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Tanzanian President John Magufuli passed away last night at the age of 61. Magufuli, nicknamed “The Bulldozer” has been in power since 2015, from when he implemented sweeping reforms. Joining CNBC Africa to delve into the future of economic policy in Tanzania is Menzi Ndhlovu, Senior Analyst at Signal Risk.

What President Magufuli’s death means for Tanzania’s economic policy

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Tanzanian President John Magufuli won a second term, with a landslide victory of more than 84 per cent of the vote in this year’s election. However, Magufuli’s main challenger, Tundu Lissu, of the Party for Democracy and Progress said that the election was full of fraud, and he called on the international community not to accept the results. Dr. Richard Mbunda, Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Dar es Salaam joins CNBC Africa for more.

What John Magufuli’s re-election means for Tanzania

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Tanzanian President John Magufuli yesterday tweets about the country’s World Bank middle income status; the Bank of Tanzania’s monthly review for May shows promise for exports and optimism for a speedy economic recovery post Covid-19. Bankable Partner, Ivan Tarimo joins CNBC Africa for more.

Tanzania reaches middle income status

By Jared Jeffery, Political Analyst, NKC African Economics



For three consecutive weeks leading up to 19 August 2017, police or intelligence agents allegedly followed opposition chief whip, and perennial thorn in the president’s side, Tundu Lissu wherever he went. 



&#8220;They
should work to fight criminals and not waste their time and money on taxpayers
worrying about citizens fulfilling their right to hold government to
account,&#8221; he told attendees of the Democracy and Progress Party’s
(Chadema) summit. 



Less
than three weeks later, on 7 September 2017, attackers armed with AK-47s
sprayed his vehicle with bullets outside his house at a guarded government
housing compound in Dodoma. He was shot 16 times but survived. 



Two
years later, the perpetrators have not been apprehended and the government is
trying to revoke Mr Lissu’s position as a Member of Parliament (MP) due to his
absence for medical treatment. 



The
High Court on Monday, August 26, dismissed the state’s attempt to block an
application by Mr Lissu to challenge the decision to strip him of his seat in
Parliament. 



A
minor victory in a campaign to return and take on President John Magufuli in
next year’s election. 



The
application, filed by his brother Alute Mughwai in his absence, also seeks to
suspend the swearing-in of Miraji Mtaturu of the ruling Revolutionary Party
(CCM) as MP for the Singida East constituency, according to The Citizen. 



Mr
Lissu is also facing a sedition case which has been adjourned until September
23 due to his medical absence. It is not yet clear whether he will return by
that date. 



Other
Chadema leaders are fighting their own court battles. National Chairman Freeman
Mbowe, Secretary General Vincent Mashinji, and seven other senior members
(including five MPs) are facing charges of sedition, unlawful assembly, and
inciting the commission of offences, among others, related to events last
February during the Kinondoni by-election. 



A
university student was killed by a stray bullet when police tried to break up
the demonstration organised by Chadema. 



Elections
are still over a year away but plans to counter the repressive turn that the
political environment has taken under Mr Magufuli will need to be put in place
soon if the opposition is to have any chance. 



Mr
Lissu’s return and a legal victory to keep his seat in Parliament would be a
significant boost. It would also signal that the judiciary is able to withstand
executive pressure. 



Even
if Mr Lissu and the Chadema leadership overcome the legal challenges they face,
we can expect more trumped-up charges (likely on sedition and insulting the
president) to be laid to hamper their campaign. 



Before
being shot, Mr Lissu had been arrested six times in 2017 alone. 



The
excessively empowered registrar of political parties, who benefits from the
recently passed Political Parties Act, will also likely do their best to keep
the opposition on the backfoot. 



The
year ahead is going to show what is left to salvage of the country’s democratic
progress pre-Magufuli. 



Hopes are not high.

Op-Ed: Shot and stripped of his seat, Tanzania opposition MP Tundu Lissu keeps fighting

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The Tanzanian Central Bank on Friday sent out a circular warning banks without local primary data centers, that they have a deadline of 3 months to set one up or face large fines – this comes at a time when the bank has a mandate by President John Magufuli to take action against failing financial institutions. Ivan Tarimo, founding Partner of Bankable Tanzania joins CNBC Africa for more.

Tanzania urges banks to set up data centres or face fines

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After months of planning and organising, the Rufiji Hydropower Plant Project in Tanzania has finally been launched by President John Magufuli. The project has finally been handed over to the winners of the tender to build it &#8211; JV Arab Contractors Company and Elsewedy Electric Company. It is expected to be a solution for the country&#8217;s shortage of power, though it hasn&#8217;t come without challenges. Kamanga Kapinga, of KW Kapinga &#038; Partners joins CNBC Africa for more.

