The Ministers (Discharge of Ministerial Functions) Act

4.–(1) Where the office of any Minister is vacant or any Minister is, owing to absence or inability to act by reason of illness or other cause, unable to perform the functions of his office those functions shall, during that absence or inability, be performed by the Deputy Minister for the time being in office of that Minister. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) or where there is no Deputy Minister in the office of the Minister, the President may, by order under his hand, direct that the powers, duties or other functions conferred or imposed upon any Minister by an enactment shall be vested in himself or in a Minister or Deputy Minister designated in the order, during the vacancy, absence or inability, and during that period, the President or the Minister or Deputy Minister so designated, as the case may be, may exercise these powers and shall perform those duties and functions, subject to any conditions, qualifications or exceptions specified in the order.

5.–(1) The President may, by notice published in the Gazette, specify the departments, business and other matters the responsibility for which he has retained for himself or he has assigned under his direction to any Minister and may in that notice specify the effective date of the assumption of that responsibility, and where the President has issued such a notice, it shall, subject to any subsequent notice issued under this subsection or to any certificate issued under subsection (2) of this section, be conclusive evidence of the matters specified in it. (2) Where any question whether the responsibility for any department, business or matter has been assigned any particular Minister or has been retained by the President, or whether the President or a particular Minister or Deputy Minister is empowered under section 4 to have, exercise or perform the powers, duties or functions of some other Minister, is, or is likely, to be inquired into by a court, that question shall be referred to the Attorney General for his decision, and if 335 ©2025 Government of Tanzania. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed without permission of OAG. THE MINISTERS (DISCHARGE OF MINISTERIAL FUNCTIONS) ACT [CAP. 299 R.E. 2023] he shall certify by writing under his hand that he is satisfied that the President has himself retained, or that the particular Minister has been assigned, responsibility for the department, business or matter, or the President or the particular Minister or Deputy Minister is empowered under section 4 to exercise, perform the powers, duties and functions of that Minister at the relevant time; the court shall not enquire further into that question and the President or that particular Minister or Deputy Minister shall be deemed to be and always to have been at the relevant time, responsible for that department, business or matter or, as the case may be, to have been empowered to exercise or perform those powers, duties and functions.

6. [Repeals the Ministers (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act. with savings.]

7. [Omitted.] Repeal C.A Act No. 5 of 1962 Omitted 336 ©2025 Government of Tanzania. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed without permission of OAG.