"Ndugu wananchi, kwa masikitiko makubwa nawajulisha kuwa, leo tarehe 17 Machi mwaka huu wa 2021, majira ya saa 12 jioni, tumempoteza kiongozi wetu shupavu, Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano, Mheshimiwa Dkt. John Pombe Magululi; ambaye amefariki kwa maradhi ya moyo katika hospitali ya Mzena, jijini Da es Salaam, alikokuwa akipatiwa matibabu”. That was the terse, short statement, which was made by the then Vice President of the United Republic, Samia Suluhu Hassan; when she formally announced to Tanzanians, and to the rest of the world, the untimely death of our then President, the late John Pombe Maguduli, the first Tanzanian President to die in office.
As would be expected, this sudden announcement produced a great deal of shock in all those who heard it live.Thus, last week, March 17th, 2022; was the first anniversary of President John Pombe Magufuli’s untimely death, which occurred hardly three months into what would have been his second term in office. And this day was aptly observed at national level through a prayer congregation attended by all the nation’s top leaders, who assembled at Chato (the home village of both the birth and burial, of the late President); in commemoration of the first anniversary of that sorrowful event.
The famous English Playwright and dramatist, William Shakespeare, wrote the following lines in his work titled Julies Caesar : “The evil that men do lives after them, but the good is often interred with their bones”. Tanzanians should not, nay, must not, allow ‘the good’ that the late President Magufuli did for our nation, to “be interred with his bones”.
And that, I humbly submit, should be the main purpose, and principal objective, of all such death commemoration events for all our departed leaders. Consequently, that will be the theme of today’s article, which attempts to present “the good” that the late President Magufuli did for our country and nation, “lest we forget”.
Everyone is, of course, free to make his own assessment of the late President Magufuli’s performance. There are three specific areas which lend themselves to leadership performance assessment and evaluation. They are (a) the state of the economy, and the social services; (b) participation in the international relations area; and (c) the management of the political landscape. In respect of the late President Magufuli,
I would venture to say that the vast majority, if not all, of the people, would easily agree that his performance in the area of strengthening the country’s economy, and his delivery in the social services sector, were admirably extraordinary. There is this Kiswahili proverb, which says “Mwenye macho, haambiwi tazama”. The positive results of his endeavours in this area were there for all to see, and witness for themselves.
For example, in the face oh high risks of failure, he boldly undertook to implement mega infrastructure projects ; particularly those of shifting the government capital to Dodoma, and the construction of the huge Stigler’s Gorge electricity generating plant; both of which had been conceived by the late President Nyerere in the early formative years of the country’s independence; but had been totally frustrated by factors beyond his control.
Other apparently risky mega investment projects included the reviving of the seriously ailing national Airline, Air Tanzania Corporation; by purchasing for it the most modern flying aircraft the Dreamliner, among other latest models; and the construction of the standard Gauge Railway line of more than one thousand kilometers; plus the construction of new, large, passenger and cargo ships to operate on Tanzanian inland Lakes; and all of these mega projects being carried out using only internally generated funds !
And in the Social service area, the late President Magufuli quickly introduced and implemented the policy of “free Primary and junior secondary education up to FORM IV level; and also greatly increased the amount of interest-free loans to higher (tertiary) education students. Considering the fact that there are as many as fifty-two University institutions that, between them, were admitting a total of more than one hundred students every year; plus an even much larger number of continuing students; granting loans to such large numbers of beneficiaries as a very heavy burden, as well as risky business, for the government to undertake. But Magufuli’s government had no hesitation in accepting to carry this extra heavy load, obviously based on the basic principle which is expressed in the dictum “elimu ni msingi wa maendeleo” .
On the other hand, however, his rather callous disregard of the serious dangers posed by the corona virus pandemic, relying instead on urging people to pray and pray again, asking for God’s divine protection. But, indeed, as if the almighty God had whispered to him, our country was largely saved from the ravaging effects of this pandemic, which continued to devastate many other countries in the entire word; thus necessitating the imposition of some extremely severe restrictions on peoples’ movements, such as lockdowns; which obviously created new serious problems by disrupting peoples’ normal lives.
President Magufuli luckily saved us from all that, with people continuing to live their normal, ordinary lives of working hard, in compliance with his famous slogan “Hapa kazi tu”.
Furthermore, opinions are also divided with regard to the international relations area. There are those who think that the late President seems to have largely distanced himself from personal meetings with his peers, both in respect of attendance at international meetings like the United Nations General Assembly; and in travelling to other countries on official visits. For he rarely crossed Tanzania’s borders for these purposes. Although they are also those who did not see this to be a problem at all.
