Abdalah Abdulrahman
JF-Expert Member
- Aug 29, 2019
- 222
- 201
In Tanzania President Magufuli began to impress since his inauguration’s days. He visited Ministry of Finance on his first day as a President, he used funds intended for Independence Day Ceremonies to fight anti-cholera, and he launched a new tax collection drive to the country and auditing of public payroll to remove ghost workers.
This shows how he was real and genuine fighting against corruption in Tanzania. The intolerance for corruption won Magufuli attention and admiration worldwide. Many underestimated Magufuli at his inauguration four years ago, but only few do currently.
Magufuli administration wanted Tanzania to walk their talk. The embezzled funds within local government, poor management and sheer waste of public resources, including natural wealth and bureaucracy in government offices. The major aim of Magufuli is to pull up economy that would create opportunities for the youth and reduce growing gap between the rich and the poor as he said the biggest challenge with Tanzanians are poverty and unemployment. He intends to fight corruption and bring discipline and efficiency in government affairs.
He also plans to have better education, water supply, health care delivery and expand economic opportunity for all. He promised to fight corruption without fear or favour and that is what he did. Magufuli is fighting for the Tanzanians to stand alone economically and one day to become a donor country.
On 28th July 2015 former US president Baraka Obama in his speech to African leaders said that:-
“As Africa changes, I’ve called on the world to change its approach to Africa. So many Africans have told me, we don’t want just aid, we want trade that fuels progress. We don’t want patrons, we want partners who help us build our own capacity to grow. We don’t want the indignity of dependence, we want to make our own choices and determine our own future.”
This statement carries a big message to African leaders and their development partners for the reason that African countries have been receiving aid from developed countries for century; the conditions for this aid are due to increase as the need for aid increases in the continent.
At the same time African continent have potential for growth and is rich of natural resources for which developed countries can offer attractive market for greater exchanges between the developed and developing countries.
Now, it is the duty of African leader’s to do away with what is called aid in the continent, and any other sort of neo-colonialism. The first step towards this is to get rid of the notion that, developed countries give aid to the poor countries to help them eradicate poverty and stimulate development.
This notion has proved to work in favor of the donor countries than it has been working for the receiving countries, something which has also been criticized by most of economist as some donor countries use aid as a medium of imperialism.
The level of progress depicted in receiving countries is recorded to be very low in comparison to the huge sums received. There are also cases where the aid do not reach the poor, and promote growth but is instead used to foster dependency and corruption on dishonest procurements, developing irrelevant policies, creating political and economical instability, advocating cultures which are centrally to local cultures and thus doing more worse than good to these countries.
Leave alone what the colonialism did to African countries by stealing resources and using their free labor force to build their infrastructures, industries and other important economic sectors in Europe, colonial history still plays a huge role in the foreign aid process, that’s why for example France tends to gives a lot to its former colonies as a consequence of guilt of the past, at the same time fulfilling their interest.
The donor self interest is not necessarily the same as the receiving country interest;if the donor is looking for market for their finished products they are more likely to give aid to their trade partners over their non trade partners, same applies to culture, if the donor country wants to poison and destruct a receiving country’s culture and norms, they will look for specific areas that will facilitate their mission. Moreover the political and strategic interests of the donors dictate the aid giving process more than concerns of good governance in the recipient nations.
Records indicate that, African continent receives roughly $50 billion of international assistance annually. Yet, instead of drastically improving the living conditions of the 600 million people who live below the poverty line, this aid makes the rich richer, the poor poorer and hinders economic growth in the region, not to mention catalyzing the vicious cycle of corruption which in turn benefits the donor countries than recipient country. The fact that, if you tally up all the bilateral aid that are transferred to a country each year you will find that the flow of funds from recipient countries is much smaller than the flow of funds to donor countries.
It is in record that, 40% of The Government of Tanzania’s budget has always been contributed by the so called development partners. The country has become used to receiving large sums of money that they don’t promote local businesses because they have “free” money at their disposal instead. This prevents any form of improvement in terms of human development and per capita income.
