While some African leaders use taxpayer’s money to travel to New York to speak to empty seats, well known Magufuli has indicated his reason for never traveling there.
The Tanzania’s president has explained that he did not go to New York for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in order to save money.
– I did not go to New York because we have many problems at home
Magufuli, who rarely travels out of his country, thanked the foreign minister, Dr. Augustine Mahiga, for representing him well in international fora. ‘‘He has just arrived from the UN summit where he represented me, saving the government money.
‘This is because sending a minister and his assistant is less expensive than sending the president and his delegation,’‘ Magufuli said.
He has just arrived from the UN summit where he represented me, saving the government money. Since becoming president in 2015, Magufuli has only traveled to Uganda (twice), Rwanda, Kenya and Ethiopia.
Magufuli, who has championed austerity measures during his presidency, has cut government spending by imposing measures such as restrictions on foreign travel for government officials and the removal of “ghost workers” from the state payroll.
UNGA 2019 was also snubbed by other world leaders including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and India’s Narendra Modi.
