Stano
Senior Member
- Jan 19, 2019
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I couldn't agree more.
President John Magufuli hates critics, gay people and accurate statistics
Tanzania’s leader, the “Bulldozer”, runs off course
Excerpt
The president has been foolish in economic matters too. The effect of his closure of the Citizen was the opposite of what he intended: the shilling’s true rate dipped further. After Mr Magufuli’s row with the paper, capital is reckoned to have fled to Kenya, which Mr Magufuli views as an adversary. Foreign-exchange controls are widely said to be imminent.
Two years ago Mr Magufuli appalled investors by demanding that the country’s biggest mining company, Acacia Mining, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold, based in Canada, should pay the absurd sum of $193bn in back taxes—about four times Tanzania’s gdp—for allegedly undervaluing its gold exports. Acacia’s gold exports have since dipped sharply. Several past and present Acacia officials were arrested last year. The World Bank says foreign investment since 2014 has more than halved. “A lot of us are jittery,” says a businessman in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital. “But it’s the unpredictability that really scares us.”
This article appeared in the Middle East and Africa section of the print edition under the headline "A dose of bull"
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President John Magufuli hates critics, gay people and accurate statistics
Tanzania’s leader, the “Bulldozer”, runs off course
Excerpt
The president has been foolish in economic matters too. The effect of his closure of the Citizen was the opposite of what he intended: the shilling’s true rate dipped further. After Mr Magufuli’s row with the paper, capital is reckoned to have fled to Kenya, which Mr Magufuli views as an adversary. Foreign-exchange controls are widely said to be imminent.
Two years ago Mr Magufuli appalled investors by demanding that the country’s biggest mining company, Acacia Mining, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold, based in Canada, should pay the absurd sum of $193bn in back taxes—about four times Tanzania’s gdp—for allegedly undervaluing its gold exports. Acacia’s gold exports have since dipped sharply. Several past and present Acacia officials were arrested last year. The World Bank says foreign investment since 2014 has more than halved. “A lot of us are jittery,” says a businessman in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital. “But it’s the unpredictability that really scares us.”
This article appeared in the Middle East and Africa section of the print edition under the headline "A dose of bull"
The Economist print edition covers
You’ve seen the news, now discover the story
Get incisive analysis on the issues that matter. Whether you read each issue cover to cover, listen to the audio edition or go behind the headlines on your phone, time with The Economist is always well spent.
Subscribe with our introductory offer