Covid-19: We Need Magufuli’s Inspiration Not Copy-Cat Leadership

By: Dunstan Sebukoto

Tanzanian President Dr. John Magufuli

, Dar es Salaam

The African Arguments newsletter on 27th April, 2020 published an article titled as “President Magufuli; We Need Leadership and not Prayers.”

The article written by one Deogratius Munishi is, among other things, an aborted attempt to condemn President John Magufuli of Tanzania by insinuating that he is not taking serious measures in combating Covid-19 in the East Africa’s fastest growing economy.

Specifically, the author, openly advocating for Western leadership styles, is an ardent supporter of the locking downing of the Dar es Salaam city, a Port that is a gateway not only to Tanzania’s hinterland, but also adoorway serving goods for more than 6 land locked African countries.  

Journalism is a profession that sometimes flabbergasts me; much as it embodies aspects of ones freedom of expression, the reality is, no one is supposed to express matters, to an extent of accusing a President, without attention to facts and details. Freedom to speak is not freedom to lie, Plato once argued.

Contrary to the authors’ insinuations, the government of Tanzania under Magufuli has imposed over 40 measures to curb COVID- 19. These measures include indefinitely closing of all public schools, tertiary and other higher learning institutions; quarantining all incoming citizens and non-citizens; prohibition of all sports, artistic and music concerts and suspension of incoming and outgoing international flights including grounding its own Boeing and Airbus planes that were rocking the skies of East, Central Africa to the Far East regions of India and with plans to China.

The President has prohibited all workshops, seminars and other unnecessary gatherings; prohibited public servants to travel abroad; directed all public and private places to observe social distancing and use sanitizers or washing their hands.

The country has established isolation as well as treatment facilities across the 26 regions and in the Zanzibar Archipelago. 

In Dar es Salaam, apart from other Covid related centres, the government is constructing an ultra-modern hospital, a $ 3m facility, that will save other purposes in the foreseeable post-covid future.

Other institutions in the country have translated these measures too; for example, religious institutions have directed their followers on how to conduct prayers and masses. Some have called off mass prayers and closed churches or mosques. Religious classes, Sunday schools and Madrassats, have all been closed until the pandemic is over.

I’m not attempting to regurgitate all the measures that are going on daily, without prejudice to announced employment of additional 1,000 new health workers, among other actions, but facts will remain facts.

It’s a pity that the author in deliberately ignoring these facts, puts into relevancy the issue of lockdowns. 

He also defies God. To him, a country in lockdown is the most serious one. It is true that Tanzania has not closed its borders as the borders became closed after her neighbours rushed to do so, but, I argue, no one country can boast of having more serious measures than the other in fighting Covid-19.

Leadership decisions are made based on a number of factors and assumptions. Tanzania cannot copy and paste other countries’ measures against COVID- 19 because copy and paste tendencies have proved suicidal politically, economically and socially. This is why many countries, including the US, are now re-opening.

Some well thought reports add to our argument that lockdowns are not the only effective measure. A report released by the World Bank (WB) recently warns catastrophic consequences to sub- Saharan countries that have copied and pasted anti COVID- 19 policies.  

The report mentions South Africa, Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, that have reacted quickly and decisively to curb the potential influx and spread of the COVID-19 virus very much in line with emerging international experience, as examples of future troubles to come.

The World Bank has given multiple reasons why economic policies implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa should be different from those adopted in advanced countries and (some) middle-income countries.

First, informal employment is the main source of employment in Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 89.2 percent of all employment (ILO 2018). Excluding agriculture, informal employment accounts for 76.8 percent of total employment respectively.

Based on the number of entrepreneurs (own-account workers and employers) who are owners of informal economic units, the vast majority of economic units in the region are informal (92.4 percent). Informal workers lack benefits such as health insurance, unemployment insurance, and paid leave.

Most informal workers, particularly the self-employed, need to work every day to earn their living and pay for their basic household necessities. A prolonged lockdown will put at risk the subsistence of their households. Going contrary to this reality, caused chaos in Kenya, South Africa and even Ghana.

Additionally, adds the report, the majority of workers hired are in a precarious situation, and most of these jobs are temporary and with low remuneration, do not offer social security, and put workers at a greater risk of injury and ill health.

Second, small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), an important driver of growth in economies across the region, account for up to 90 percent of all businesses and represent 38 percent of the region’s GDP.

Access to finance is one of the main challenges facing SMEs in normal times with the majority of these firms lacking the finance needed to grow. Prior to COVID-19, the finance gap for SMEs in the region was estimated at US$331 billion (IFC 2018).

Third, concerns about the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak prompted interest rate cuts in several African countries in line with monetary policy actions around the world.

Tanzania under strong leadership of President Magufuli is aware of these consequences; that is why it objected to lock down the country and closing borders. This is strong leadership.

Lessons from the rest of Africa, as hinted above, proves Magufuli right. In South Africa, all plans have been put in place to ensure that starting from next month restaurants, hotels and other businesses are opened but with some condition that these busineses must employ more South Africans than whites and other nationalities.

In Ghana, last week, President Nana Akufo Ado decided to unlock Accra after discovering that lock down was badly affecting the country’s economy.

Away from Africa, the US President, Donald Trump, is fighting hard to open up businesses in all states after discovering that lockdowns have affected badly the country's conomy. 

Not only this but also Americans across the States are already out in the streets defying the lockdowns.

You may not agree with President Magufuli’s policies and approaches, including his affinity to God and prayers, which I adore, but not by going into this low thinking; whereby one is forcing a President of an independent country to adopt copy-paste policies that have failed in other countries.