For example if a country is receiving $ 300 billion annually a from donor country for economic and social development. If you calculate in the same year the donor will receive from Tanzania more than $300 billion, the amount which is higher than the aid received. If we assume the same amount in 10 years you will find that Tanzania has drained more cash to a donor Country that it has received.
From available past records, the outflow from Tanzania consist of many items, these items includes interest from the loan, the income that foreigners make on their investments in the country and then repatriate back home, the profits obtained from trading between Tanzania and the donor, Illicit capital flow from Tanzania to donor country.
For example recently during President Magufuli’s administration we have cases of Tax evasion from a mining Company Barrick Gold, were the Government of Tanzania has lost a total of $ 300 billion. We have witnessed foreign companies report false prices on their trade invoices in order to spirit money out of developing countries directly into tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions, a practice known as “trade mis-invoicing”, Usually the goal is to evade taxes, but sometimes this practice is used to launder money or circumvent capital controls.
Self interests can bring on political instability. Instability in most of developing countries is created to allow donor countries to sell their weapons and easily grab countries resources. This has happened in Libya, and it is still happening in Sudan, DRC and other parts of Africa. Democracy has been tainted to create instability for most part of African countries.
In Europe for example, after the election you will not find any political party doing demonstrations, organizing groups and conducting public rallies. But the same people will accuse developing countries of oppressing democracy just because they want to create instability. Being civilized is doing the right thing on the right time at the right place.
A few people cannot just be left to exercise their freedom at the expense of lives of majority others, the principle which is applicable all over the world that “people must work hard after the election and wait until next election should be exercised globally to prevent instability”. The elected member of the parliament should represent their constituency in the parliament.
In my humble opinion, African countries and specifically Tanzania needs trade that fuels progress in sustainable development and not aid with string attached. Fair trade in a way that grows the capability of local industries, agricultural sectors and service delivery sectors to become competitive in the international market.
Democracy should not be used to aid instability, destruction of cultures and as a means to oppress developing countries. We can be assisted with aid whenever natural disasters occurs , just like what Tanzania has done to Mozambique and Malawi recently after the recent hurricane.
What Magufuli is trying to do, is to change the thinking capacity of Tanzanians believing they cannot leave without aids from developing countries. He wants the Tanzanians to work hard, paying tax and think of leaving with their own fund instead of waiting for the donors.
This shows how he was real and genuine fighting against corruption in Tanzania. The intolerance for corruption won Magufuli attention and admiration worldwide. Many underestimated Magufuli at his inauguration four years ago, but only few do currently.
Magufuli administration wanted Tanzania to walk their talk. The embezzled funds within local government, poor management and sheer waste of public resources, including natural wealth and bureaucracy in government offices. The major aim of Magufuli is to pull up economy that would create opportunities for the youth and reduce growing gap between the rich and the poor as he said the biggest challenge with Tanzanians are poverty and unemployment. He intends to fight corruption and bring discipline and efficiency in government affairs.
He also plans to have better education, water supply, health care delivery and expand economic opportunity for all. He promised to fight corruption without fear or favour and that is what he did. Magufuli is fighting for the Tanzanians to stand alone economically and one day to become a donor country.
On 28th July 2015 former US president Baraka Obama in his speech to African leaders said that:-
“As Africa changes, I’ve called on the world to change its approach to Africa. So many Africans have told me, we don’t want just aid, we want trade that fuels progress. We don’t want patrons, we want partners who help us build our own capacity to grow. We don’t want the indignity of dependence, we want to make our own choices and determine our own future.”
This statement carries a big message to African leaders and their development partners for the reason that African countries have been receiving aid from developed countries for century; the conditions for this aid are due to increase as the need for aid increases in the continent.
At the same time African continent have potential for growth and is rich of natural resources for which developed countries can offer attractive market for greater exchanges between the developed and developing countries.
Now, it is the duty of African leader’s to do away with what is called aid in the continent, and any other sort of neo-colonialism. The first step towards this is to get rid of the notion that, developed countries give aid to the poor countries to help them eradicate poverty and stimulate development.
This notion has proved to work in favor of the donor countries than it has been working for the receiving countries, something which has also been criticized by most of economist as some donor countries use aid as a medium of imperialism.
