PRESIDENT John Magufuli has cancelled this year's
Union Day celebrations and ordered that the funds earmarked for the
festivities amounting to over 2 billion/- should be spent on building a
road instead.
Mwalimu Julius Nyerere (l) and Abeid Aman Karume (r) sign the unification agreement in 1963.
"The
president has directed that public funds allocated for drinks, food,
parades, various entertainment activities, and the evening state
function should be used to expand the Mwanza airport road," State House
said in a statement.
Magufuli flew through Mwanza airport last week when heading to his Chato district home village for a short holiday, and witnessed traffic congestion along the road leading to the airport.
Union Day celebrations are usually marked by a military parade and performances by music groups, topped by a presidential address, at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam or alternatively in Zanzibar.
The day will still be marked as a public holiday on April 26, but there will be no state-sponsored festivities, the president's office said.
Magufuli in December last year similarly cancelled independence day celebrations and ordered a clean-up campaign instead. He said it would be shameful to spend huge sums of money on such celebrations while people were dying from cholera.
It was the first time in 54 years that Tanzania did not hold celebrations to mark the day it attained independence from the United Kingdom.
This will also be the first time the country doesn’t hold celebrations to mark the April 26, 1964 union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
Magufuli has implemented a series of quite unique austerity measures to cut excessive government spending since being sworn in on November 5, including restricting foreign travel by public officials and the printing and distribution of government Christmas and New Year cards
He also ordered the sum of over 200m/- set aside for a party to mark the opening of parliament to instead be channeled towards buying hospital beds for the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in Dar es Salaam, after he found patients sleeping on the floor on a surprise visit.
These and other austerity moves have won the president widespread praise among the nation’s 47 million-plus population which has long complained about public officials who apparently abuse their positions by over-spending.
Magufuli flew through Mwanza airport last week when heading to his Chato district home village for a short holiday, and witnessed traffic congestion along the road leading to the airport.
Union Day celebrations are usually marked by a military parade and performances by music groups, topped by a presidential address, at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam or alternatively in Zanzibar.
The day will still be marked as a public holiday on April 26, but there will be no state-sponsored festivities, the president's office said.
Magufuli in December last year similarly cancelled independence day celebrations and ordered a clean-up campaign instead. He said it would be shameful to spend huge sums of money on such celebrations while people were dying from cholera.
It was the first time in 54 years that Tanzania did not hold celebrations to mark the day it attained independence from the United Kingdom.
This will also be the first time the country doesn’t hold celebrations to mark the April 26, 1964 union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
Magufuli has implemented a series of quite unique austerity measures to cut excessive government spending since being sworn in on November 5, including restricting foreign travel by public officials and the printing and distribution of government Christmas and New Year cards
He also ordered the sum of over 200m/- set aside for a party to mark the opening of parliament to instead be channeled towards buying hospital beds for the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in Dar es Salaam, after he found patients sleeping on the floor on a surprise visit.
These and other austerity moves have won the president widespread praise among the nation’s 47 million-plus population which has long complained about public officials who apparently abuse their positions by over-spending.
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