Magufuli to tackle Tanzania’s construction industry

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President Magufuli will soon have to tackle issues facing Tanzania’s construction industry and as the immdiate past Minister for Works Magufuli has his job cutout for him

The 5th President of the Republic of Tanzania has already endeared himself to the general population and indeed the rest of Africa with his no-nonsense fight against corruption. This comes in the shadow of what many see as a crippling vice in Africa that threatens to stall economic growth and has definitely hampered the delivery of services for the citizens of many African countries. Magufuli has moved away from the attitude of entitlement reminiscent of many administration officials and this has been epitomized by slashing budgets for lavish banquets and shaking up the Dar Port administration that has been a hive for corrupt officials for starters  .

Prior to his appointment as President, Magufuli was the Minister of Works and so has a more than passing knowledge of the construction industry in the country. During his campaigns Magufuli had pledged to slash the price of construction materials to enable the people to construct more decent houses. Only in June he had to respond to  MP’s queries as to why roads under construction had not been completed in Tanzania such as the 364km long Mpanda – Tabora tarmac road. In addition he made it clear that he was aware of the effect of overloaded trucks that reduce the lifespan of roads.

Campaign pledges

At campaigns in Dar-es-salaam Magufuli made a raft of pledges including bringing an end to traffic jams, power cuts and water shortages. He pledged to construct flyovers at Tazara and Ubungo and to tarmac several roads while constructing feeder roads to ease traffic congestion. Roads earmarked for tamacking include Mawili-Mbezi, Maramba, Banana-Kinyerezi,  Bunju, Majohe Mpiji and Mbezi Mwisho.

Cabinet appointments

In his recent cabinet appointments he has not yet filled the docket for the Minister of Works as well as that of Minister for transport and communication positions which will be key to spearheading any efforts at galvanizing the construction industry.