Tanzanian officials will not be allowed to send out the
usual government printed Christmas and New Year cards this year as part of
belt-tightening measures by the new president.
John Magufuli has implemented a series of austerity steps since being sworn in on Nov. 5, including canceling independence day festivities and restricting foreign travel by officials.
The president's chief secretary "has prohibited the
printing of Christmas and New Year cards at the government's expense," the
presidency said in a statement. "Anyone who wants to print those cards
should do so at his or her own personal cost."
"The funds set aside for the cards should be used to
pay off debts that government ministries, departments and institutions owe
citizens and other creditors for goods and services rendered or should be
directed towards other priority areas," it said.
Last week, Magufuli ordered the sum of about $100,000 that
had been set aside for a party to mark the opening of parliament should be used
instead to buy hospital beds at Tanzania's main hospital, after he found
patients sleeping on the floor.
The president has issued a raft of instructions to curb
government spending, winning praise from citizens of the nation of 47 million
or so. The public have long complained about officials who they say abuse
office in the poor nation.
Underscoring his popularity since winning, Twitter hashtags associated with the president, such as #WhatWouldMagufuliDo, have quickly become top trending topics among social network users in East Africa
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