Magufuli: JK, Mkapa picked wrong people

Dar es Salaam. CCM presidential candidate John Magufuli said yesterday that he felt sorry for President Jakaya Kikwete and retired President Benjamin Mkapa for picking incompetent lieutenants to assist them in leading the country.

Addressing a campaign rally at Jangwani grounds in Dar es Salaam, Dr Magufuli said: “Mr President, let me not mince my words...you appointed incompetent people to assist you and that’s why we are lagging behind.”

Without mentioning their names, Dr Magufuli said President Kikwete and Mr Mkapa’s assistants put on CCM colours during the day, but at night were corrupt individuals who stole from Tanzanians.

“It’s better that they have left our party and if there are others they should go too,” he said.

Dr Magufuli said he will have no mercy on public servants implicated in corruption. “If I’m elected Tanzania’s fifth president in Sunday’s General Election I will deal with corrupt public servants.”

He added: “There are greedy public servants who even if you pay them Sh10 million a month they will still steal. There is no need to transfer such people...they have to go.

“If it was possible for a presidential candidate to start working before he was elected, I would have started today to make them answerable regardless of their political affiliations.”

He added that he longed for the day when every Tanzanian employee worked hard for the good of the nation. Dr Magufuli promised to solve problems facing workers, including reducing Pay as You Earn (Paye) by 11 per cent. He said the government had already formed a commission to study problems workers were facing.

On water shortage in Dar es Salaam, Dr Magufuli said finding a lasting solution to the problem would be one of his priorities.

He said demand for water in Dar es Salaam was 500 million litres a day but the city was only being supplied with 350 million litres.

Dr Magufuli said his government would build a six-lane highway between Dar es Salaam-Morogoro, adding that initial preparations for the project had begun.

He mentioned other priorities as construction of industries that will help create jobs for the youth and stepping up the war on corruption. President Kikwete said CCM did not make a mistake when it nominated Dr Magufuli as its candidate.

“Dr Magufuli is the best presidential candidate out of the eight contestants. Let us vote for him overwhelmingly on Sunday,” said President Kikwete, who is also the chairman of the ruling party.

He said Dr Magufuli was a hard worker and an incorruptible person. President Kikwete added that he was optimistic that Dr Magufuli would win by a landslide.