Tanzania’s new President John Magufuli has won local and international acclaim for his remarkable enthusiasm for austerity and intolerance to corruption and waste since assuming office a month ago.
Magufuli, who took power earlier last month after winning October 25 elections, has introduced a swathe of austerity cuts and crackdowns on public corruption.
These include the suspension of unnecessary foreign travel for government officials, allowances at seminars and meetings as well as lavish cocktails and dinners by public institutions and has directed that the money should instead go towards delivery of social services, including street cleaning exercises.
Among other things, Magufuli has cancelled the country’s 54th Independence Day celebrations, which were to be held on Thursday this week traditionally a time for the government to spend big on a public display of nationalism.
Magufuli won the admiration of Tanzanians and the world just a few weeks into power when he started enforcing radical measures to reduce government expenditure and instill discipline in government.
He said he could not allow huge amounts of money to be spent on independence celebrations at a time people in the country were dying of cholera. The Independence Day will instead be spent on street-cleaning to improve sanitation and arrest the spread of a cholera outbreak.
Government officials, including cabinet ministers, have been ordered to oversee the clean-up exercise in their districts.
Tanzania last month saw a major cholera outbreak with nearly 5,000 cases and dozens of deaths, according to the World Health Organisation.
Magufuli has also downsized by more than 90 percent the budget for a state dinner that usually marks the opening of parliament. Money saved has been spent on the acquisition of new hospital beds.
Since taking office in early November, Magufuli has cancelled foreign travel for officials, banned the purchase of first-class air tickets – although the president, his deputy and prime minister are exempt – ordered that government meetings and workshops be held in government buildings rather than expensive hotels, and cut a bloated delegation of 50 to the Commonwealth meeting to just four.
Instead of sponsoring a World Aids Day exhibition on December 1, Magufuli ordered the money be spent on anti-retroviral drugs for Aids patients.
He has turned up in person – and on foot – at government ministries and demanded to know why civil servants were not at their desks.
Some officials have been jailed for lateness, the head of the tax authority has been suspended and the use of public funds to pay for Christmas and New Year greeting cards has been banned.
The head of the Tanzania Revenue Authority was removed amid reports of the disappearance of 349 shipping containers from the Dar es Salaam port, causing an estimated loss of US$40 million.
Tanzania’s police are reportedly holding at least a dozen suspects in connection with the scam.
Magufuli last Friday gave a seven-day ultimatum to businessmen who have evaded tax to pay up or risk arrest as he intensified efforts to raise revenue to fund government budget.
His prudence has proved popular on the streets and on social media where Twitter users have created the hashtag#WhatWouldMagufuliDo to discuss matters of public interest and share their often-humorous money-saving ideas.
On a continent where extravagance, corruption and theft of public funds characterise government leaders, Magufuli ’s painstaking and rapid austerity measures are impressive. He is basically doing what many people thought to be impossible by an African leader.
Even Magufuli’s opponents have signaled their approval with former chairman of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF), Ibrahim Lipumba, visiting the presidential palace to commend his actions.
A Magufuli-like leader is what Malawi needs to turnaround its misfortunes and get on the path to economic growth and prosperity. Business as usual approaches by our leaders won’t bring the change Malawi needs to transform itself into a self-reliant country with a motivated and optimistic citizenship.
Malawi’s problems are enormous and require not just rhetoric or reforms on paper but also radical actions by its leaders that could send strong messages to civil servants and all citizens about the seriousness of the leadership to transform the country.
Expectations among the people are so high that they cannot be satisfied with the usual way of doing things. The country has had enough average leaders and all is there to be seen about how regular leadership has failed to make a difference in the country.
While austerity measures and war against corruption in government alone cannot bring development, they send strong signals to public officials, businesses and the people and can help trigger widespread action required for the transformation of the country.
I hope it’s not too late for Malawi. #ThumbsUp to Tanzania’s President John Magufuli.
http://www.times.mw/malawi-needs-a-john-magufuli/
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