Similarly, in the area of managing the political landscape; there is a substantial number of those who feel that he was not giving equal opportunities to all the political players, to exercise their political rights, particularly when he imposed a ban on public political meetings during the times when there was no elections for which to conduct the necessary electoral campaigns meetings.
But I am one of the late President Magufuli’s many admirers, who also include his Zimbabwe enthusiasts, who coined the “Magufulification” concept, to which I briefly referred to in last week’s article. Nevertheless, as shown above, I readily concede that, being a human being like the rest of us, he did commit mistakes in some areas of state governance. But such mistakes are what, I submit, should have been “interred with his bones”.
My admiration of the late President Magufuli’s performance, is clearly evidenced in the series of articles, which were regularly published in this column in respect of his performance : (a) after his first hundred days in office; and (b) at the end of each of his years in office, during the whole of his first term.
In my article on President Magufuli’s first hundred days in office, I made the observation that “President Magufuli had already become an African continental icon, within those first hundred days in office”; and to confirm this assertion, I quoted captions from some of the leading newspapers of South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, all of which sang praises on President Magufuli’s exemplary performance.
In the same captivating enthusiasm, I also undertook, in 2019, jointly with my friend and colleague Nkwazi Mhango; to co-author a book titled “Magufulification”: A new concept that will define Africa’s future”; which we submitted for publication, upon formal signed Agreement, to GDY Publications Company Limited of Da es Salaam. But it is unfortunately still awaiting publication.
Inside our co-authored “Magufulification” tome.
Our own considered appraisal of President Magufuli’s unique, extraordinary performance (which is implied in the “Mgufulification” concept), is to be found in the final Chapter 10 of that book; in which we take a close look at his rapid implementation of his election promise “to bring substantive change”. Therein we cite both the minor and major changes, which he successfully introduced, in respect of the government’s management of the country’s affairs.
His ‘minor’ changes included the cancellation of some of the grandiose national celebrations that involved huge expenditures (such as the annual independence celebrations), and re-allocating the money budgeted to other development projects; while the ‘major’ changes include the enhancement of the collection of government revenues, from the former billions to the current trillions of shillings; particularly his effective elimination of the exploitation that was being carried out by some of the foreign mining companies when he introduced new, revolutionary, pieces of legislation; specifically: the “Natural Wealth and Resources Contracts (Review and Renegotiation of Unconscionable Terms) Act” of 2017; and “the “Natural Wealth and Resources (Permanent Sovereignty) Act”, also of 2017.
The first mentioned Act granted new powers to the National Assembly to review any mining contract, or Agreement, “which appeared to jeopardize, or was likely to jeopardize, the interests of the people of the United Republic”. The second Act made provision for the recognition of the country’s permanent sovereignty over its natural wealth and resources, by declaring that “the ownership of, and control over, the country’s natural wealth and resources shall be exercised by, or through, the Government, on behalf of the people of the United Republic”; and further provides as follows:- “it shall be wrongful and unlawful to make any arrangement or Agreement for the extraction, exploration, or acquisition and use of the country’s natural resources, except where the interests of the people are fully secured, and is approved by the National Assembly”.
These revolutionary laws include a number of other provisions, which have brought immense benefits to the people of Tanzania in a variety of other ways, by effectively controlling the mining sector; which has resulted in very significant increases in government revenues accruing from that sector, thus greatly reducing the excessive dependence on foreign donors; and creating genuine hope in the possible success of achieving the ‘magic’ of “self-reliance”, that was envisaged in the ruling party’s Arusha Declaration of 1967.
We also drew attention to the late President Magufuli’s commendable fight against the evil of corruption, and the strides he had made in that difficult endeavour; as evidenced by a variety of positive comments made by from different independent sources. A forum meeting of the Human Rights NGOs held in Banjul on the occasion of the 2018 “African Human Rights Day”; where 18 Tanzanian Human Rights Civil Organizations were represented, issued the following statement at the close of their meeting:- “This forum “calls on other African Heads of State to take a leaf from President Magufui’s fight against corruption”. A manifest proof of the international recognition accorded to President Magufuli’s achievements in that area.
