What would Tanzanian president Magufuli do?

Rarely has an African head of state begun his term in office quite like the new Tanzanian president.

John Magufuli was elected in October and for a party, the CCM, that has ruled Tanzania uninterrupted since 1961 (it is the successor to the Tanganyika African Union, TANU), the assumption was that this was going to be a conventional presidency, like that of all successors of Julius Nyerere since 1985.

His hands-on (literally) presidency has started with a bang and a hectic schedule of cost-cutting, scrapping redundant government programmes and events, cutting back on official travel, downsizing the cabinet by half and the president himself joining cleaners outside State House who were collecting garbage.

Social media hash tag of the year
So unexpected and hence so popular has Magufuli become in East Africa that he has become the subject of the most talked-about social media hash tag of the year in the region: #whatwouldmagufulido

He is doing everything in his power to try and make Tanzania work.

“A series of eye-catching measures have earned president John Magufuli plaudits, both within Tanzania and across the African continent, where he is being heralded as a model for other leaders, even though he has only been in office for a month…

Magufuli’s new broom has been welcomed by citizens, who are tired of the endemic corruption that has stunted the country’s progress for decades. His dramatic measures have even won over some opposition politicians,” wrote London’s Guardian newspaper on December 8.

The gushing praise and wows that used to greet Rwandan president Paul Kagame in the early 2000s, at the time viewed as the kind of leader East Africa and the wider Africa needed, now greet Magufuli.

This Tanzanian president, many feel, is truly a “new breed” of African leader and as the Guardian noted, this is only his first month in office.

By the time he has completed his First 100 days, president Magufuli could easily have achieved more for the improvement of Tanzanian governance and public life than Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Benjamin Mkapa and Jakaya Kikwete put together.

Is there not a better way, though? Must a head of state expend all his personal energy trying to speed up everything?

The introduction to the Guardian article put it well: “John Magufuli’s dramatic anti-graft measures have been welcomed by citizens, but he will need a more systematic approach to root out corrupt practices.”

That is what I would like to examine this week. As admirable as Magufuli’s hands-on style and welcome breath of fresh air in Tanzania is, does it not show the failure of leadership in Africa?

Must a president micro-manage to that degree? Will Magufuli not become like the Rwandan president Paul Kagame, who is virtually a commander-in-chief-of-everything?

Much of the order and accountability in Rwanda that is widely reported comes down to president Kagame’s personal, impatient hands-on leadership, with visits to construction sites, he personally taking charge of almost every major project in Rwanda and running the country like a corporate office.