Rufiji Hydropower project could be a game changer for Tanzania, here’s why

NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Tanzania’s economy expanded 5.2% in 2018, the World Bank said on Thursday, the second major report this year from a multilateral financial institution contradicting rosier government figures.



Tanzania’s finance minister had told parliament last month that growth was 7% last year



In a report, the World Bank, which makes its calculations based on state data, also forecast 2019 growth at 5.4% &#8211; again lower than the government’s estimate of 7.1%.



Last year’s growth was affected by a decline in investment, exports and private lending, the report said.



“Data related to consumption, investment and net trade suggest that growth softened in 2018,” it said.



President John Magufuli embarked on an ambitious programme of industrialisation after coming to power in 2015, investing billions of dollars into infrastructure, including a new rail line, reviving the national carrier and a hydropower plant.



But government interventions in mining and agriculture have led to declining investment in east Africa’s third largest economy. Foreign direct investment has more than halved since 2013, while private sector lending growth plummeted to less than 4% in 2018, far below the 20% average between 2013-16.



The World Bank report follows an unpublished International Monetary Fund (IMF) report in April that also raised questions over Magufuli’s handling of the economy.



A leaked version of the report, seen by Reuters, accused the government of undermining the economy with “unpredictable and interventionist” policies, saying medium-term growth would be around 4-5 percent, again below official forecasts.



In its report, the World Bank said investment growth was subdued partly because of government struggles to meet spending targets in development projects.



The economy could grow to 6% by 2021 “with a modest improvement of the business climate and a pick-up in [foreign direct investment] and other private investment,” the bank said.



Other economic indicators also point to a slowing economy.



The current account deficit widened to 5.2% percent of GDP in the year ending January 2019, up from 3.2% a year earlier, the bank said. The value of exports dropped nearly 4% last year, partly because the government banned cashew exports, a major foreign exchange earner, due to low prices.



On the other hand, the construction of the standard gauge railway and expansion of Dar es Salaam port helped drive up the value of imports by 7.8%, the World Bank said.



The government should minimise economic risk by improving the business environment and fiscal management, it recommended.



Globally, Tanzania is also vulnerable to weaker demand, tighter financing conditions, and higher international energy prices, it said.



Reporting by Omar Mohammed; Editing by Katharine Houreld and Andrew Cawthorne

World Bank contradicts Tanzania’s rosier growth estimates, what you need to know

By Jared Jeffery, Political Analyst at NKC African Economics
On Monday, November 5, the European Union (EU) recalled its ambassador to Tanzania, Roeland Van de Geer, because of the worsening human rights situation. This comes after Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Paul Makonda said that he would set up a squad to hunt down and arrest gay people.
The Tanzanian ministry of foreign affairs issued a statement on Sunday, November 4, distancing itself from the commissioner’s plan, saying it was his “opinion” and not the state’s position. The ministry said the government would respect human rights.
As there has been no news of Mr Makonda’s squad, it must be assumed that his plan has been blocked. However, The Guardian quoted an activist on Monday saying that houses were being raided and potentially targeted people were leaving the city for safety.
Mr Makonda’s public weeping at the Efatha Church on Sunday can perhaps be interpreted as an attempt to garner public sympathy before the fallout.
Regional commissioners are appointed by the president, and past controversies surrounding Mr Makonda – which he surprisingly survived – have created the impression that he is one of President John Magufuli’s closest allies and enjoys special protection.
For example, in March 2017 Mr Makonda stormed into the offices of Clouds FM Media Group with six armed men to insist they air a video alleging a popular pastor had had an affair; soon thereafter, Mr Magufuli fired not Mr Makonda but the information minister for launching an investigation into the incident.
&#8220;I, as president, don&#8217;t let anyone tell me what to do. I decide who should be where. So you Makonda, do your job and ignore the rest,&#8221; was the president’s answer to criticism.
More recently, there was controversy this year over a shipment of furniture the commissioner tried to import without paying taxes. He said that the 20 containers with furniture allegedly for teachers’ offices were aid from Tanzanians in the US, according to local newspaper The Citizen. This time, however, Mr Magufuli did not back up his ally.
The president in August called on Mr Makonda to pay the tax on the furniture and implied in his comments on the matter that the commissioner was being deceitful: “What if they come from your friends and you have imported them for your business interest but you use teachers as a scapegoat? Even the beneficiary schools are not mentioned, what does that mean? It means you want to use teachers to import furniture. What if they end up in some shopping mall somewhere?” he is quoted saying.
That he did not fire Mr Makonda for his pet peeve – the misuse of government office – speaks to the importance of the relationship and also shows that Mr Magufuli’s principles are more flexible than popularly believed.
It will be interesting to see how the president reacts this time seeing as the controversy over his favoured commissioner has gone international.
He will not want to be seen to be bowing to international pressure, and he seemingly does not have an issue with Mr Makonda’s stance on homosexuality – repression of LGBT+ groups has only increased under Mr Magufuli.
The EU will want to see some assurance that the government meant what it said in its statement about human rights and dismissing Mr Makonda appears to be the minimum gesture on this front.
Pressure from the EU to respect rights is potentially a positive development, but it would need to be wider than the focus on LGBT+ rights to have an effect.
The political environment in Tanzania has deteriorated significantly over the past three years with leaders of opposition parties routinely arrested (Zitto Kabwe of the Alliance for Change and Transparency-Wazalendo just last week), media freedoms curtailed, and protests effectively banned.
In short, there is little opportunity for local actors to have an effect. Pressure from liberal countries could help open the political space once again or it could drive Tanzania closer to China (which does not put conditions on assistance) and cause Mr Magufuli’s administration to become even more repressive.

