Barely a month ago, the European Union’s Council President Charles Michel committed to offering Tanzania 27 Million Euros to help curb COVID-19 effects. The Council President made the commitment while receiving diplomatic credentials for Tanzania’s Ambassador to Belgium in September.
The Ambassador, Jestas Nyamanga, is also Tanzania’s representative to the European Union. The European Union has questioned the legitimacy of the funds to be given to Tanzania while the country’s president claim there is no Corona-Virus in Tanzania.
Covid-19 Free
Tanzania’s President called for national prayers against the corona-virus. He later declared the country free of the global pandemic in the month of June. In his quest to prove that the prayers worked, President Magufuli also asked Tanzanians to play for Kenya. Kenya neighbors Tanzania in East Africa.
The European Union thus questions Tanzania’s plead for funds to help curb the global pandemic. If the country is free of the virus, why is President Magufuli asking for 27 million Euros? The president restricted the freedom of speech by banning any media house from reporting anything related to the pandemic.
“What were the criteria required from Tanzania to fulfill in order to benefit from the aid dedicated to the fight against Covid? Because the regime in Dares-Salaam has announced that apparently, the country is corona free… The government has refused to follow WHO guidelines,” an EU delegation pointed out.
“We expect the European Union to be very clear and vocal on this unacceptable development in the country.
“The European Union delegation on the ground, also, has a responsibility to support those brave people who are defending human rights and are fighting values we hold high in the European Union,” the delegation added.
European Union
The Tanzanian President also withheld the statistics of the cases in his country. He claimed that Tanzania was Covid-19 free despite reports that Covid-19 patients had run away from national hospitals in Dare-salaam. The patients claimed there was no service in the hospitals as the hospital attendants lacked the proper gear to handle Covid-19 patients.
International Scandal
The probing of the European Union makes the situation an international scandal. In his country, President Magufuli puts on a diligent and straight facade. The president has shamed his fellow leaders who he thought are corrupted. Today, he sinks himself in an international scandal involving Billions of Tanzania Shillings.
President Magufuli’s critics are saying that the scandal is the unmasking of the president who plays god in the country.
“The President pretends to be a straight forward person. Now that he tried to con the EU via his ambassador, his real face is out. Tanzanians will now see him for what he is,” a critic said in anonymity.
President Magufuli is a modern-day dictator who hides behind the veils of democracy. Freedom of Speech is literary a death wish in the country. It would not be surprising if no Tanzanian media reports this booming scandal. During the just-concluded elections where Magufuli was re-elected, his government switched off data to hide political atrocities that were taking place in the country.
Nevertheless, some Tanzanians were able to access the internet via VPN. They were able to shed some light on what took place in the country although they were limited and feared for their lives.
