EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL
Date: 18th March, 2021
H.E. Madam Samia Suluhu
Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania
DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA
Your Excellency,
RE: CONDOLENCE MESSAGE ON THE PASSING ON OF H.E. PRESIDENT DR. JOHN POMBE JOSEPH MAGUFULI
It is with utter shock and regret that we at the East African Community have received the sad news of the untimely demise of H.E. Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, and a member of the EAC Heads of State Summit, on 17th March, 2021 while undergoing treatment at the Mzena Hospital in Dar es Salaam.
We at the EAC grieve for the loss of this iconic leader and statesman who did much for Tanzania and the Community for the slightly over five years that he has been in office.
President Magufuli was a talented and brainy son of East Africa who always desired nothing but the best for his country and Africa. He was also a brainy leader with an incomparable capacity for hard work.
Dr. Magufuli abhorred tribalism, corruption, greed and laziness, vices that have been the bane of many African countries.
Upon assuming the power after winning the presidential election in October 2015, President Magufuli embarked on a journey to transform Tanzania by changing both the software (values, norms and mores) in addition to the hardware (infrastructure, agricultural production, mineral wealth, etc.).
President Magufuli consequently revolutionized operations at the Dar es Salaam port, one of the two major gateways to East Africa by rooting out corruption thereby making the port highly efficient. This was the case with many other state corporations and entities.
An outstanding legacy of President Magufuli will be the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway linking the Dar port to Morogoro-Dodoma-Isaka-Mwanza; Isaka-Rusumo-Kigali (Rwanda), and; Tabora-Uvinza-Musongati-Gitega (Burundi). The SGR is a plank of the Central Transport Corridor in the EAC.
President Magufuli further increased national revenue collection by sealing loopholes that occasioned tax losses thus earning government more funds for the delivery of public services.
The departed Head of State redefined the role of the public service in ways unimaginable on the continent by inculcating in civil servants the idea that the ordinary wananchi (citizens) are their actual employers and therefore deserve efficient service delivery. He always demanded that civil servants of whatever rank view themselves as servants of the wananchi as opposed to masters.
President Magufuli left a mark in all positions that he held in the public service. Earlier, as Minister for Roads, he ensured that the government built good roads for Tanzania at an affordable and to the highest possible standards. Tanzania, therefore, has one of the best road networks not just in the region but in Africa as whole, a network that is still growing by the day. This network links the country with the entire EAC region and beyond.
The Community has therefore lost a mentor and leader who offered wise counsel whenever called upon to do so.
To all those who loved and respected President Magufuli, we owe him one meaningful tribute – that is to do all that we can to bring his ideals to reality and serve his country and the EAC as he served us.
I therefore direct that all flags at EAC Organs and Institutions be flown at half-mast until the departed President is laid to rest.
As the country mourns, our prayers go to the immediate family of H.E. Dr. Magufuli, the Government and People of the United Republic of Tanzania. We call for patience and peace throughout the nation during this difficult time of national mourning.
MAY THE ALMIGHTY GOD REST THE SOUL OF THE DEPARTED PRESIDENT IN PEACE
Amb. Libérat Mfumukeko
Secretary General