OpEd: What you need to know about Tanzania’s homosexual crackdown fallout

By Jared Jeffery, Political Analyst at NKC African Economics 
On Monday evening, July 16, President John Magufuli told the country that his Revolutionary Party (CCM) would be “in power forever, for eternity”, according to news agency AFP.
He was giving a speech to mark the beginning of construction of the Mwalimu Nyerere Leadership School – a centre funded by the Communist Party of China (CPC), CCM and the liberation (and ruling) parties of South Africa (the African National Congress – ANC), Namibia (South West African People&#8217;s Organisation – Swapo), Angola (People&#8217;s Movement for the Liberation of Angola – MPLA), and Mozambique (Mozambique Liberation Front – Frelimo).
His comments are reminiscent of those of former South African President Jacob Zuma when he said the ANC would rule “until Jesus comes”. However, if trends over the last two elections continue (as recent polling by Twaweza suggests it might), forever may not be all that long a wait.
Asked which party’s presidential candidate they would vote for if elections were held today, 55% told Twaweza in April they would cast their ballot for the CCM. If accurate, this would indicate a further slide in the ruling party’s share from 80% in 2005 to 63% in 2010 and further to 59% in the last elections in 2015.
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The pollsters showed that the ruling party’s decline was not an isolated phenomenon. Approval ratings for the village, ward and parliamentary representatives have all been in steady decline over the past seven years.
Magafuli, too, has not escaped the fall in support; his approval rating went from a highest-ever-recorded 96% in 2016 to a lowest-on-record 55% this April.
The survey results, however, will unlikely cheer the opposition. The biggest opposition party, the Democracy and Progress Party (Chadema), did not perform well in the voter intention question, with only 15% saying they would vote for its presidential candidate (in the last election they received 40% of the votes).
However, 29% said they did not know who they would vote for or refused to answer. Chadema’s poor showing could be due to the fact that it does not currently have a clear candidate voters could back (Edward Lowassa would be unlikely to lead the campaign again). With a suitable individual in the role, it is likely that the party would get the lion’s share of the currently undecided vote.
A further interesting finding was that CCM support in rural areas, where it previously dominated, has waned considerably and views held by country and city folk have converged.
This represents a possible opportunity for the opposition to expand its reach beyond the urban pool of voters.
Besides voting intentions, the Twaweza survey revealed the effects of Mr Magufuli and the CCM’s turn to authoritarianism.
Around 64% of respondents said opposition parties were less free to hold rallies and state their views (political rallies remain banned and the Chadema leadership is facing charges of sedition) and 62% said the ability of media to report on government mistakes or to criticise the government had declined.
The clampdown has seemingly increased awareness of the need for strong opposition.
Over the past two years, the proportion of Tanzanians saying that opposition parties keep government on the right track between elections and help development increased from 51% to 64%.
Since releasing its survey, titled ‘Speaking Truth to Power?’, Twaweza has been threatened with legal action by the government.
The title of the survey shows the organisation knew it would be in for a fight – the question mark, however, is a bit ambiguous.
Like all such surveys, the results are sensitive to the period in which respondents were asked. In April, Chadema’s leadership was rounded up and arrested, so it is unsurprising that sympathy for the opposition was high.
Afrobarometer, another polling organisation, asked Tanzanians whether they approved of Magufuli’s performance between April and June last year (just when he was taking on foreign gold miners) and found that 85% of respondents were pleased.
What counts at the end of the day is election results, and the last three have shown a clear decline in CCM dominance.
For the CCM to rule forever, it seems it would have to do away with elections.
Events on Zanzibar in 2015 and the authoritarian turn under Mr Magufuli suggest we should not dismiss that possibility altogether.

