Burundi hails Tanzania’s ‘remarkable’ reform drive

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania has much further to go on its “remarkable journey of reform” under President John Magufuli, a senior Burundi has said.

Ms Leontine Nzeyimana, Burundi’s Minister in the Office of the President Responsible for East African Community (EAC) Affairs, hailed President Magufuli’s leadership on Monday saying his administration would meet Tanzania’s desire for reform.

“Tanzanians may be complaining about life’s hardship now, but they should bear with this transitional period only because all this will forgotten in the near future,” she said in an exclusive interview with The Citizen.

She said the East African Community (EAC) “is still amazed” by the Tanzanian President’s leadership style.

The Burundian minister cited the fifth phase government’s cost-cutting drive, tough stance against corruption and efforts to instill accountability in the civil service a recipe for social and economic development.

“President Magufuli has demonstrated readiness to save his people, and it is upon other leaders in the bloc to adopt his spirit,” Ms Nzeyimana.

But she warned it would not be an easy road for the government’s reform drive because “people are resistant to change”. The success of Tanzania in its reform agenda would also depend on the support from the people, she said.

Turning to doing business with Tanzania, the Burundian minister said her country and other landlocked East African nations stood to benefit from the improvements that President Magufuli has initiated at the Dar es Salaam Port.

“Bureaucracy and the theft of goods imported via the Dar Port posed a major threat to businessmen from Burundi, for example, although my country didn’t consider changing the port.

“We kept on using the port because of proximity and other business reasons. But President Magufuli has restored confidence in our businessmen,” she added.

She also hailed President Magufuli for taking his austerity measures to the East African Community (EAC) soon after assuming leadership of the regional bloc saying the region would align itself to the his financial discipline.