What Tanzania’s “per diem town” says about African governance
When allowances are more than wages, why bother with the day job?
With joints such as Funky Squids Beach Resort, Bagamoyo sounds like a party town. It is not. Hotels depend on bureaucrats from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s commercial capital, 50km to the south. “Bagamoyo is per-diem town,” explains the head of an NGO, in reference to “by the day” allowances claimed by civil servants for attending out-of-town events. “No meetings ever take place in government ministries,” he sighs.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “To reap, perchance, per diem”
From the December 10th 2022 edition
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