Tanzania’s first female President Samia Suluhu Hassan plans to set up a National COVID-19 Taskforce and has also ordered the reopening of media outlets censored by her late predecessor President John Magufuli.
These are some of her major decisions to unite her country and erase the stigma that had tended to overshadow the great accomplishments of Magufuli because of his COVID denial.
Speaking in the nation’s capital Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, Hassan, who assumed office following Magufuli’s sudden death on 17th March, said the Taskforce would be guided by remedies suggested by the global health authorities in tackling COVID-19 in Tanzania.
But she also explained that “everything would be based on thorough research.”
In ordering the unbanning of the media outlets, she said Tanzania should not be seen as a country against press freedom. But she also urged the media to exercise their freedom with responsibility.
Magufuli revolutionized leadership in Tanzania through infrastructural development and his strong anti-corruption stance, including the rejection of foreign loans and deals he considered inimical to Tanzania.
However, Magufuli’s achievements were under-reported, while his Covid denial and treatment of his opponents and a section of the media were sensationalized.
Hassan is known for her conciliatory character and has the goodwill to smooth the rough edges and build on Magufuli’s positive achievements.
Magufuli enjoyed great national popularity. The lessons of his leadership style are not lost on many within and outside Africa, with his admirers calling for the “Magufulification” of the continent, scarred by leadership deficit, corruption and bad governance.
