Ali Hassan Mwinyi: 'Mr Permission' - the man who opened up Tanzania - BBC News

Ali Hassan Mwinyi, who has died aged 98, allowed multiparty elections and free trade in Tanzania.

58 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ali Hassan Mwinyi died at 98By Basillioh Rukanga & Alfred LasteckBBC News, Nairobi & Dar es SalaamAli Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzania's second president, was fondly known as Mzee Rukhsa - "Mr Permission".

The former leader, who died on Thursday at the age of 98, had a reputation for allowing a long list of things which had been denied by his predecessor - such as multiparty democracy, independent media, free trade and the private ownership of televisions.

In 1985, when he was first sworn in, Tanzania's economy was struggling, reeling from the ruinous effects of founding President Julius Nyerere's socialist policy known as ujamaa, as well as the war against neighbouring Uganda that toppled Idi Amin.

Ujamaa, Swahili for familyhood, involved collaborative working where everything was communally owned, including land, while people lived in communal settlements.

But after more than two decades under Nyerere, the country faced a shortage of essential goods including food and clothing. Foreign exchange was scarce and Tanzania was deep in debt.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68443788

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