checks and imbalances

Tanzania: Does latest audit point to gross mismanagement under late president Magufuli?

By Abdul Halim, in Dar es Salaam

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Posted on April 20, 2021 13:29

Tanzania Presidents Death © A man reads a copy of the Kenyan Daily Nation morning newspaper reporting the death of Tanzania’s President John Magufuli on a street in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, March 18, 2021. Headline in Swahili reads “Goodbye Magufuli.” (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi) — A man reads a copy of the Kenyan Daily Nation morning newspaper reporting the death of Tanzania’s President John Magufuli on a street in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, March 18, 2021. Headline in Swahili reads “Goodbye Magufuli.” (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi)

It’s been a month since the sudden passing of Tanzania’s former president John Pombe Magufuli who promoted good governance. However, the latest audit report by the controller and auditor general (CAG) brings to light some problems and questionable decisions under the watch of the late President and his administration.

The CAG report, for the financial year ending in June 2020, was submitted to parliament on 8 April.

Since its publication, it has sparked much debate in the ensuing parliamentary sessions in Dodoma, with some MPs calling for restraint in attacks against those supporting Magufuli and his legacy.

“No one can harm president Magufuli’s legacy because he did his best. But we should not call our fellow colleagues traitors when they provide different opinions,” says January Makamba, an MP from Bumbuli constituency who was sacked by Magufuli while serving as minister of state for environment and union matters.

Livingstone Lusinde, MP from Mvumi, says Tanzania cannot maintain peace and security while some people are busy mocking what was done by the late President.

Economic analyst Haji Kaburu says Magufuli may have had good intentions, but his officials were thinking about their own interests.

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