Tanzanian President John Magufuli sacked two senior officials late on
Monday after they failed to recall immediately how much money was
allocated by the government in their respective districts for public
road construction projects.
Magufuli, nicknamed “the Bulldozer” for his infrastructure projects
and leadership style, launched his reform drive after he was elected in
late 2015, promising to transform an economy hobbled by red-tape and
corruption and carry out a major building program. He has sacked
thousands of civil servants over the past two years in a crackdown on
government inefficiency and corruption.
A statement issued by
the president’s office said the sacked director of the Bukoba Municipal
Council, Erasto Aron Mfugale, and the director of the Bukoba Rural
Municipal Council, Mwantum Kitwana Dau, would be assigned to other
duties. The president’s office did not explain the reasons for the
sackings.
However, the two municipal directors were dismissed
just hours after the president summoned them at a public gathering and
demanded that they announce exactly how much was allocated by the
government for road construction in their districts.
“You
can’t talk to me like that,” Magufuli said at the launch of a new
airport in the lakeside town of Bukoba, which was televised live. Dau
had informed the president that she oversees many departments and could
therefore not immediately recall the exact budget allocated for road
projects.
From Reuters