Tanzania, July 24 -- Dar es Salaam. When Benjamin Mkapa became Tanzania's third president in 1995, he inherited an economy facing severe challenges, including low government revenues, high inflation and heavy debt.

Government revenue stood at only Sh331 billion in the 1994/95 financial year, while delayed salary payments for civil servants were common. Inflation had reached 27.4 percent, according to Mr Mkapa's autobiography, My Life, My Purpose: A Tanzanian President Remembers.

Ten years later, when he left office in 2005, revenue collection had risen to Sh2.125 trillion, foreign exchange reserves were enough to cover 5.3 months of imports and inflation had fallen to single digits.

Economic analysts say the transformation was driven b...