Friday, February 12, 2016
Dr Magufuli's first 100 days at State House
By The guardian reporter
12th February 2016
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President
John Pombe Magufuli has demonstrated surprisingly dynamic leadership in
the three months he has been in power, but analysts say even 'The
Bulldozer' can't run Tanzania on his own
President John Magufuli
Magufuli’s reputation as a man who likes to get things done drew
more cheers just three days later, when he paid another surprise visit
to the country’s biggest referral hospital, Muhimbili, swiftly sacking
the hospital’s chief executive and dissolving its board of directors
after finding appalling patient treatment conditions at the public
institution.
Barely two weeks went by, before ‘The Bulldozer’ (a nickname coined
for him by ex-president Kikwete) struck yet again. This time he
suspended the Commissioner General of the Tanzania Revenue Authority
(TRA), Rished Bade, and other senior tax officials following revelations
that hundreds of shipping containers had been cleared from inland
container depots (ICDs) in Dar es Salaam without the relevant taxes
being paid.
He wasn’t finished – not by a long shot. In that whirlwind first
five weeks or so of his tenure, Magufuli also disbanded the board of
directors of the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), sacking its chairman
Prof Joseph Msambichaka, and summarily dismissed the TPA director
general Awadhi Massawe (whom Kikwete had appointed to the post in his
last days in office).
Several other chief executives of under-performing parastatals and
other state-run departments were also (and continue to be) either sacked
or suspended pending the outcome of corruption allegations against
them. And apart from cracking down with little mercy on corruption, the
new president also wasted no time in introducing a series of quite
unique measures to cut out wasteful government excess spending,
including imposing an indefinite ban on unjustifiable foreign trips by
public officials.
Soon, debate started swirling around as to whether or not the
country even needed to have a cabinet of ministers at all, what with
Magufuli and his trusted lieutenant, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa,
appearing to be comfortably running the show all by themselves from
within the confines of State House and the nearby PM’s office.
It wasn’t until 36 days had passed since his November 5
inauguration that Magufuli finally named his trimmed-down cabinet of
just 18 ministries – compared to 30 in the previous Kikwete
administration.
And so as Magufuli marks his first 100 days in power today, it can
be said to go without saying that his style of no-nonsense,
results-oriented leadership has won him droves of supporters across
Tanzania and beyond the country’s borders. Add to this the fact that he
has yet to make a single trip outside the country in his capacity as
head of state – opting instead to divert his immediate attentions to
addressing the myriad of presidential challenges on the domestic front.
And there you have the enigmatic man in a nutshell, so to speak.
Nevertheless, he also has his critics. Although most Tanzanians
have been yearning for a ‘tough president’ to fix the country, some
leading opposition leaders in the country say the Magufuli
administration has already displayed some authoritarian tendencies,
pointing to the banning of a weekly tabloid, halting of live television
broadcasts of full parliamentary sessions, and demolitions of
illegally-built houses countrywide.
Some analysts have also warned that despite his clearly dynamic,
lead-by-example personality, Magufuli could struggle to accomplish his
plans over the next five years if the rest of his government – namely
the officials within – do not stay on the same wavelength.
Here’s what some prominent local personalities had to say about the
performance of President Magufuli and his government thus far:
SALIM AHMED SALIM
The former prime minister applauded Magufuli for his “sterling
performance” so far, particularly in government revenue collection,
cost-cutting measures and public investment in social service sectors
such as health and education.
Salim called on all Tanzanians to support the president in his
important yet tough crusade against corruption, abuse of power,
embezzlement, larceny of public funds and negligence.
“We must all rally behind the president ... we shouldn’t abandon
him in the fight against these cancers that have been destroying our
country. It is very encouraging to see the head of state being so
committed as he has demonstrated,” Salim said.
JOSEPH WARIOBA
Another former premier, Judge (rtd) Warioba noted that Magufuli’s
lean ministerial cabinet was meant not only to cut costs, but also to
have a team which could actually help him in the country’s
transformation process.
“The cabinet is the highest presidential advisory organ. The
smaller it is, the more efficient it becomes...so he did well to make it
smaller compared to the previous ones,” Judge Warioba said.
Like Salim, he urged Tanzanians to support the president in
fighting corruption and misuse of power as root problems affecting the
country’s development for a long time.
“President Magufuli has set the tone and I believe that in future
this country’s leaders will abide by such leadership ethics as he has
demonstrated,” Warioba said.
JOHN SAMUEL MALECELA
According to Malecela, also a former prime minister, President
Magufuli has everything to be proud of in his first hundred days in
office, citing his actions against corruption and the misappropriation
of government money.
“It is worth emulating what the new government is doing because
from the start the president has shown the way as a leader,” Malecela
remarked. He said the president’s no-nonsense style of leadership helped
to put Tanzania ahead of other countries in the region in terms of
effective governance.
JOB LUSINDE
“A good start towards a better Tanzania,” was how veteran
politician and former ambassador Lusinde described Magufuli’s tenure in
office so far.
He said the current president’s words and deeds clearly demonstrate
that the poverty eradication agenda was very close to his heart and he
was prepared to work hard to fulfill all pledges he made to Tanzanians
during last year’s election campaign.
“When you have a leader who is ready to stand on the front line
when dealing with social matters like cleaning up the environment, among
others, this gives his subordinates a challenge to follow suit lest
they get kicked out of their jobs,” Lusinde noted.
HASSY KITINE
A former spy chief and also once a cabinet minister, Dr. Kitine said so far Magufuli’s was a job well done.
“He has been very determined to change the business-as-usual way of
doing things in government, and this will eventually improve the lives
of many Tanzanians,” Kitine added.
PROF. IBRAHIM LIPUMBA
The former chairman of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) said
he was impressed by the president’s determination to fight corruption
and government excess. But he also expressed concern over what he
described as a muted commitment to good governance, rule of law and
democracy.
“I really support the thrust that we should control foreign travel
by public officials, but it should not be in terms of micro management,”
Prof Lipumba said. “Permission for foreign travel for civil servants
should be granted at the level of ministers or boards of directors of
public entities. Such permission should not be centralized in the
president’s office,” he added.
He also questioned how the now-famous slogan ‘Hapa Kazi Tu’ was
being used to push people to actually work with little consideration of
the need to follow procedures and show respect for human rights and the
rule of law.
“Democratic processes are seen as a hindrance to development, and
authoritarian leadership is used to get things done. This is not right,
there must be respect for human rights,” stated the ex-CUF chief.
AMBASSADOR JUMA MWAPACHU
The former secretary general of the East African Community (EAC)
said in a statement that coincided with Magufuli’s first 100 days in
office that Tanzania still faces many challenges ahead.
“Overall, with oil and gas companies having frozen operations in
Tanzania due to the low oil prices in the global market and China’s
economy getting into doldrums and affecting prices of metals, Tanzania
faces tumultuous times,” Ambassador Mwapachu said.
“I am not sure if our policy makers are well seized of all these
conditions and opening up to domestic economic players for serious
consultative conversations. They should do so in order to chart out
responsive policies and measures within the regulatory, fiscal and
monetary spaces,” he added.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
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