John Magufuli

His Excellency Dr.
John Joseph Pombe Magufuli
5th President of Tanzania
Assumed office
5th November 2015
Vice President Samia Hassan Suluhu
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa
Preceded by Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete
Minister of Works, Transport and Communication
In office
28th November 2010 – 5th November 2015
President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete
Preceded by Shukuru Kawambwa
Succeeded by Makame Mbarawa
In office
November 2000 – 21st December 2005
President Benjamin William Mkapa
Succeeded by Basil Mramba
Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development
In office
13th February 2008 – 6th November 2010
Preceded by Anthony Diallo
Succeeded by David Mathayo David
Minister of Lands and Human Settlements
In office
6th January 2006 – 13th February 2008
President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete
Succeeded by John Chiligati
Member of Parliament for
Biharamulo East and Chato
In office
November 1995 – July 2015
Succeeded by Kalemani Medard
Personal details
Born (1959-10-29) 29 October 1959
Chato, Geita, Tanganyika
Nationality Tanzanian
Political party CCM(1977–)
Spouse(s) Janeth Magufuli
Children Master Joseph Magufuli, Ms. Jessica Magufuli
Alma mater University of Dar es Salaam
Military service
Allegiance  United Rep. of Tanzania
Service/branch National Service
Years of service July 1983–June 1984

John Joseph Magufuli (born 29 October 1959) is a Tanzanian politician and the President of Tanzania, in office since 2015.

First elected as a Member of Parliament in 1995, he served in the Cabinet of Tanzania as Deputy Minister of Works from 1995 to 2000, Minister of Works from 2000 to 2006, Minister of Lands and Human Settlement from 2006 to 2008, Minister of Livestock and Fisheries from 2008 to 2010, and as Minister of Works for a second time from 2010 to 2015.[1]

Running as the candidate of the ruling CCM, he won the October 2015 presidential election and was sworn in on 5 November 2015. Magufuli's presidency has been marked by a focus on reducing government corruption and spending.

Education

John Joseph Magufuli started his education at The Chato Primary School from 1967 to 1974 and went on to The Katoke Seminary in Biharamulo for his secondary education from 1975 to 1977 before relocating to Lake Secondary School in 1977 and completing in 1978. He joined Mkwawa High School for his A levels in 1979 and completed 1981. That same year he joined Mkwawa College of Education for a Diploma in Education Science, majoring in Chemistry, Mathematics and Education.[2]

Magufuli earned his bachelor of science in education degree majoring in chemistry and mathematics as teaching subjects from The University of Dar es Salaam in 1988. He also earned his masters and doctorate degrees in chemistry from The University of Dar es Salaam, in 1994 and 2009, respectively.[3]

Early life and political career

John Joseph Magufuli ventured into elective politics after a short period as a teacher at The Sengerema Secondary School between 1982 and 1983. He taught chemistry and mathematics. Later on, he quit his teaching job and was employed by The Nyanza Cooperative Union Limited as an industrial chemist. He remained there from 1989 to 1995, when he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Chato district. He was appointed Deputy Minister for Works in his first term as MP. He retained his seat in the 2000 election and was promoted to a full ministerial position under the same docket. After President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete was requested to take office, he moved John Joseph Magufuli to the post of Minister of Lands and Human Settlement on 4 January 2006.[4] Subsequently, he served as Minister of Livestock and Fisheries from 2008 to 2010 and again as Minister of Works from 2010 to 2015.

2015 presidential election

On 12 July 2015 Dr. John Joseph Magufuli was nominated as CCM's presidential candidate for the 2015 election, winning the majority votes against his opponent Justice Minister and former United Nation's Deputy Secretary General Miss Asha-Rose Migiro and the African Union Ambassador to the United States Of America Miss Amina Salum Ali for the party's nomination.[5]

Although he faced a strong challenge from opposition candidate and previous CCM political party member Edward Lowassa in the election, held on 25 October 2015, Magufuli was declared the winner by the National Electoral Commission on 29 October; he received 58% of the vote. His running mate, Samia Suluhu, was also declared Vice President-elect. He was sworn in on 5 November 2015.

Presidency

After taking office, Magufuli immediately began to impose measures to curb government spending, such as barring unnecessary foreign travel by government officials, using cheaper vehicles and board rooms for transport and meetings respectively, shrinking the delegation for a tour of the Commonwealth from 50 people to 4, dropping its sponsorship of a World AIDS Day exhibition in favour of purchasing AIDS medication, and discouraging lavish events and parties by public institutions (such as cutting the budget of a state dinner inaugurating the new parliament session).[6][7] Magufuli reduced his own salary from US$15,000 to US$4,000 per-month.[8]

Most notably, Magufuli also suspended the country's Independence Day festivities for 2015, in favour of a national cleanup campaign to help reduce the spread of cholera. Magufuli personally participated in the cleanup efforts, having stated that it was "so shameful that we are spending huge amounts of money to celebrate 54 years of independence when our people are dying of cholera". The cost savings were to be invested towards improving hospitals and sanitation in the country.[9][6][10]

On 10 December 2015, more than a month after taking office, Magufuli announced his cabinet. Its size was reduced from 30 ministries to 19 to help reduce costs.[11][12]

On 12 April 2016, Magufuli conducted his first foreign visit to Rwanda, where he met his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame and inaugurated the new bridge and one-stop border post and Rusumo. Magufuli also attended the memorial of 22nd anniversary of the Rwandan genocide.[13]

In July 2016, Tanzania banned shisha smoking, with Magufuli citing its health effects among youth as reasoning.[14] In March 2017, Tanzania banned the export of unprocessed ores, in an effort to encourage domestic smelting.[15]

