PRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete has appointed Mr Joseph Masikitiko as the Director General of Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS).

He previously worked as Acting Director General of the standards watchdog, taking over from Mr Charles Ekelege.

Before holding the acting position, he was the Director of Corporate Services at TBS.

Mr Ekelege was sentenced to three years in jail last year by the Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court after he was found guilty of several offences, including abuse of power.

A press statement issued by Chief Secretary (CS), Ambassador Ombeni Sefue, said President Kikwete has also appointed a new ambassador and reshuffled two others.

The Head of the National Defence Academy, Lt. Gen. Charles Makakala, has been appointed as Tanzania's High Commissioner to Zimbabwe.

Tanzania's envoy to Netherlands, Ambassador Wilson Masilingi has been posted to Washington DC as Tanzania's Ambassador to the United States.

He will also represent the country in Mexico. Amb. Masilingi takes over from Ambassador Liberata Mulamula who was recently appointed Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

In the same development, the Director of Legal Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ms Irene Kasyaju, has been appointed as Tanzania's Ambassador to the Netherlands, to take up the position left by Ambassador Masilingi.