What Tanzanians think of JPM’s three years in office

President John Magufuli speaks during a symposium at the University of Dar es Salaam last week. From left are: Profs Humphrey Moshi (partly hidden behind the President), Kitila Mkumbo, William Andey Anangisye, Rwekaza Mukandala and Martha Qorro. PHOTO|FILE

What you need to know:

  • As President John Magufuli’s administration turns three today, public opinion is divided between those who perceive him as a transformative leader and those who see him as someone who is taking the country back to the days of a one party system where the voice of the ruling party and that of the President meant everything and would go unopposed.

Dar es Salaam. It has been an exciting and thrilling three years for some as well as bitter and terrible for others.

As President John Magufuli’s administration turns three years old today, November 5, 2018, public opinion is extremely divided between those who perceive him as a transformative leader and those who see him as someone who is taking the country back to the days of the one-party system.

The three years have witnessed issues that have brought politicians together and others that have created intensifying political polarisation and tension. It is political polarisation, however, that worries many as it has made issues to be looked at or judged through the prism of politics and individual political inclinations.

Those who think so believe it is the genesis of the newfound definition of the word “patriotism” as those who are pleased with the government’s performance see those who are critical of it as less patriotic and that they are being used by foreign forces.

Some have blamed the President for this phenomenon even as others have come to his defense, touting his repeated cliché “development has no party.”

The schism

Those praising President Magufuli do so on account of how his administration has been implementing major infrastructure projects.

They include the standard gauge railway line, the 2,100 Stiegler’s Gorge hydropower project, construction of flyovers in Dar es Salaam and rehabilitation as well as building of roads across various regions in the country and also reviving of Air Tanzania.

Dr Magufuli also deserves credit on how he implements his anti-corruption crusade, stabilisation of inflation, implementation of the free primary and secondary school education as well as protection of the country’s natural resources.

But the President’s critics mention the deteriorating level of security, the backsliding of democratic and political rights and the running away from traditional policies that introduced Tanzania’s foreign policies in the international community as some of the areas where he has not done well during the three years.

These two camps and their arguments have been confronting each other in a debate that has been at the centre of the country’s political discourse on what should come first between development and democracy.

President Magufuli’s sympathizers did not see any problem when he banned political rallies and live coverage of parliamentary activities as soon as he took office.

He said then that people should work and not allow themselves to be distracted by such things as political rallies or watching television.

The sympathizers see the logic in the President’s decision, believing that development—which certainly results from work—comes first, ahead of democracy.

He is the man

One of those who support the President is his erstwhile critic, Prof Kitila Mkumbo.

During last week’s symposium at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) where academics discussed the country’s political and economic situation - during Dr Magufuli’s three years in office - Prof Mkumbo said there were plenty of issues that Dr Magufuli could be applauded for.

He said apart from imparting discipline in public service, the President had also been successful in maintaining the accomplishments made by his predecessor, during the fourth-phase government.

Prof Mkumbo, who is currently the Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Water and Irrigation, said it is because of these efforts that the country’s economy has maintained a growth rate of seven per cent with the expectation that soon the growth will reach 8.4 per cent.

“There is no doubt that President Magufuli has been a champion in ensuring accountability in public service, a commitment that has been going hand in hand with the war against corruption,” Prof Mkumbo noted.

At the same symposium, some supporters poured praise on Dr Magufuli for his unwavering commitment to the protection of the country’s natural wealth and ensuring it benefits the people.

The minister for Constitution and Legal Affairs, Prof Palamaganda Kabudi, surpassed all speakers at the symposium, saying that theirs was an administration that sought to alleviate poverty and create an enabling environment for investments. The future, according to the former UDSM don, was exciting.

“Revenues from mineral extraction have shot up by an impressive 14 per cent. The telecommunication sector’s growth stands at 13.8 per cent. We have also registered some impressive growth in a number of sectors,” said the minister.

Work ethic and security

Athumani Rashid, a street vendor from Tabata in Dar es Salaam sees President Magufuli’s no-nonsense attitude to laziness in public service as the most overriding reward the President has given to his people.

“It reached a point where a doctor in a hospital thought attending a patient was a matter of own volition, not a duty,” he remembers.

Joseph Shayo from Ubungo is pleased with the government’s swift action against militia, which were wreaking havoc at Mkuranga, Kibiti and Rufiji in the Coast Region.

“It was terrible,” he recalls.

“The President’s move is extremely commendable in returning the situation to normalcy in those areas.”

These sentiments represent the views of both those within the government and without who, when looking back at where President Magufuli took this country from, cannot think of any other way to express their pleasure at the President than garlanding him with flowers.

Magufuli’s critics

Nevertheless, there are some who view President Magufuli as someone who has no respect for the democratic values upon which Tanzania has been built for decades.

They have been asking how development could be achieved if freedom of the media and expression was stifled; if there was no level playing field among the country’s political parties during elections and if people had been made to live in constant fear due to the wave of unresolved kidnappings and disappearance of high profile business and political leaders.

Some warn of the danger of the tendency by members of the executive to weaken institutions that have been established to ensure checks and balances within the government and holding its officials accountable.

A former chief justice of the High Court, who wished to remain anonymous to avoid quarreling with the government, confided to The Citizen about his fears on the ongoing campaign to build a cult of deriding institutions.

“You wake up and hear a district commissioner ordering the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) to investigate this or that politician or that former government leader,” lamented the retired Judge.

“This culture should not be allowed to continue. These institutions do not exist to receive orders from the President’s appointees. There are mechanisms established on how they work. Let these mechanisms be followed.”

This tendency of weakening the institutions also worries the Health minister in the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar (SMZ) Hamad Rashid Mohamed.

The former leader of the opposition in the Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania told a symposium last week at UDSM that of all the good work the President has done in his three years in office, he needed to respect other pillars of the state such as the Judiciary and Parliament.

“Mwalimu (Julius) Nyerere established these pillars and funded them but he respected them and never dared attempt to interfere with their independence,” he explained.

As President Magufuli goes do start a fresh year since he took up the reins of power in November 2016, these diversity of opinions among different section of the public is expected to remain as he strives to unify the country and lead it to his rightful vision.

“Mwalimu [Julius] Nyerere established these pillars and funded them but he respected them and never dared an attempt to interfere with their independence,” he explained.