Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has become well known as one of the most progressive and influential leaders in African politics, and has helped to turn around the Tanzanian economy since his assumption of power in 2005. Here are ten things you may not have known about President Kikwete.
Sources: Examiner.com, Twitter.com, DailyNews.co.tz, BBC.com, WHO.int, Tanzania-UN.org, FamousBirthdays.com, FredAlfred.Blogspot.co.nz, News.BBC.co.uk, TanzaniaInvest.com
Born in Msoga village in the Coast Region of Tanzania, Kikwete is the sixth born of nine children to his father, Halfani Mrisho Kikwete, and mother, Asha Jakaya. During his childhood, however, he moved around the country a lot as his father was transferred to different outposts in working for various regional administrations.
With his degree in economics and commitment to establishing accountability with regard to government finances, Kikwete was both the youngest and arguably the most influential Finance Minister in Tanzanian history. He is credited with creating cash budget systems and ramping up revenue collection structures to better allow for public finance management, as well as the eventual establishment of the Tanzania Revenue Authority.
Kikwete is known for being an avid sports fan, and has been a patron of the Tanzania Basketball Federation for over a decade. He himself played basketball competitively in school.
After serving in the post for ten years from 1995-2005, Kikwete holds the distinction of being the longest serving Foreign Minister in Tanzanian history. During this period, he was instrumental in restoring peace in the Great Lakes region, as well as promoting regional integration in East Africa with the introduction of a Customs Union between Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.
Jakaya and Salma Kikwete have five children together, and Salma has been one of the more active First Ladies in Tanzania’s history. After working as a teacher for over two decades, she jumped feet first into her new role in politics. She has become known for her role in promoting awareness and prevention of HIV and AIDS, and she and her husband were two of the first people tested for a national campaign for voluntary HIV/AIDS testing in Dar es Salaam.
Kikwete underwent military training from 1972-1976 before being commissioned as a Lieutenant, later rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. During this time, he worked both in militaristic and political roles, but decided to commit his full attention to politics in 1992 when political pluralism was reintroduced to the Tanzanian political system.
With nearly 200,000 followers, Kikwete is extremely active on Twitter and uses social media to interact with his constituents. He posts largely in Swahili, and uses the platform to discuss government initiatives, current events, and the occasional personal note or inspirational quote.
Kikwete has been given bibles as gifts for some years now – the first of which came from the country’s first First Lady, Mama Maria Nyerere (the wife of former President Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere). Though he openly embraces his own religion, Kikwete has made religious tolerance and acceptance a large part of his administration.
In April 2014, Kikwete was awarded the Most Impactful Leader in Africa 2013 award, given by African Leadership Magazine. The award recognizes those that meet the organization’s standards for adherence to good governance, human rights, and democracy. He also received the Icon of Democracy Award 2014 in July of this year. The honor is given by The Voice magazine, and recognized Kikwete’s success in ensuring a genuine democracy, peace, and tranquility in his country despite challenges.
As Tanzania is still classified as a poor country, it is unable to recoup a sizable amount of money from its citizens in the form of taxes. In an interview with Tanzania Invest, Kikwete discussed the situation, “At this point in time we definitely need development assistance for infrastructure development like roads, railways, ports [and] power stations. Still, we have tried hard to reduce the level of dependence from foreign donors. When I came in office in 2005 the proportion of the national budget that was provided by foreign donors was 44 percent, while today it is 22 percent. But again I wish we could get more support for all we need to do.”
Source: TanzaniaInvest.com