Tanzania’s President John Magufuli claims the ruling party will be “in power forever”, this is what the stats say…

NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Tanzanian President John Magufuli has reshuffled his cabinet and will swear in three new ministers on Monday, his office said, in a shake-up that included the sacking of the home affairs minister.
Minister Mwigulu Nchemba, who had led the home affairs portfolio that includes police and domestic security, was replaced by Kangi Lugola, who had been deputy environment minister.
Sunday’s cabinet reshuffle also saw new ministers in charge of water and infrastructure appointed.
The statement did not give reasons for the change.
Magufuli also added an additional deputy minister at the ministry of agriculture, appointing Omary Tebwete Mgumba to the role.
“Because of the importance of the agriculture sector, President Magufuli has decided to add strength to those that are in charge of the sector,” the statement said.
Magufuli, nicknamed ‘The Bulldozer’ for his forceful leadership style, has introduced anti-corruption measures and tough economic reforms since taking office in November 2015, including cuts to government spending and overhauling the fiscal and regulatory regime of the mining sector in Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer.
Critics say his cost-cutting measures and policy changes are excessive and undermine growth by stifling foreign investment in critical sectors such as mining.
Last month, the finance minister forecast economic growth to increase to 7.2 percent in the year from 7.1 percent in 2017. [L8N1TG51A]
Reporting by Omar Mohammed; Editing by Maggie Fick and Toby Chopra

