In October 2015 a new president, John Magufuli, took office in Tanzania. His willingness not only to talk about reforms but also to implement them is demonstrated by many concrete examples. This has earned him the nickname "bulldozer". He is thus sending a strong signal against corruption.
Catherine Hollinger, Programme Coordinator Tanzania
After the first unrest caused by the elections in October 2015, the situation on the mainland calmed down and the new president John Magufuli took office. After only a short time, the population gave him a nickname: "Bulldozer". The reason for this is his great will to reform. He cleans up and does everything possible to break the corrupt structures in the government. For example, the new president has cut the celebrations in his honour from three to one day and donated the rest of the money to hospitals. He has also massively reduced the size of his delegation, whose members no longer all travel first class, they no longer receive an Audi A8 as a company car, and more people travel by car instead of by plane.
Let us work!
He has also dismissed directors in important institutions with immediate effect and taken new paths. In particular, Magufuli has abolished the "Sitting Allowances" (additional bonuses for civil servants). Magufuli does not see why you should get an allowance for a job for which you receive a monthly salary. These are just some of the things that Magufuli has already implemented. His motto is Hapa Kazi Tu (Let us work). Thus, with the popular hashtag #WhatWouldMagufuliDo on Twitter, a cult of Magafuli's zest for action has almost formed.
Signs against the rampant corruption
These developments make us feel very positive and are a strong signal for a country as corrupt as Tanzania. It can only be speculated whether it can keep up this pace of reform and how great the frustration will be if the successes do not materialise. We hope that Magufuli can continue to use such energy to bring about important changes and that he will receive support in doing so. He cannot fight corruption on his own.
Allegation of election fraud
After the presidential election in October 2015, the first dispute to break out was over the winner. The opposition accused the government of election fraud. However, the election commission declared John Magufuli, the candidate of the ruling revolutionary party CCM, the new president. According to the official results, Magufuli won 58 percent of the vote. His party has ruled Tanzania since independence from Great Britain in 1961.
