Magufuli impresses many after 100 days

Dar es Salaam. An overwhelming majority of Tanzanians have given the thumbs up to President John Magufuli’s governance as he clocks 100 days in office.

In a survey commissioned by Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL), publishers of The Citizen, Mwananchi and Mwanaspoti, 90.4 per cent of  the respondents said they were satisfied with how President Magufuli is managing the government.

With the exception of how he has handled the  Zanzibar political  crisis, respondents gave Dr Magufuli high marks in all other areas.

This singles him out as  the most liked leader among politicians who featured in  the presidential race in last October’s General Election.

The survey, conducted by a consortium comprising of Ms InfoTrak Research & Consulting & Ms Midas Touché East Africa Ltd involved 1,200 Tanzanians aged 18 years and above, sampled from 15 regions across the country.

“The survey provided an opportunity for the citizens of the United Republic of Tanzania to score the performance of the fifth phase government under the leadership of His Excellency President Dr John Pombe Magufuli,” reads part of the report.

The survey was conducted in Dodoma and Tabora (Central Zone), Dar es Salaam, Morogoro and Mtwara (Coastal Zone), Mwanza, Mara, Kagera and Kigoma (Lake Zone), Arusha and Tanga (Northern Zone), Mbeya and Ruvuma (Southern Zone as well as Unguja North and Urban West Regions in Zanzibar.

Only 9.6 per cent of Tanzanians, most of them middle-aged urban dwellers, said they were not happy with Dr Magufuli’s governance style.

More women (93.1 per cent) expressed their satisfaction with  the President above  88 per cent males. 

The survey provided an opportunity for the citizens of the United Republic of Tanzania to score the performance of the fifth phase government under the leadership of His Excellency President Dr John Pombe Magufuli

Report of  survey commissioned by mwananchi communications limited

He also received more support in rural areas (91.5 per cent) compared to urban areas  where he scored 88.2 per cent. Only 11.8 and 8.5 per cent of urban and rural dwellers,  respectively,  have expressed dissatisfaction with his leadership.

The survey further shows that Dr Magufuli, who received 58.46 per cent of the total presidential votes during the last General Election held last October, is the most  favoured politician by Tanzanians aged between 46 and 55 (92.4 per cent). On the other hand,  the youth  in the 36-45 age group leads in disapproving his leadership (12.4 per cent).

Another age group which is fond of President Magufuli is young people aged between 26 and 25 (92.1 per cent) but on the other hand, 10.9 per cent of people aged between 18 and 25, have expressed their dislike of Dr Magufuli’s governance.

Dr Magufuli has received high rating in the southern zone, comprising Mbeya and Ruvuma regions. He scored 96.9 acceptance per centage followed by Coast (92.6 per cent), Lake Zone (91.8 per cent), Central (88.4 per cent), Zanzibar (86.4 per cent) and northern (80 per cent).

Apart from overall rating, other areas in which many people gave Dr Magufuli high performance rating include observing and ensuring the rule of law and good governance (81.9 per cent), ensuring freedom of speech and information (78.9 per cent), his friendliness to the media (76.1 per cent) and his attention to international affairs, including the East African Community (EAC) (77.8 per cent).

Many women (81.1 per cent) said Dr Magufuli performed better in these areas compared to 78.6 per cent of men with people aged 58 and above giving him high performance rating of 81.9 per cent.

Young people aged between 18 and 25 gave President Magufuli the lowest rating of 78.3 per cent.

Zanzibar respondents thought that President Magufuli had done well in these areas (85.7 per cent ) but people in Lake Zone were not so fond of him (75.4 per cent).

On the downside, almost half of the respondents (48.8 per cent) noted that they were not impressed with the way the President addressed   Zanzibar’s  political impasse.

Only 34.4 per cent of them noted that they were happy with the  way he had dealt with the issue with 16.8 per cent saying they didn’t know how he faired.

Majority of respondents also seconded the way Dr Magufuli has handled economic challenges, including unemployment. Some 84.3 per cent of female respondents and 81 per cent of male respondents said they were satisfied with how the Head of State  handled  the issues.

Some 85.6 per cent of rural respondents and 76 per cent of urban dwellers also supported Dr Magufuli’s actions on the economy and unemployment with respondents in the Central Zone giving him high marks as well (88.1 per cent).

As if the President was correct in diagnosing corruption and misallocation of funds as the twin cancers that are troubling the nation, 92.6 per cent  of women respondents said ‘YES’. Some 90.2 per cent of male respondents also affirmed the steps in the area.

People in the Central Zone (99.7 per cent) also believe that the President has done well in this category likewise those from Zanzibar (98.1 per cent).

Their satisfaction stems from  the steps he took  shortly after he assumed leadership by plugging revenue loss loopholes at Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) and Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) where several high ranking officials were suspended and others taken to court to answer economic sabotage charges. Dozens of other officials from several public institutions have also been suspended pending investigations over misuse of funds allocated.

Dr Magufuli has so far shown a no nonsense approach in taming corruption, laziness and the business-as-usual syndrome among public servants. This has endeared him to most  Tanzanians. Whereas in the  October polls he received only 58.46 per cent of the  votes cast, the survey commissioned shows that if elections were to be held today,  Dr Magufuli would win by a resounding 70 pe rcent, followed by Edward Lowassa of Chadema with 20 per cent. In the 2015 polls, Lowassa received 39.97 per cent of the votes.