Tanzania’s Magufuli reshuffles cabinet, here’s a look at who stays and who goes

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rob-ahearne-334689">Rob Ahearne</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-east-london-924">University of East London</a>
The United Republic of Tanzania has <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-hostilities-between-tanganyika-and-zanzibar-still-challenge-tanzanian-unity-76713">just turned 54</a>. Union Day commemorates the union of the Tanganyika mainland and the islands of Zanzibar, following a <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201201120789.html">bloody revolution on the islands in 1964</a>.
But the mood is not one of celebration, unity or tolerance of difference. Instead, the government’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-legacy-of-autocratic-rule-in-tanzania-from-nyerere-to-life-under-magufuli-73881">creeping authoritarianism</a> is meeting growing dissatisfaction.
As recently as February, leaders from across Tanzania’s civil society issued a statement expressing concerns of assaults on <a href="http://africanarguments.org/2018/03/02/tanzania-everyone-is-scared/">democracy, political opposition and even the rule of law</a>. This was quickly followed by similar statements from Tanzanian religious organisations as well as the European Union Charge ‘Affaires.
The lead up to the national holiday was dominated by plans for anti-government demonstrations across the country, called for by a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tanzania-protests/tanzania-police-threaten-to-beat-protesters-like-stray-dogs-to-halt-demos-idUSKBN1HW2BU">self-exiled political activist, Mange Kimambi</a>. The protests were planned against the backdrop of what many critics see as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/magufuli-has-been-president-for-two-years-how-hes-changing-tanzania-86777">narrowing of political space</a> by the government of President John Magufuli.
Magufuli has been in power since 2015. He promised major changes if elected, including a concerted effort to tackle <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-34669468">corruption and unemployment</a>.
The anti-corruption agenda has seen some notable achievements, not least the removal of <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201608220162.html">16 000 ghost workers from the government payroll in 2016</a>. His successes on the jobs front haven’t been that noteworthy, though he has taken on the big multinationals by bringing in new mining legislation aimed at keeping more <a href="https://theconversation.com/tanzania-at-56-echoes-of-the-best-and-worst-of-nyerere-under-magufuli-88812">mining profits in Tanzania</a> for use in a fund for national development.
It is clear that Magufuli is following a nationalist agenda. This also means that any opposition is seen as <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/07/africa/magufuli-crackdown/index.html">&#8216;against the nation’</a>. Past protesters have even been branded as influenced by <a href="https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/225343/ndimbwa_master2014.pdf?sequence=4">foreigners </a>.
In the end very few protesters turned out on Union Day. This can be put down to a very heavy-handed police response to previous protests as well as the <a href="http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/News/-/1840392/1920690/-/efte9qz/-/index.html">abuse of people who had been arrested</a>.
Memories of past repression remain strong. For example, I am currently writing up research that focuses on the memory of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22652809">brutal suppression</a> in the town of Mtwara, after protests and riots in 2013. As one participant in my research told me:
<blockquote>The way the army and the police treated us then, and since, makes us scared to even go into town. My family and friends would not protest again, not matter how bad things get.</blockquote>
Authoritarianism is not new in Tanzania. The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) &#8211; or the Revolutionary Party &#8211; and its forerunner have been in power since independence and have tended to maintain a high level of political control. And yet the latest clampdown on dissent is a troubling sign when it comes to citizen rights in Tanzania.
The ability to protest is a widely recognised and respected aspect of democratic citizenship. But not only is protesting in public risky for Tanzanians, they are even constrained online by legislation. This is also placing limitations on what journalists feel they can report, even leading some to <a href="http://africanarguments.org/2018/03/15/i-had-to-flee-my-home-tanzania-for-doing-journalism-i-was-lucky/">flee the country</a>.
<h2>Getting citizens in line</h2>
Magufuli’s government has banned opposition political gatherings for the duration of this parliament, <a href="http://www.tanzaniatoday.co.tz/news/tanzania-of-twaweza-surveys-jpm-actions-and-opposition-sentiments">running until 2020</a>. Critics who challenge this ban have been <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05zftlp">arrested</a>.
The politician Zitto Kabwe, for example, has been arrested numerous times in the past year for anti-government comments in <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-31/tanzanian-opposition-lawmaker-arrested-for-inflammatory-speech">public speeches</a> and at banned <a href="https://newspapers.africanplanet.org/news/zitto-still-under-police-custody-in-morogoro-1264839.aspx">political rallies</a>.
The government has also passed legislation putting <a href="https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/watch-tanzania-law-for-online-content-threatens-free-speech-20180416">limits on the freedom of speech online</a> and making arrest easier.
This was the catalyst for the <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201804260408.html">planned protests</a>.
The law means that anyone who posts a blog or is active on social media, or runs an online platform, will have to pay for a licence to keep their sites running. These <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/tanzania-braces-anti-government-rallies/4365022.html">licences cost around US$900</a> and can be revoked if the content of the site is deemed to threaten public order and national security. Users potentially face 12 months in prison, or a fine of up to US$2300. This, in a country in which <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=TZ">GDP per capita is US$877.50</a>.
When plans for the protest were posted on social media, the president, interior minister Mwigulu Nchemba and Dodoma Regional Police Commissioner Gilles Mutoto responded aggressively. Dodoma is the seat of parliament, in central Tanzania.
Mutoto warned that people who protested would end up with <a href="http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Tanzania-police-cripple-anti-Magufuli-protesters/2558-4351898-xvkvrg/index.html">“a broken leg and go home as a cripple”</a>. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoC9O-JWqN8">proclaimed</a>:
<blockquote>Those calling for protests through social media, those thinking about protesting tomorrow, will be in a lot of trouble… They will get a toothless dog’s beating, I’m warning anyone planning to come to Dodoma, to loot or to protest, Tanzania has no place for that… we have no space for protest in Dodoma.</blockquote>
Police maintained a <a href="http://www.magazetini.com/news/tanzania-police-beef-up-security-ahead-of-april-26-demos">heavy presence</a> and a few people were arrested, including <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tanzania-protests/tanzanian-anti-government-protests-flop-as-magufuli-calls-for-peace-idUSKBN1HX25V">some prominent members</a> of the main opposition Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo party (CHADEMA) – Kiswahili for The Party of Democracy and Development.
Union Day then passed without much incident.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96959/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />In Tanzania today, political space has shrunk to the point where protests are suppressed before they emerge.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rob-ahearne-334689">Rob Ahearne</a>, Senior Lecturer in International Development, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-east-london-924">University of East London</a>
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/tanzanias-latest-clampdown-takes-decades-of-repression-to-new-lows-96959">original article</a>.