“Ethics is the heart of leadership”, so the books of authority on this subject tell us. The late President Magufuli will also be remembered for his firm stand in defense of the constitution. In 2017, some CCM cadres had initiated a private campaign, seeking to have the constitution amended in order to allow him to serve for more than two terms. “I am not interested in staying on after my two terms”; was President Magufli’s ethical response. He continued thus: “I vowed solemnly, when I took the oath of office, to abide by the Constitution. There is no way I can stay beyond the stipulated two terms”.
piomsekwa@gmai.com /0754767576.
Source: Daily News and Cde Msekwa.
As would be expected, this sudden announcement produced a great deal of shock in all those who heard it live.Thus, last week, March 17th, 2022; was the first anniversary of President John Pombe Magufuli’s untimely death, which occurred hardly three months into what would have been his second term in office. And this day was aptly observed at national level through a prayer congregation attended by all the nation’s top leaders, who assembled at Chato (the home village of both the birth and burial, of the late President); in commemoration of the first anniversary of that sorrowful event.
The famous English Playwright and dramatist, William Shakespeare, wrote the following lines in his work titled Julies Caesar : “The evil that men do lives after them, but the good is often interred with their bones”. Tanzanians should not, nay, must not, allow ‘the good’ that the late President Magufuli did for our nation, to “be interred with his bones”.
And that, I humbly submit, should be the main purpose, and principal objective, of all such death commemoration events for all our departed leaders. Consequently, that will be the theme of today’s article, which attempts to present “the good” that the late President Magufuli did for our country and nation, “lest we forget”.
Everyone is, of course, free to make his own assessment of the late President Magufuli’s performance. There are three specific areas which lend themselves to leadership performance assessment and evaluation. They are (a) the state of the economy, and the social services; (b) participation in the international relations area; and (c) the management of the political landscape. In respect of the late President Magufuli,
I would venture to say that the vast majority, if not all, of the people, would easily agree that his performance in the area of strengthening the country’s economy, and his delivery in the social services sector, were admirably extraordinary. There is this Kiswahili proverb, which says “Mwenye macho, haambiwi tazama”. The positive results of his endeavours in this area were there for all to see, and witness for themselves.
For example, in the face oh high risks of failure, he boldly undertook to implement mega infrastructure projects ; particularly those of shifting the government capital to Dodoma, and the construction of the huge Stigler’s Gorge electricity generating plant; both of which had been conceived by the late President Nyerere in the early formative years of the country’s independence; but had been totally frustrated by factors beyond his control.
Other apparently risky mega investment projects included the reviving of the seriously ailing national Airline, Air Tanzania Corporation; by purchasing for it the most modern flying aircraft the Dreamliner, among other latest models; and the construction of the standard Gauge Railway line of more than one thousand kilometers; plus the construction of new, large, passenger and cargo ships to operate on Tanzanian inland Lakes; and all of these mega projects being carried out using only internally generated funds !
And in the Social service area, the late President Magufuli quickly introduced and implemented the policy of “free Primary and junior secondary education up to FORM IV level; and also greatly increased the amount of interest-free loans to higher (tertiary) education students. Considering the fact that there are as many as fifty-two University institutions that, between them, were admitting a total of more than one hundred students every year; plus an even much larger number of continuing students; granting loans to such large numbers of beneficiaries as a very heavy burden, as well as risky business, for the government to undertake. But Magufuli’s government had no hesitation in accepting to carry this extra heavy load, obviously based on the basic principle which is expressed in the dictum “elimu ni msingi wa maendeleo” .
On the other hand, however, his rather callous disregard of the serious dangers posed by the corona virus pandemic, relying instead on urging people to pray and pray again, asking for God’s divine protection. But, indeed, as if the almighty God had whispered to him, our country was largely saved from the ravaging effects of this pandemic, which continued to devastate many other countries in the entire word; thus necessitating the imposition of some extremely severe restrictions on peoples’ movements, such as lockdowns; which obviously created new serious problems by disrupting peoples’ normal lives.
President Magufuli luckily saved us from all that, with people continuing to live their normal, ordinary lives of working hard, in compliance with his famous slogan “Hapa kazi tu”.
Furthermore, opinions are also divided with regard to the international relations area. There are those who think that the late President seems to have largely distanced himself from personal meetings with his peers, both in respect of attendance at international meetings like the United Nations General Assembly; and in travelling to other countries on official visits. For he rarely crossed Tanzania’s borders for these purposes. Although they are also those who did not see this to be a problem at all.
Similarly, in the area of managing the political landscape; there is a substantial number of those who feel that he was not giving equal opportunities to all the political players, to exercise their political rights, particularly when he imposed a ban on public political meetings during the times when there was no elections for which to conduct the necessary electoral campaigns meetings.
