling the
country's education sector, reducing poverty, boosting economic growth
and fighting corruption.[13]
On 11 July 2015, the CCM Central Committee eliminated Lowassa from its
list of presidential aspirants. CCM shortlisted January Makamba, Bernard
Membe, Asha-Rose Migiro, John Magufuli and Saida Salum for the National
Executive Committee (NEC) vote of 378 members. The elimination of
Lowassa came as a shock to many who viewed him as an inevitable
candidate.[14]
Having failed to get the nomination, Lowassa denounced the CCM as
"infested with leaders who are dictators, undemocratic and surrounded
with greedy power mongers." He left the party and instead joined Chadema,
an opposition party. On 4 August 2015, he was designated as the
presidential candidate of a coalition of four opposition parties,
including Chadema.[15]
Positions held[edit]
Lowassa held various positions in the government since the late 1980s:
- Managing Director - Arusha International Conference Centre, 1989–1990
- Minister for State, Prime Minister's Office and First Vice President (Judiciary & Parliamentary Affairs), 1990–1993
- Minister of Lands, Human Settlement Development,1993–1995
- Minister for State, Vice President's Office;— Environment & Poverty, 1997–2000
- Minister of Water and Livestock Development, 2000–2005
- Member of Parliament;— Monduli Constituency, 1990–2015
- Prime Minister, 2005–2008