In January 2018, Magufuli issued a directive ordering the suspension of registration for foreign merchant ships, following recent incidents surrounding the seizure of overseas shipments of illegal goods (particularly drugs and weapons) being transported under the flag. Tanzania and Zanzibar had gained reputations for being flags of convenience.[16][17]

Public image

Magufuli has received the nickname "The Bulldozer" in reference to his roadworks projects, but the term has also been used in reference to his moves to reduce spending and corruption within the Tanzanian government.[18][18] Following Magufuli's initial rounds of cuts post-inauguration, the hashtag "#WhatWouldMagufuliDo" was used by Twitter users to demonstrate their own austerity measures inspired by the president.[6]

Magufuli's government has been accused of attempting to repress opposition to his leadership, which included laws restricting opposition rallies, the suspension of the Swahili-language Mawio newspaper in 2016 for publishing "false and inflammatory" reporting regarding the nullification of election results in Zanzibar, threatening to shut down radio and television stations that do not pay licence fees, and a 2018 bill requiring blogs and other forms of online content providers to hold government licenses with content restrictions.[19][20][21][22][23]

In September 2018, John Magufuli told a rally: “Those going for family planning are lazy ... they are afraid they will not be able to feed their children. They do not want to work hard to feed a large family and that is why they opt for birth controls and end up with one or two children only.”[24][25] He urged people not to listen to those advising about birth control, some of it coming from foreigners, because it has sinister motives.[26] The statement has drawn criticism from Amnesty International and others.[27]

Personal life

He is married to Janeth Magufuli, a primary school teacher, and they have three children.[28] He is reportedly close to Nigerian 'Prophet' T. B. Joshua, who was among the high-profile guests in Tanzania during his inauguration.[29]

References

  1. ↑ "Member of Parliament CV". Parliament of Tanzania. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  2. ↑ "Hon. Dr. John P. Magufuli's CV". Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Hon. Dr. John P. Magufuli (MP)". Tanzania Ministry of Works. Archived from the original on 3 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Hassan Muhiddin, "JK’s beefed up team", Guardian, 5 January 2006.
  5. ↑ CCM [@ccm_tanzania] (12 July 2015). "MKUTANO MKUU WA TAIFA umefanikiwa kumteua mgombea Urais 2015 ambaye ni Mhe.John Joseph. Magufuli #UmojaNiUshindi" [The NATIONAL CONFERENCE has been successfully appointed presidential candidate 2015 which is Mhe.John p. End #UmojaNiUshindi] (Tweet) (in Swahili). Retrieved 12 July 2015 – via Twitter.
  6. 1 2 3 Voices, Ndesanjo Macha for Global; Network, part of the Guardian Africa (2015-12-01). "What would Tanzania's cost-cutting president do? Twitter responds". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  7. ↑ "Zambia : New Tanzanian President John Magufuli makes radical changes". Lusaka Times. 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  8. ↑ Ristel Tchounand, "Tanzanie: touchant 4 fois moins que son prédécesseur, le président Magufuli dévoile son salaire", La Tribune Afrique, 4 October 2017.
  9. ↑ "Magufuli strikes again: Uhuru Day scrapped". The Citizen. 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  10. ↑ "Tanzania's Magufuli scraps independence day celebration". BBC News. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  11. ↑ Omar Mohammed (11 December 2015). "Tanzania's Magufuli finally names his cabinet—and it's almost half the size of his predecessor's". Quartz. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  12. ↑ Felix Lazaro (11 December 2015). "Tanzania's Magufuli appoints lean cabinet". Daily Nation. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "Tanzania: Magufuli's Visit to Rwanda to Positively Impact On Dar, Kigali". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  14. ↑ "Tanzania bans shisha pipe smoking". BBC News. 2016-07-05. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  15. ↑ "Acacia warns of mine closure unless Tanzania lifts export ban". Financial Times. Retrieved 2018-04-25. (subscription required)
  16. ↑ Allison, Simon. "Tanzania's flags of inconvenience". The M&G Online. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  17. ↑ Kapama, Faustine. "Lawyers back govt curb on foreign ship registers". Daily News. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  18. 1 2 "John Magufuli is bulldozing the opposition and wrecking the economy". The Economist. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  19. ↑ Carlitz, Ruth; Manda, Constantine (25 January 2016). "Tanzania loves its new anti-corruption president. Why is he shutting down media outlets?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  20. ↑ Dahir, Abdi Latif. "Tanzania social media and blogging regulations charge to operate online". Quartz. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  21. ↑ Nesoba, Ruth (2015-11-24). "Tanzania's John Magufuli in profile". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  22. ↑ "John Magufuli is bulldozing the opposition and wrecking the economy". The Economist. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  23. ↑ Dahir, Abdi Latif. "Tanzania's John Magufuli imposes bans on foreign ships, pregnant schoolgirls, and public rallies —". Quartz. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  24. ↑ "Tanzania's president says women using birth control are too 'lazy' to feed a family". Independent. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  25. ↑ "'Don't use birth control,' Tanzania's President tells women in the country". CNN. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  26. ↑ "Magufuli advises against birth control". CNN. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  27. ↑ "Amnesty International condemns Tanzania's 'attack' on family planning". CNN. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  28. ↑ "Profile: John Pombe Joseph Magufuli", The Citizen, October 24, 2015.
  29. ↑ "TB Joshua Steals Limelight At Tanzania Inauguration". eNCA (South Africa). 5 November 2015.
Political offices
Preceded by
Jakaya Kikwete		 President of Tanzania
2015–present		 Incumbent
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