Hisha Sorel
Senior Member
- Dec 27, 2017
- 192
- 140
WITH ALL HIS MISTAKES, MAGUFULI NOT JUST A COVID SKEPTIC PRESIDENT!
It has been four months this the departure of the most consequential and controversial president in Tanzanian history.
Like many, I received the news with shock, and it took me a while to adjust, accept, and in turn reflect on how to think about his legacy.
As John Pombe Magufuli’s was laid to rest on the 17th of March 2021, the foreign press baptized him a moniker “a Covid skeptic president”.
This late eulogy will not make attempts to reject the accusations but instead expand his legacy.
THE BULLDOZER
John Pombe Magufuli was born in 1959 in Lake Victoria zone district of Chato.
He was a secondary school teacher by training, and later earning degree in education science from the University of Dar-es-Salaam in 1988 before working as an industrial chemist at Nyanza Cooperative before representing Chato as a member of Parliament.
He was quicky appointed in a cabinet position as a deputy minister for works, transport and communication later as minister for works between 2010 and 2015.
Here he gained a reputation for hard work and trustworthiness in a ministry notorious for kickbacks and widespread corruption.
Among his accomplishment is a road network connecting the country and DART, a rapid Dar es salaam bus system.
THE SAVIOUR
His election in 2015 granted CCM, the ruling party a second life. Business as usual, and corruption proved fatal for the previous administration. Heading to the election, CCM experienced multiple factions competing for power.
As by June, four months before the election, Edward Lowasa, a former prime minister for three years under Jakaya Kikwete, was viewed as the front runner.
In fact, it was Mkapa and CCM elders who quietly pushed the party to nominate Magufuli for two major reasons.
Firstly, contrast to Magufuli, Lowassa was associated with a major fraud case where he was forced to resign.
Secondly, the forced resignation of Lowassa as prime minister in 2008 saw sharp divisions emerge within CCM between Lowassa and president Jakaya Kikwete supporters. Throughout this Magufuli chose to remain Neutral to his benefit.
Losing the nomination, Edward Lowasa immediately switched to the opposition and with him came his wealth, celebrities, and CCM veterans.
CCM victory of 58.46 % was the narrowest in the history of the country. These results must have made it clear to Magufuli that his leadership was not to be taken for granted.
THEADMINISTRATION
Magufuli had two objectives: improve the nation’s revenue and in turn increase infrastructure spending.
These two defined his approach since in his first 60 days, Magufuli focused on the National Bank and other institution responsible for revenue.
He enforced basic discipline through sacking and management restructuring, removed thousands of phantom employees, and demanded increased revenue.
He audited the foreign mining companies—unveiling strategies used to avoid taxes and the sharing of revenue. This paved a way to new mining laws and reforms that saw the government receiving 50% of the profits form minerals.
He constructed thousands of new health facilities, roads, bridges, railway, airports, housing, and expanded power access to 80% of the villages. Magufuli normalized a culture of accountability where failures in government performance were accompanied by sacking or resignation. In his term, countless leaders lost and gained power according to their performance as failure was not tolerated.
Outside of the government, Magufuli was a genuinely empathetic. There are countless moments where he defied tradition and protocols by engaging with those in need where he was able to use his power to address their problem instantaneously.
In these moments, Magufuli still showed constraint and political intelligence by still involving appropriate channels such as District commissioners, Police commissioners, ministers, and lawyers. He often quoted the law in his instructions, and delegated task to correct institutions.
Perhaps one thing he will be remembered the most for would be his defence of small business owners, famous as machinga. Magufuli creatively provided IDs granting full access to the city without harassment. The fee acted attached to the pass acted as an affordable flat tax.
THE AUTHORITARIAN
This was apparent is his leadership style. From rampant nepotism, corruption, malpractice, foreign exploitation, and incompetence; Magufuli confronted the challenges with unprecedented aggression. Before his untimely departure, the party reversed the flow of members with Edward Lowasa returning to CCM together with many veterans and celebrities.
Nonetheless there were failures with Mishandling and misinformation of Covid-19 being the most notable.
As the pandemic progressed, the government grew increasingly skeptical and hostile towards any effort to control the infection.
While there were practical reasons to avoid lockdown, none existed for discontinuing masks, allowing mass gatherings, dismissing existence of disease, promoting unproven treatment such as steam inhaling, and spreading unproven conspiracy theories regarding vaccines.
The most egregious of these was the importation of unproven treatment from Madagascar—claiming to cure COVID-19. This decision ended in the humiliation of the government as Madagascar was later overwhelmed by cases of infection, with their treatment proving ineffective.
Steam inhalation, supported by the ministry of health, was the silliest of the fads. Using high temperature to kill respiratory virus is as effective as burning a house to kill cockroaches.
The government skepticism in COVID-19 vaccines has legitimized population resistance to the only effective resistance against viral infection and thus creating a challenge for the current administration.
The most serious of this is the assault on Tanzania Democracy. The 2020 election was filled irregularities including alleged ballot stuffing, opposition harassment and suppression, detentions, deaths, and the victory acquired by the ruling party was very unrealistic.
Over the past five years the country experienced unprecedent human rights crisis, media suppression, kidnappings, assassinations, government surveillance, and overall deterioration of democratic institutions.
CONTROVERSIAL LEGACY
Hence, with such legacy, I find difficult to summarise such man as simply a “Covid skeptic president”.
Individual limitations have rarely hindered the world from celebrating accomplishment of powerful figures.
For instance, just few days ago, Donald Rumsfeld, George W Bush’s secretary of defence, passed away. Despite Rumsfeld being responsible for the war in Iraq, a war built on lies (i.e., weapons of mass destructions resulting into death of millions and destabilization of the middle east; his obituary acknowledged the nuance of his life. Put it simply, he was not summarized as a warmonger.
As Magufuli was laid to rest, foreign press tarnishing his legacy, what could Magufuli have done to fortify his legacy? In my opinion, as it is always a case to all African leaders, you cannot build a country by your own!
A leader should empower his/her people to participate as equal members in the act of governance. People should have a greater role in all aspect as it is far difficult to bribe, corrupt, or manipulate an entire Nation of people. No individual in perfect, regardless of if they Donald Rumsfeld or John Magufuli, but through accountability and cooperation others can compensate for our limitations.
Hereafter, Magufuli could have funded and enables the creation of independent press organisation that are answerable to the people; his government could have simplified formation of political movements and coalitions that would have diluted concentrated power which is an easy target by foreign firms and powerful interest; he could have opened a discourse and refinement of ideas.