As the United Republic of Tanzania turns 54 many believe the dream is over

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) &#8211; Tanzania briefly detained two musicians, including one of the country’s most popular singers, after they posted video clips deemed obscene by the authorities, in the latest crackdown on social media users.
Tanzania has become more socially conservative since the election of President John Magufuli in late 2015. Last month, the government tightened regulations on online content, imposing licence fees for bloggers and threatening internet users with criminal charges for posting hate speech or indecent content.
Award-winning 28-year old singer Nassib Abdul, whose stage name is Diamond Platnumz, was detained on Monday after sharing a video clip with his 4.5 million followers on Instagram that showed him kissing a girl.
Another local musician, 26-year old Faustina Charles, popularly known as Nandy, was also detained on Monday for posting a video clip of herself and another musician via WhatsApp that the authorities considered “indecent”.
Police said both singers had been released on bail on Monday without charge after questioning. Two mobile phones were confiscated as part of an ongoing investigation, they added.
Diamond deleted his video clip after posting it but it has continued to circulate on social media. The video clip with Nandy also went viral on WhatsApp but it was unclear who had originally posted it.
Harrison Mwakyembe, the minister for information, sports and culture, earlier told parliament that the authorities planned to file criminal charges against the two musicians.
If convicted, the singers could face a fine of at least 5 million shillings ($2,200) or a prison sentence of a minimum of 12 months or both.
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<h3>SAFEGUARDING CULTURE</h3>
“I would like to urge the youth to stop using the internet to post obscene content. The government will continue to safeguard the country’s culture for present and future generations,” Mwakyembe said.
Under Magufuli, a Christian in a country that also has a sizeable Muslim population, Tanzanian authorities have vowed to crack down on homosexuality, which is illegal, and indecent exposure.
Though laws governing moral and sexual issues have mostly long been in place, their enforcement was fairly relaxed under the more liberal government of Magufuli’s predecessor, Jakaya Kikwete, who retired as president in 2015 after a 10-year rule.
Magufuli said last year it was immoral for young girls to be sexually active and rejected activists’ calls for the government to allow pregnant students to attend state schools.
Activists have accused his government of infringing free speech and democracy in its crackdown on internet users.
The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said last week the new online content rules “will kill off Tanzania’s blogosphere”.
The number of internet users in Tanzania rose 16 percent in 2017 to 23 million, with the majority of those using their mobile phone handsets to go online in the nation of around 52 million people.
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<div class="container_2dHIN dp-slot-inline_eUPBt">Last week, neighbouring Uganda, another East African nation moving to regulate internet use, announced plans to slap a new tax on social media users to boost state revenues.</div>
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($1 = 2,266.0000 Tanzanian shillings)
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Editing by Duncan Miriri and Gareth Jones
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Tanzania has become socially more conservative, the arrest of musicians shows how far down the line it has gone

By Jared Jeffery, Political Analyst, NKC African Economics
Repression under President John Magufuli has increased considerably.
Opposition politicians have been routinely arrested and their activities banned; journalists have been intimidated and their papers or radio stations shut; citizens have been prosecuted for insulting the president and must now practice self-censorship on social media; rights activists have been detained; foreign companies have been subjected to threats of nationalisation and the rules they operate under have changed without consultation or recourse to international arbitration; the Zanzibar election results of 2015 were annulled without proof given of significant procedural abnormalities and the ruling party was reinstalled after an opposition boycott.
The trend has been clear from early on and there does not appear to be any let up. The clampdown threatens to create an equal and opposite reaction should citizens be mobilised against the authoritarian turn. But with the opposition, media and rights activists seemingly neutralised, who will direct the mobilisation and spur such a reaction? That is where the church and religious leaders could become significant.
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Tanzanians are a pious people and trust in religious leaders far outstrips trust in political institutions or traditional leaders, as can be seen in the graph. Magufuli himself is a religious man (controversial Nigerian preacher TB Joshua was an honoured guest at his inauguration and reportedly encouraged his presidential ambitions), and we believe this religiosity informs his governing style and sense of purpose. Thus, the church/mosque holds a lot of sway with the common man and the political elite.
Recently, religious leaders have shown they are not pleased with the route the government has taken.
Two major churches (Catholic and Lutheran) have in recent months issued unambiguous condemnations of the crackdown on the opposition. In February, the Catholic church released a letter in which it criticised the ban on political activities and demonstrations and called it unconstitutional, according to local newspaper The Citizen.
In its Easter message, the Lutheran church reiterated most of the Catholic church’s concerns. &#8220;There are signs of dwindling freedom of expression, assembly and right to information&#8230; There is a fear that even the right to worship is in danger,&#8221; the letter, signed by 27 Lutheran bishops, stated.
The church has been given good reason to worry. A Lutheran pastor, Fred Njama, was arrested just over two weeks ago on charges of incitement after preparing a service that detailed challenges facing the country – including suppression of civil freedoms. The government confiscated all copies of the church’s criticism and ordered those with copies to surrender them to authorities.
Why is the churches’ criticism significant? On March 27, six senior members of the Democracy and Progress Party (Chadema), including Chairman Freeman Mbowe, were charged with sedition, incitement to violence and unlawful assembly. The arrest of opposition leaders has become routine and has not been a cause for significant protest among citizens. This has highlighted just how effective Mr Magufuli’s clampdown has been. However, the church is another matter altogether.
The president may be able to cast Chadema as opportunistic troublemakers getting in the way of development and justify his actions as being in the best interests of the nation, but the same tactic will not work with the church.
On a personal level, Magufuli may be deeply conflicted to find himself cast on the ‘wrong side’. In May last year he told congregants at both the Christ the King Cathedral (Catholic) and Moshi Diocese of the Lutheran church (two sermons on the same day): “What we do [in fighting evils] aims at straightening the country to facilitate fast, real economic development. I want you to believe that I’m doing this on your behalf, the presidency is yours&#8230; I am trying to act in the will of God&#8230; as the country, we had reached a terrible point, we were heading to a disastrous end… Maybe the country was waiting for somebody like Magufuli to cleanse it.”
Today, it would be very difficult for him to stand in a church and say the same, and that is both a personal blow and possibly a blow to his legitimacy.
The question now is whether he will reform his ways and ease off the repression, or attempt to silence the church.
If the former, we can expect the opposition to gain the space needed to ramp up its campaign painting the government as anti-democratic and to push for constitutional reform.
If the latter, we can expect the opposition to receive help from the church which will change many Tanzanian’s perceptions of the ruling party before the 2020 elections.
Either way, Magufuli and the ruling party may be weakened.

