Diplomacy

From the inside out

Rethinking Trade Ties

President John Magufuli's first year in office has been one characterized by change. He was elected on a platform of responsible and accountable government, and so far that looks to be having an effect on Tanzania's foreign policy, too.

According to Tanzania’s President, John Magufuli, there is much work to be done at home. Since his inauguration, he has declined to attend two African Union (AU) meetings, the World Economic Forum in Davos, the UN Development Program’s 70th Anniversary, and an East African Community (EAC) meeting, signaling a more inward-looking era for Tanzania.

During his inauguration speech, Magufuli set the tone of his administration, quoting the founding father of the nation Mwalimu Julius Nyerere in equating corruption in the public sector to the war-like situation Nyerere faced during the 1960s. He said it was now time for Tanzanians to walk the talk and confront the challenges that were holding back the nation, primarily large-scale corruption, embezzlement of funds within local government, and poor management of public resources.

Magufuli was evidently serious, cutting back on his own travel expenses by the tried and tested cheap option of simply not travelling. In the first cabinet meeting the newly elected president ordered his government ministers and ministry officials not to travel abroad for government business and instead travel to their constituencies. “I want the government to implement in full-force the idea of just work,” the president told his officials.

The backdrop to this came following reports that the government in mid-2015 raised civil servants’ travel allowances by 50%, rekindling debate on the necessity of spending billions on travel allowances in 2015/2016, the equivalent to about half of the government’s wage bill. To emphasize the point, in his inauguration speech Magufuli said foreign trips cost the country TZS356.3 billion in air tickets between 2013 and 2015, which “could build 400km of tarmac road.”

This is part of Magufuli’s wider campaign for self-reliance and sound revenue management. In the past Tanzania’s revenue has been furnished by foreign aid from the west. Magufuli was elected on a populist platform of self-reliance, which requires boosting tax revenues and reducing unnecessary expenses, being able to invest in infrastructure, and running an economy that would create opportunities for the youth. “I will not triumph over economic growth statistics that do not reflect the day-to-day lives of the ordinary citizen.”
In his first year of office Magufuli has travelled only to Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya, all nations in Tanzania’s immediate vicinity. The first time he met African leaders as president was in February 2016 when Tanzania hosted an EAC leaders summit in Arusha.

One of Magufuli’s boldest move has been the decision to delay the EAC’s signing of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union, which at first glance has been taken by many to symbol a wider anti-trade agenda. Kenya and Rwanda had already signed the pact, which had a deadline of October 1, 2016. However, Tanzania requested an extension until January 2017 to iron out some issues concerning protection of local industry. Kenya stands as the only nation to lose access to Europe if this EPA is not signed, as it is not grouped among the Least Developed Countries and therefore does not benefit from the unilateral Everything But Arms protocol that already grants Tanzania and other EAC markets duty-free and quota-free access to the EU. Characteristically, the extraordinary summit of the EAC where this was decided was held in State House in Dar es Salaam, meaning Magufuli did not have to travel.

Magufuli’s rhetoric on strategies for development and the importance of accountable governance suggests that he intends to re-shape Tanzania, and with that the role it will play in the region. The popular support that brought him to power demands that he make distinct changes to the governing order and what we see today is a Tanzania that is ambitious about growth and convinced there is a better way. What has been made clear by this last year is that the success of this counts on the strength of Magufuli’s character and hinges on his ability to convert promises into action. “Now is the time to work, and I as your president, will walk the talk in delivering all that I promised during the campaigns,” also adding, “I will personally lead the charge … pray for me and support me in this war because those involved are not the ordinary mwananchi.”

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