PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has appointed Dr Stergomena Tax to be the Minister for Defence and National Service. She becomes the first woman to hold the title since the country’s independence.

Dr Tax was nominated this week to become the Member of Parliament (MP) just a few days after she retired as Executive Secretary at the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the post she held since 2013.

President Samia promised the community in Lilongwe, Malawi during the region’s Head of State Summit that she had planned work for the outgoing Executive Secretary back in Tanzania.

Although the appointment might not sound surprising, her re-appointment as Defence Minister was rather interesting.

She fills the post that was left vacant following the death of her predecessor, Elias Kwandikwa.