Op:Ed: Does Tanzania’s President John Magufuli dare take on the church?

DAR ES SALAAM, March 20 (Reuters) &#8211; AB InBev, which owns a majority stake in Tanzania Breweries Limited, the country’s biggest brewer, will invest $100 million in a new beer plant in the administrative capital Dodoma, the president’s office announced.
President John Magufuli on Monday chaired a day-long meeting with major foreign and local investors and gave government ministers a seven-day ultimatum to resolve investor concerns.
“I want to assure you that my government does not hate business people &#8211; we like them and we will support them &#8230; this is the right time to do business (in Tanzania), but you must pay your taxes,” the president’s office quoted Magufuli as telling investors. (Reporting by Fumbuka Ng’wanakilala; editing by Clement Uwiringiyimana and Jason Neely)

AB InBev’s $100mln investment in Tanzania

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) &#8211; Tanzania’s central bank on Thursday revoked the licenses of five “critically undercapitalised” community banks to protect financial stability in East Africa’s No. 3 economy.
There are about 40 commercial banks and a dozen community banks, which target savings from specific communities or sectors such as farming, but the financial sector is largely dominated by just a handful of big banks.
<div class="DPSlot_container_2dHIN DPSlot_inline_1oeo6">The central bank said it would liquidate the Covenant Bank for Women (Tanzania) Ltd, Efatha Bank Ltd, Njombe Community Bank Ltd, Kagera Farmers’ Cooperative Bank Ltd and Meru Community Bank Ltd.
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“The aforesaid banks are critically undercapitalised,” the central bank said in a statement.
<div class="DPSlot_container_2dHIN DPSlot_inline_1oeo6 in-article-tag">It said continuation of operations of the banks in their current capital position was “detrimental to the interests of depositors and poses a risk to the stability of the financial system.”
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None of the institutions were immediately available for comment.
The closure of the banks comes after President John Magufuli ordered the central bank to take action against failing financial institutions.
This brings to eight the number of banks whose business licences have been cancelled since 2017.
Analysts said a steep increase in bad loans coupled with a sharp decline in credit to the private sector are threatening to undermine economic growth.
The central bank announced new rules last June for capital buffers, a move that will force banks to hold more capital to withstand financial shocks following a sharp rise in non-performing loans.
Tanzania’s economy grew at an annual rate of 6.8 percent in the first half of 2017 from 7.7 percent in the same period in 2016.
The International Monetary Fund said last month Tanzania’s banking sector was well-capitalised, but some small and mid-sized banks faced a sizable reduction in capitalisation ratios.
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Reporting by Fumbuka Ng&#8217;wanakilala; Editing by Duncan Miriri and Robin Pomeroy
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Tanzania’s central bank revokes licences of five banks

