The Curious Case of Covid 19 in Tanzania: The Magufuli Approach
The year 2020 has seen the world reeling from the Covid 19 pandemic. Up to August 13, there have been over 20 million confirmed cases and over 700 thousand deaths. According to statistics, countries hit the hardest include the United States, Brazil and in Africa we have South Africa.
By most measures Tanzania is safe and has managed to curb the spread of Covid 19. On 12th of August The World Travel and Toursim Council (WTTC) gave Tanzania the stamp of approval as a safe tourist destination. No doubt such a certification from a global body would not have been given if there were fears over Covid 19 in Tanzania and if there was no confidence in the measures the Tanzanian government has taken in combating the spread of the disease.
While most of the countries took a lockdown approach, Tanzania took the unconventional route of keeping the country open. President Magufuli instead advised his citizens to take protective measures such as frequently washing hands, use of sanitizers and avoiding crowded areas. Only schools were closed and public gatherings were banned, both were lifted in mid June.
This approach, although criticized by some, made sense for a nation whose median age is 18 and 60 percent of the population is aged 24 and below. Countries which have seen a high death rate from Covid 19 have been those with a large aging population such as Italy with over half of its population over the age of 45 and 23 percent over the age of 65 and the United States where 39 percent of the population is over the age of 45 and 13 percent over the age of 65. Tanzania on the other hand only has 6.5% of its pupulation over the age of 55.
The size of the informal sector was also a factor. A majority of Tanzanians live hand to mouth and have to work everyday to make a living. This segment of the population could ill afford to stay at home and the government could not afford to pay them to stay home. Hence locking down the country and restricting movement would have far more reaching consequences than the health crisis itself.
The IMF and World bank have facilitated loans of up to USD 1 billion to Kenya and USD 300 million to Uganda. This money is to be paid back eventually which can prove problematic to both countries if their economies do not return to pre Covid 19 numbers, especially Kenya whose economy has really suffered because of a long lockdown. On the hand, President Magufuli has advocated instead for debt relief for Tanzania which could be forthcoming in the coming months.
It is also important to note that Covid 19 was politicized. Recently, presidential hopeful Tundu Lissu while being interviewed by KTN News of Kenya criticized the governments handling of the pandemic and stressed to Tanzanians that they should not trust what the government says and should take preventive measures. He said this dispite the fact that on his arrival back to Tanzania in late July his party encouraged masses of people to go to the airport to welcome him all while not following Covid 19 protocols such as wearing masks and social distancing. This was the same case at his party convention when he was nominated whereby a large number of party members filled the halls of Mlimani City, again without masks or social distancing.
Lastly, this October Tanzanians head to the polls to elect a new government and new representatives. For a poor country like Tanzania, an election with a lockdown going on would have been nearly impossible to pull off. Can you imagine what would have been the reaction of the opposition and their supporters if President Magufuli announced he was cancelling the elections due to the pandemic?
Politics aside, time is proving Magufuli right. Maybe some in the developed world could learn a thing or two from the Magufuli Approach, it’s about time we shared our strategy with the world. Sometimes, the best approach is not the politically convinient one. But I will let the readers judge for themselves.
Thomas Joel Kibwana
