Typically, my yearly term in the States lasts from Labor Day through Thanksgiving, but this year I will extend to just after Christmas in order to see my good friend (and fellow Moshian) Shay Bell in her home state of Florida before we both head back to the Motherland....
Still, that doesn't mean "outta sight outta mind" - obviously, since I have been in New York, I have been thinking about Toa Nafasi constantly: fundraising, administrating, and networking.
Now, I am starting to figure out the lay of the land for when I get back - how we'll start the new year in Msaranga, prepare the additional schools for our infiltration, and resign myself to enduring the frustrations of living and working in a developing country. (That last one has typically been a bit of a challenge for me!)
One big change for all of us living in Tanzania is that we have a new president! I blogged in October about the political campaigns of the various players, but now that it's all over and the dust has settled, John Magufuli has defeated Edward Lowassa to become the fifth president of the United Republic of Tanzania.
It's unclear as yet how this new guy will affect the daily lives of his constituents, but I gotta say Johnny Pombe might be my new hero! If he's serious about what he's saying as per the article below from The Citizen, I think I might actually be down to get down with a Tanzanian politician - cue up the flying pigs here. He seems to be inclined to cut down on the crap and beef up the beneficial. I know it's still early going, but let me be cautiously optimistic and say, Hongera sana, Bwana Rais! (Many congrats, Mr. President!)
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Magufuli Demonstrates He's Not a Joker, Means Business
Public servants have been put on notice: change and serve the people or go. Only three weeks after being sworn in, President John Magufuli has already made clear that when he preached 'work and nothing else' in his campaigns, he meant it.
Though heads have
not yet started rolling, the directives which he has given in his first
three weeks in office have sent a clear message that the 'business as usual'
syndrome will not be tolerated by Dr. Magufuli's government. And for
people who think that it is those politicians from the opposition party who are going to
suffer from the new no-nonsense head of the state, indications show that
the first culprits of Dr. Magufuli's quest for change will be those working in his government.
For one thing, Dr.
Magufuli has already indicated that he will not entertain spendthrift
government. His decision to cut foreign travel by public officials
except with permission from his office, as well as the slashing of the parliamentary 'cocktail budget,' has clearly shown what he meant by 'cost-cutting
measures.'
Dr. Magufuli reinforced his message in his
inauguration speech in which he outlined what he intends to do in the
next five years. In the speech, Dr. Magufuli showed the challenges which
the country faces, but he went further to draw a road-map showing how the
government will tackle the problems.
Dr. Magufuli listed
corruption as the first problem which he encountered during election
campaigns. He told the Parliament that in all the areas where he went during
campaigns, corruption topped the list of people's complaints.
He also said citizens are dissatisfied with the performance of the Local Government
Authorities (LGAs). Areas which he cited as most wanting in LGAs'
performance include revenue loss, failure to collect revenue,
misappropriation of public resources, and poor implementation of some development projects.
On issues pertaining to land, Dr.
Magufuli said conflicts between farmers and pastoralists should be resolved, the
double allocation of plots should be stopped, people who horde
large lands which they have not developed should start to think on how
they are going to develop the land, municipal authorities and councils should start
implementing land plans immediately, and people who have invaded open-spaced and other reserved areas should start parking now. In fact, in
Dar es Salaam, demolition of houses built on open spaces has already
started and television footage has shown some of the posher houses being pulled
down with their owners witnessing. This could not be imagined in the
past regime.
The Head of
State also indicated that he wants to see corruption, theft, and
bureaucracy at the port become issue of the past.
Dr. Magufuli has also put
the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) on notice. In his speech he said TRA
should find solutions to thorny issues including tax evasion, corruption
among its officials, bureaucracy, and revenue loss to list but a few. He
indicated that his government would not tolerate any TRA official who
will impede government resolve to collect enough revenue, especially
from large businessmen.
The power utility firm,
Tanesco, was also given a task to ensure that intermittent power cuts be addressed and power rationing should come to an end.
Noting that
some government officials participate in poaching, Dr. Magufuli asked
the Tourism and Natural Resource docket to find lasting solutions to the
problem which has tarnished the image of the country abroad.
"How come elephant tusks are
impounded in China or Europe while they passed at the port of Dar es Salaam? Something should be done to make sure that this situation does not
recur," he said. But he also asked the docket to address perennial
conflicts between villagers and national parks and forest reserves concerning
revenue loss.
On health services,
Dr. Magufuli told Parliamentarians that the government would do
everything possible to make sure that health services are made available in all villages in order to reduce congestion in the few existing health facilities. He
also said it is his resolve to ensure that cost-sharing is moderated so
as to remove all unnecessary contributions which patients have to make. One solution he proposed is ensuring that all people are enrolled in
health insurance schemes. This will also address the problem of the shortage
of drugs in public health facilities.
Immigration is also on the President's radar. He said that the haphazard issuing of work permits
should come to an end, and the department should also be prudent in issuing
residency permits and closely follow what the foreigners who have been
granted work permits are doing. He said he wants to end the trend where
foreigners have been engaged in activities which locals could handle
easily.
On education, Dr.
Magufuli said it is his dream to see that the government addresses
notorious problems in the sector such as the shortage of learning
and teaching materials, removal of unnecessary contributions for
guardians and parents, unending teachers' complaints, poor learning
environments, and lack of teacher houses and others.
He said that he
recognizes efforts taken by the Judiciary to address problems under its
area. But, he said more needs to be done to ensure that cases are heard
quickly.
On mining, he said
his government would make sure that locals benefit more from Tanzania's God-given resources by - among other things - ensuring that small-scale miners
are allocated areas for their activities and they are facilitated with
equipment and markets.
Generally, Dr.
Magufuli showed that his government is ready to work together with other
stakeholders to realize his government's dreams. And the way he has
been executing his duties, Dr. Magufuli has started to endear himself to many
people, earning accolades from even some of the opposition politicians who were critical of him during the campaigns.
Kigoma Urban MP, Mr.
Zitto Kabwe is one of the opposition politicians who have bought into Dr.
Magufuli's promises in tackling corruption, especially at higher levels.
The ACT-Wazalendo national leader says he has decided to support Dr.
Magufuli on those issues because in the last ten years, the country has
been rocked by a number of grand corruption scandals.
"Therefore, it is
only logical to support someone who has shown determination to deal with
that situation," says Mr. Zitto adding, "We have built a strong opposition
based on a grand corruption agenda. Now we have a president who has
decided to join us in this crusade. Why should we oppose him?"
Mr. Ramadhani Dau,
the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) director, is one of the people who
have been elated by Dr. Magufuli's speech in the Parliament. He said that for
years the NSSF has been working together with the government in the improvement
of social services.
"We are now more
than ready to work in assisting the government to achieve its dream of
reviving and strengthening industries in the country. We are ready to
venture into this area with the government because we believe that
industrialization would solve several problems facing the country
currently," he said.
It is now clear to
everyone what the fifth phase of Tanzanian government wants to do to advance
the country and improve people's lives. The problem at hand is whether Dr.
Magufuli will have competent and committed people to assist him carry out
this responsibility.
For the targets to
be achieved, there is one major obstacle which the country needs to
overcome and that is the mindsets of most Tanzanians. Over the years, Tanzanians
have been molded into a certain type of social-political-communal mode
of living. The public service has also not been spared in that trend.
Looking at what Dr.
Magufuli wants the government to achieve and the way he wants it to do
that, and his hint that he would need a lean cabinet, it points to one
obvious thing. He will need a team of people who are ready and able to
do things differently. A minister who only relies on what has been
written in books when dealing with emerging problems will not fit
into Dr. Magufuli's plans.
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