Magufuli is mistaken for limiting travel to save public funds

I wish to congratulate the President of Tanzania His Excellency John Pombe Magufuli for his determination in restructuring Tanzania to a new level.

President Magufuli has been on the fore front in fighting corruption in his country by imposing strict measures to curb the vice from spreading. Indeed he has taken a step in sacking culprits and imprisoning those engaged in embezzling public funds. He has also made impromptu visits to institutions thus attaining the true picture of what is done in the field.

I believe as a President, Magufuli has shown the world what leadership and what to be a leader means. He has proved the saying which states that “leadership is not a position or title instead it is action and example”. He has certainly enforced stern action against the corrupt and as well as setting an example to his fellow people by reducing the cost of expenditure and lavishness.

However, despite all these achievements and others we cannot expound on, President Magufuli should remember a common saying that says that “No man is an island.” As a President he needs to have international relations with the leaders of other nations and this can be attained through courtesy calls and visits which involve travelling by air, water and road whichever means possible.

There is a notion that it is better to spend than retaining too much possession. Through spending there is growth and development but retaining means nothing tangible is being done.

His argument of not visiting other countries with the perception that it is misusing public funds is distorted and lacks gist. Actually, a visit to other countries is an eye opener for various projects in the country. Through visits; they share ideas, get loans or deals and one learns many things. For instance President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to France enhanced a deal worth 250 million Euros that is to be injected into the Kenyan economy. Truly such a pact could not have been gained if Uhuru had stayed indoors.

It is high time Magufuli learns a kikuyu saying that states that “Mundu Utathiaga Oi no Nyina Urugaga.” This means that he who does not travel only knows his mother’s cooking. The saying can also be interpreted to mean that a person who does not leave his native place will have very little or limited knowledge.

President Magufuli should know that the world is a great book, and those who do not travel read only a page. Travel can be one of the most life changing experiences in one’s life.

Mark Twain an American author and futurist noted that “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

He should not limit himself from travelling with the notion that he will be misusing public funds instead he should absorb the significance of travelling and the hidden knowledge encompassed from travelling.