{"id":1472,"date":"2021-03-03T07:39:29","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T07:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/?p=1472"},"modified":"2022-01-03T07:41:14","modified_gmt":"2022-01-03T07:41:14","slug":"tanzanias-new-president-faces-a-tough-to-do-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/1472\/tanzanias-new-president-faces-a-tough-to-do-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Tanzania\u2019s new president faces a tough \u2018to do\u2019 list"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Rob Ahearne<\/strong><\/a>*<\/p>\n

A major political transition is under way in Tanzania after the laying to rest of former president John Pombe Magufuli. The East African nation\u2019s new leader Samia Suluhu Hassan is the country\u2019s sixth president and currently the only woman running a country on the continent. We asked Rob Ahearne, who has been doing research in Tanzania for more than a decade, to set out the political context and Hassan\u2019s immediate challenges.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What political environment has the new president stepped into?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Magufuli\u2019s anti-corruption agenda, emphasis on hard work, fractious relations with multinational mining giants and significant investments in major public works, won praise from some quarters. But it went hand in hand with the\u00a0severe narrowing of political space<\/a>\u00a0(both in public and online) and an increasing authoritarianism. Deep\u00a0political divisions<\/a>\u00a0have been exacerbated by a\u00a0heavily disputed<\/a>, possibly fraudulent, election late last year. Magufuli won with a\u00a0scarcely believable vote share<\/a>\u00a0of 84%.<\/p>\n

It is this political turmoil and sharp division that Samia Sululu Hassan, affectionally known as Mama Samia, inherits as leader for the next four-and-a-half years.<\/p>\n

As Vice President for more than five years she has always been a loyal supporter of the government agenda, though in 2016 she didn\u2019t deny\u00a0rumoured tensions<\/a>\u00a0in their relationship.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, she often acted as Magufuli\u2019s main overseas representative during her tenure as Vice President. Thus she was cast in a more consensus-driven and diplomatic role that may be replicated as President. Despite arguments that she was principally selected because of the need for a woman to serve as vice president after Magufuli defeated\u00a0two women<\/a>\u00a0to the presidential nomination, she managed to carve out a significant role and level of responsibility.<\/p>\n

Two of the leading opposition figures,\u00a0Tundu Lissu<\/a>\u00a0(currently exiled in Belgium owing to safety fears) and\u00a0Zitto Kabwe<\/a>\u00a0have expressed hope that the government will change course under Hassan\u2019s leadership. Noted as a calmer and less outspoken than her predecessor, some hope that her government\u00a0will dampen<\/a>\u00a0the populist rhetoric, opposition crackdowns and increasing authoritarianism. This may prove difficult in the short term, as she will need to\u00a0build a political base<\/a>\u00a0within the ruling party before any major policy shifts.<\/p>\n

What are the key social and economic challenges she faces?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tanzania\u2019s\u00a0economic growth<\/a>\u00a0over the past two decades has averaged around an impressive 7%. But this fell more dramatically from 5.8% in 2019 to 2% in 2020. There have been job losses in the formal sector, while hundreds of thousands of people are likely to have been pushed below the national poverty line.<\/p>\n

Magufuli\u2019s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been accurately described as\u00a0\u2018distressing\u2019 and \u2018baffling\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One decision was not to impose severe lockdown measures to manage the spread of COVID-19. He\u00a0lauded<\/a>\u00a0his economy-first approach by saying:<\/p>\n

We have had a number of viral diseases, including Aids and measles. Our economy must come first. Countries [elsewhere] in Africa will be coming here to buy food in the years to come\u2026 they will be suffering because of shutting down their economies.<\/p>\n

Many now acknowledge that COVID-19 has spread far and wide\u00a0within Tanzania<\/a>. The real\u00a0economic impact<\/a>\u00a0of the pandemic will likely be felt more deeply in 2021 and 2022 as firms take precautionary measures against the spread of the virus. There are also likely to be steep declines in production, consumption and exports.<\/p>\n

What calls for the new president\u2019s immediate attention?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A big issue is what she will do about the country\u2019s stance towards COVID-19.<\/p>\n

Magufuli\u00a0declared Tanzania \u2018virus free\u2019<\/a>\u00a0in May of 2020 and failed to take it seriously after initially doing so. He then claimed that COVID-19 had returned with Tanzanians travelling abroad in search of vaccines.<\/p>\n

It took until February this year for government officials to finally encourage\u00a0mask wearing<\/a>. And there has been\u00a0no attempt yet made to procure vaccines<\/a>, despite widespread examples of severe respiratory illness.<\/p>\n

The denialism of Magufuli and his regime has clearly had a material impact on public health and preparedness for any rollout of vaccinations.<\/p>\n

Hassan\u2019s first priority must, therefore, be to procure vaccines and then to address the uphill task of persuading a potentially sceptical public that they are not\u00a0\u2018guinea pigs\u2019<\/a>, as Magufuli asserted.<\/p>\n

What sets Tanzania apart from its neighbours?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tanzania is often seen as a\u00a0beacon of peace and stability<\/a>\u00a0in East Africa. It is not exposed to the same political tensions and civil unrest that have beset many neighbouring countries, for example the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda. Building a sense of national unity was\u00a0central to the project undertaken soon after independence<\/a>\u00a0by \u2018father of the nation\u2019 Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, who famously\u00a0said<\/a>:<\/p>\n

In Tanzania, it was more than one hundred tribal units which lost their freedom; it was one nation that regained it.<\/p>\n

The attempt to build a\u00a0unified nation<\/a>\u00a0is reflected in the creation of non-ethnic political institutions and civil service. It is seen in the marginalisation of chiefly power, and spreading Kiswahili as a unifying non-colonial national language.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true the project may not have been perfect. The\u00a01964 revolution in Zanzibar<\/a>, which gave rise to the republic unifying mainland Tanzania with the islands, was a bloody affair. Also the relationship between the semi-autonomous archipelago and the mainland is\u00a0often-fraught<\/a>\u00a0while\u00a0ethnic tensions<\/a>\u00a0simmer from time to time.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the narrative of a stable united Tanzania retains a certain logic.<\/p>\n

Multi-partyism was\u00a0implemented<\/a>\u00a0in 1995, but the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi, retained its dominance for at least a decade. The status quo didn\u2019t change until the 2015 elections. John Magufuli \u2013 the little-known minister of works at the time \u2013 received the lowest vote share (58%) of any Chama Cha Mapinduzi presidential candidate even with the\u00a0veracity of the ballot<\/a>\u00a0questioned.<\/p>\n

This is a story replicated in the 2020 election and shows the extent of division within the country. Time will tell, but Mama Samia may prove to be the right sort of politician to usher in a\u00a0new era of bipartisan politics<\/a>\u00a0that is less populist, less authoritarian and more collegial in approach.<\/p>\n

\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640<\/p>\n

*\u00a0Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of East London<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Rob Ahearne* A major political transition is under way in Tanzania after the laying to rest of former president John Pombe Magufuli. The East African nation\u2019s new leader Samia Suluhu Hassan is the country\u2019s sixth president and currently the only woman running a country on the continent. We asked Rob Ahearne, who has been doing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":4,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"1","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":""},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":""},"jnews_social_meta":{"fb_title":"","fb_description":"","fb_image":"","twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":""},"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-africa","category-interview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}