Tanzanian President John Magufuli Shocks Many After Sacking 10,000 Civil Servants

Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Friday ordered the immediate dismissal of more than 9,900 civil servants after a nationwide verification of academic credentials uncovered workers with forged school and college certificates.Some of the government workers are accused of falsifying exam certificates while others are said to have passed relatives' qualifications off as their own.A government investigation begun last October found 9,932 people it said had faked their secondary school qualifications, a number equivalent to two percent of the country's civil service.The education minister said that some had been using their relatives' school certificates, while others did not appear on official records at all.Magufuli has given those on the list until 15 May to resign or face legal action.“These people occupied government positions but had no qualifications... they robbed us just like other common criminals," Mr Magufuli said, urging officials to "name and shame" offenders."We have been working hard to create new jobs while there are people in government who hold fake degrees," he added.The 9,932 people named in the report account for more than 2% of the country's estimated 450,000 civil servants.Magufuli ordered officials to "name and shame" wrongdoers by publishing a list of all civil servants with forged academic qualifications."These people occupied government positions but had no qualifications ... they robbed us just like other common criminals," he said.Since taking office in 2015 Magufuli has displayed a no-nonsense approach to corruption but has also been accused of authoritarianism after bridling at criticism and cracking down on the media.