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) &#8211; Tanzania has threatened to revoke the registration of religious organisations that “mix religion and politics” after a cleric criticised President John Magufuli’s leadership in a Christmas sermon.
Opposition leaders in Tanzania say tolerance for dissent has been rapidly disappearing since Magufuli took office in late 2015 with pledges to reform East Africa’s third-biggest economy and crack down on large-scale corruption.
Tanzania’s constitution protects freedom of worship, but religious organisations must register at the country’s Home Affairs Ministry to get a licence to operate legally.
“Recently, some leaders of (religious) societies have been using their sermons to analyse political issues, which is contrary to the law,” the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Projest Rwegasira, said late on Thursday.
“Any violation of the law could lead to cancellation of the registration of the concerned religious society,” he said in a statement.
The warning was issued just days after the head of a Pentecostal church in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam criticised Magufuli’s leadership, saying his government was closing democratic space.
Zachary Kakobe, self-proclaimed bishop and founder of the Full Gospel Bible Fellowship Church, accused the Tanzanian government of “quietly turning the country into a one-state rule by systematically banning political activity.”
The Home Affairs Ministry responded by issuing a public notice to religious organisations after the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party accused Kakobe of mixing religion and politics.
Tanzanian police banned political protests and rallies indefinitely in June last year, saying political activity would only be allowed during elections.
Magufuli, nicknamed “the Bulldozer” for pushing through his policies, has won some praise from Western donors for an anti-corruption campaign and cuts to wasteful public spending. But opponents accuse him of increasingly undermining democracy by curbing dissent and stifling free speech.
READ: <a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/east-africa/2017/01/03/tanzanias-president-john-magufuli-the-bulldozer/">Tanzania’s President John Magufuli: The bulldozer crushing corruption</a>
Magufuli has publicly denied the allegations, saying he is no dictator. But several newspapers have been shut and more than a dozen suspects prosecuted for allegedly insulting the president via WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
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<div data-reactid="37">The CCM won 42 of 43 local government elections in November, prompting the main opposition parties to announce a boycott of several parliamentary by-elections early next year, citing foul play. Smaller opposition parties will participate in the polls.</div>
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Tanzania, one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most stable democracies, has held five relatively peaceful multi-party elections since 1995, all won by the CCM.
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Reporting by Fumbuka Ng&#8217;wanakilala; editing by Katharine Houreld/Mark Heinrich
http://cnbc.africa/zdnl-mc/2017/12/12/tanzania-at-56/
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Tanzania’s Home Affairs Minister threatens to de-register churches who rap president from pulpit

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Tanzania’s government has closed a critical newspaper for the second time in three months, banning the weekly MwanaHalisi for two years after accusing it of inciting violence.
Another newspaper &#8212; Mawio &#8212; was banned in June over articles it published linking two former presidents to alleged improprieties in mining deals signed in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The moves appear to cement President John Magufuli’s pledge in January that the days of newspapers his government viewed as unethical “were numbered” &#8212; a statement that triggered concerns about censorship.
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“The government has suspended publication and circulation of the weekly MwanaHalisi newspaper for 24 months &#8230; due to repeated unethical reporting, publishing fabricated and inciting articles and endangering national security,” the state-run Tanzania Information Services said in a statement.
The body said MwanaHalisi published a series of inciteful articles about Magafuli and that its editors had refused to apologize for their reporting.
Magufuli, nicknamed “the bulldozer”, has won some praise from Western donors for an anti-corruption drive and cutting wasteful public spending.
But opponents accuse him of increasingly undermining democracy by curbing dissent and stifling free speech.
Tanzania has one of the most highly diverse media industries in Africa, with over 450 registered newspapers and journals, as well as 180 radio and television stations.
In November, Magufuli signed into law a bill that journalists said was aimed at muzzling freedom of the press.
The Media Services Act of 2016 gives officials powers to shut down media organizations that violate their licenses and requires newspapers to apply for an annual license.
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Editing by Aaron Maasho Editing by Jeremy Gaunt
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Tanzania has become socially more conservative, the arrest of musicians shows how far down the line it has gone

Op:Ed: Does Tanzania’s President John Magufuli dare take on the church?

AB InBev’s $100mln investment in Tanzania

Tanzania’s central bank revokes licences of five banks

Tanzania’s Home Affairs Minister threatens to de-register churches who rap president from pulpit

Tanzania shuts down another ‘days numbered’ newspaper

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