Politics

Tanzania becomes fourth African country to raise minimum wage after Morocco, Kenya, Zanzibar

Published

3 years ago

May 15, 2022

Tanzania has become the fourth African country in the last three weeks to raise the minimum wage of public servants after Morocco, Kenya and Zanzibar announced similar increases.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan who announced the wage increase on Saturday, said parliament decided on a wage increase of 23.3%, while also increasing the salaries of government workers for the first time since 2016.

“The salary increment was approved considering the country’s gross domestic product, domestic revenue and developments in both the local and global economies,” a statement from the President’s office said.

The minumum wage increase is a sharp departure from the policies of her late predecessor, John Magufuli, whose government was dogged by protests about high cost of living in the country.

Since coming to power last year following the death of Magufuli, Hassan has pursued a different path and has attempted to break with some of Magufuli’s policies by reaching out to the opposition and reversing most of his policies which were deemed to be anti-people.

Magufuli had bluntly refused to review wages following his election in October 2015, rather pursuing infrastructural plans by developing ports and railways and reviving the national airline.

By 2020, Tanzania’s economy had slowed to an all time low of 4.8%, barely edging upward to 4.9% the following year, as COVID-19 travel restrictions battered the tourism sector which is a key earner in the East African country.

During the Labour Day celebration on May 1, trade unions and civil servants led demonstrations in Tanzania’s capital Dodoma calling for an increase in wages, with many holding up placards saying: “Better salaries and benefits for workers is our demand.”

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Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

16 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.

Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.