Momboi Reece
Member
- Sep 16, 2018
- 30
- 15
How Magufuli is failing Tanzanians and East Africans
On paper, President Pombe Magufuli is arguably the most learned of all East African presidents. This is not to say that he is the brightest or rather the less ignorant of them all. This can be clearly seen from how he is handling the Covid-19 pandemic which has hit his country like a thunder strike.
From the time Tanzania reported that it had a corona virus patient, President Magufuli ignored measures that most governments were undertaking to prevent further spread of the disease. He despised social distancing rules by allowing people to gather in churches and mosques believing that prayer could defeat the pandemic, and only urged them to observe hygiene as a preventive measure.
Further, he surprised masses by believing that Madagascar had found a cure to Covid-19 and was said to have ordered the "alleged cure" for Tanzanians to use against the pandemic. As a chemistry professor, most people expect President Magufuli to understand the effects of the disease better than other leaders, but he is not showing any signs of taking the matter seriously. Instead, the respected leader has opted to stick to his beliefs, probably thinking that he might use this period to make economic advancements that could make see his country better placed in the region.
His moves towards fighting corruption in Tanzania had been highly appreciated by most of the citizens from the East African region but his undertaking about the Covid-19 might make people forget about his rights and focus more on his wrongs.
Even though Tanzania has officially reported that it has slightly over 500 confirmed cases of Covid-19, a Ugandan journalist has revealed that Tanzania's case is worse than what people can imagine. Andrew Mwenda, the said journalist has claimed, through his twitter account that his reliable sources from Tanzania have confirmed to him that the actual Covid-19 confirmed cases are 16,467. He went on to reveal that 1,293 had succumbed while only 118 persons had recovered.
Because of this, Zambia has reportedly closed its borders with Tanzania, a move that is expected to be taken by both Kenya and Uganda who have reportedly found Tanzanian truck drivers as being part of the infected persons. President Magufuli should be reminded that Africans knew nothing about the Bible or the Quran, and that the countries from which the messages came from are suffering as well.
He should follow suit and do what other countries are doing to prevent Tanzanians as well as East Africans from the blow. He should also forget about economic advancements and focus on how people will stay alive, furthermore, how can an economy do well without its most reliable resource, humans?