Tanzanian President John Magufuli has said his party will be “in power forever, for eternity”, according to a report by news agency AFP.
Mr Magufuli’s comments were broadcast on radio on Monday evening, and come hot on the heels of his controversial suggestion that prisoners be made to work long hours, and be punished if they are lazy.
“The CCM is here and will continue to be here — forever. Members of the CCM, you can walk with your heads held high. There is no alternative to the CCM,” said Magufuli during a ground breaking ceremony for a new party training centre being built in Kibaha, outside the economic capital Dar es Salaam.
The $45 million (38.4 million euros) facility is being funded by a donation from China and will be dedicated to Julius Nyerere, modern Tanzania’s founding father and founder of the CCM.
Mr. Magufuli is not the first leader to make such a prediction.
South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma said in 2008 that the governing African National Congress will rule “until Jesus comes back” and in 2014 he said the party will rule “forever and ever”.
Magufuli, who came to power in 2015, has previously angered rights groups with his campaigns against homosexuality and calls to bar pregnant girls from schools.
Rights groups have accused him of growing intolerance, and Mr Magufuli has lost his initial huge popularity by clamping down on the media and targeting opposition politicians.
