Dar es Salaam. Tanzania is mourning the passing of Cleopa David Msuya, the country’s twice-serving Prime Minister and long-time Minister of Finance, who died on Wednesday, May 7, at the age of 94.A key figure in Tanzania’s post-Ujamaa economic transformation, Msuya leaves behind a complex legacy as the steward of the nation’s shift from socialism to a liberalised economy.
Born on January 4, 1931, in Chomvu Usangi, Mwanga District, in the Kilimanjaro Region, Msuya rose through the ranks of public service after graduating from Makerere University in 1955. Starting his career in social and community development, he soon found himself in senior government roles, becoming Permanent Secretary in several ministries from 1964 through the early 1970s.