The level of progress depicted in receiving countries is recorded to be very low in comparison to the huge sums received. There are also cases where the aid do not reach the poor, and promote growth but is instead used to foster dependency and corruption on dishonest procurements, developing irrelevant policies, creating political and economical instability, advocating cultures which are centrally to local cultures and thus doing more worse than good to these countries.
Leave alone what the colonialism did to African countries by stealing resources and using their free labor force to build their infrastructures, industries and other important economic sectors in Europe, colonial history still plays a huge role in the foreign aid process, that’s why for example France tends to gives a lot to its former colonies as a consequence of guilt of the past, at the same time fulfilling their interest.
The donor self interest is not necessarily the same as the receiving country interest;if the donor is looking for market for their finished products they are more likely to give aid to their trade partners over their non trade partners, same applies to culture, if the donor country wants to poison and destruct a receiving country’s culture and norms, they will look for specific areas that will facilitate their mission. Moreover the political and strategic interests of the donors dictate the aid giving process more than concerns of good governance in the recipient nations.
Records indicate that, African continent receives roughly $50 billion of international assistance annually. Yet, instead of drastically improving the living conditions of the 600 million people who live below the poverty line, this aid makes the rich richer, the poor poorer and hinders economic growth in the region, not to mention catalyzing the vicious cycle of corruption which in turn benefits the donor countries than recipient country. The fact that, if you tally up all the bilateral aid that are transferred to a country each year you will find that the flow of funds from recipient countries is much smaller than the flow of funds to donor countries.
It is in record that, 40% of The Government of Tanzania’s budget has always been contributed by the so called development partners. The country has become used to receiving large sums of money that they don’t promote local businesses because they have “free” money at their disposal instead. This prevents any form of improvement in terms of human development and per capita income.
For example if a country is receiving $ 300 billion annually a from donor country for economic and social development. If you calculate in the same year the donor will receive from Tanzania more than $300 billion, the amount which is higher than the aid received. If we assume the same amount in 10 years you will find that Tanzania has drained more cash to a donor Country that it has received.
From available past records, the outflow from Tanzania consist of many items, these items includes interest from the loan, the income that foreigners make on their investments in the country and then repatriate back home, the profits obtained from trading between Tanzania and the donor, Illicit capital flow from Tanzania to donor country.
For example recently during President Magufuli’s administration we have cases of Tax evasion from a mining Company Barrick Gold, were the Government of Tanzania has lost a total of $ 300 billion. We have witnessed foreign companies report false prices on their trade invoices in order to spirit money out of developing countries directly into tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions, a practice known as “trade mis-invoicing”, Usually the goal is to evade taxes, but sometimes this practice is used to launder money or circumvent capital controls.
Self interests can bring on political instability. Instability in most of developing countries is created to allow donor countries to sell their weapons and easily grab countries resources. This has happened in Libya, and it is still happening in Sudan, DRC and other parts of Africa. Democracy has been tainted to create instability for most part of African countries.
In Europe for example, after the election you will not find any political party doing demonstrations, organizing groups and conducting public rallies. But the same people will accuse developing countries of oppressing democracy just because they want to create instability. Being civilized is doing the right thing on the right time at the right place.
A few people cannot just be left to exercise their freedom at the expense of lives of majority others, the principle which is applicable all over the world that “people must work hard after the election and wait until next election should be exercised globally to prevent instability”. The elected member of the parliament should represent their constituency in the parliament.
In my humble opinion, African countries and specifically Tanzania needs trade that fuels progress in sustainable development and not aid with string attached. Fair trade in a way that grows the capability of local industries, agricultural sectors and service delivery sectors to become competitive in the international market.
Democracy should not be used to aid instability, destruction of cultures and as a means to oppress developing countries. We can be assisted with aid whenever natural disasters occurs , just like what Tanzania has done to Mozambique and Malawi recently after the recent hurricane.
What Magufuli is trying to do, is to change the thinking capacity of Tanzanians believing they cannot leave without aids from developing countries. He wants the Tanzanians to work hard, paying tax and think of leaving with their own fund instead of waiting for the donors.