But I am one of the late President Magufuli’s many admirers, who also include his Zimbabwe enthusiasts, who coined the “Magufulification” concept, to which I briefly referred to in last week’s article. Nevertheless, as shown above, I readily concede that, being a human being like the rest of us, he did commit mistakes in some areas of state governance. But such mistakes are what, I submit, should have been “interred with his bones”.
My admiration of the late President Magufuli’s performance, is clearly evidenced in the series of articles, which were regularly published in this column in respect of his performance : (a) after his first hundred days in office; and (b) at the end of each of his years in office, during the whole of his first term.
In my article on President Magufuli’s first hundred days in office, I made the observation that “President Magufuli had already become an African continental icon, within those first hundred days in office”; and to confirm this assertion, I quoted captions from some of the leading newspapers of South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, all of which sang praises on President Magufuli’s exemplary performance.
In the same captivating enthusiasm, I also undertook, in 2019, jointly with my friend and colleague Nkwazi Mhango; to co-author a book titled “Magufulification”: A new concept that will define Africa’s future”; which we submitted for publication, upon formal signed Agreement, to GDY Publications Company Limited of Da es Salaam. But it is unfortunately still awaiting publication.
Inside our co-authored “Magufulification” tome.
Our own considered appraisal of President Magufuli’s unique, extraordinary performance (which is implied in the “Mgufulification” concept), is to be found in the final Chapter 10 of that book; in which we take a close look at his rapid implementation of his election promise “to bring substantive change”. Therein we cite both the minor and major changes, which he successfully introduced, in respect of the government’s management of the country’s affairs.
His ‘minor’ changes included the cancellation of some of the grandiose national celebrations that involved huge expenditures (such as the annual independence celebrations), and re-allocating the money budgeted to other development projects; while the ‘major’ changes include the enhancement of the collection of government revenues, from the former billions to the current trillions of shillings; particularly his effective elimination of the exploitation that was being carried out by some of the foreign mining companies when he introduced new, revolutionary, pieces of legislation; specifically: the “Natural Wealth and Resources Contracts (Review and Renegotiation of Unconscionable Terms) Act” of 2017; and “the “Natural Wealth and Resources (Permanent Sovereignty) Act”, also of 2017.
The first mentioned Act granted new powers to the National Assembly to review any mining contract, or Agreement, “which appeared to jeopardize, or was likely to jeopardize, the interests of the people of the United Republic”. The second Act made provision for the recognition of the country’s permanent sovereignty over its natural wealth and resources, by declaring that “the ownership of, and control over, the country’s natural wealth and resources shall be exercised by, or through, the Government, on behalf of the people of the United Republic”; and further provides as follows:- “it shall be wrongful and unlawful to make any arrangement or Agreement for the extraction, exploration, or acquisition and use of the country’s natural resources, except where the interests of the people are fully secured, and is approved by the National Assembly”.
These revolutionary laws include a number of other provisions, which have brought immense benefits to the people of Tanzania in a variety of other ways, by effectively controlling the mining sector; which has resulted in very significant increases in government revenues accruing from that sector, thus greatly reducing the excessive dependence on foreign donors; and creating genuine hope in the possible success of achieving the ‘magic’ of “self-reliance”, that was envisaged in the ruling party’s Arusha Declaration of 1967.
We also drew attention to the late President Magufuli’s commendable fight against the evil of corruption, and the strides he had made in that difficult endeavour; as evidenced by a variety of positive comments made by from different independent sources. A forum meeting of the Human Rights NGOs held in Banjul on the occasion of the 2018 “African Human Rights Day”; where 18 Tanzanian Human Rights Civil Organizations were represented, issued the following statement at the close of their meeting:- “This forum “calls on other African Heads of State to take a leaf from President Magufui’s fight against corruption”. A manifest proof of the international recognition accorded to President Magufuli’s achievements in that area.
“Ethics is the heart of leadership”, so the books of authority on this subject tell us. The late President Magufuli will also be remembered for his firm stand in defense of the constitution. In 2017, some CCM cadres had initiated a private campaign, seeking to have the constitution amended in order to allow him to serve for more than two terms. “I am not interested in staying on after my two terms”; was President Magufli’s ethical response. He continued thus: “I vowed solemnly, when I took the oath of office, to abide by the Constitution. There is no way I can stay beyond the stipulated two terms”.
piomsekwa@gmai.com /0754767576.
Source: Daily News and Cde Msekwa.
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