Waungwana(ladies & gentlemen),
I am aware of the potential for this article to come off the wrong side to a lot of people... but, that is the whole point of blogging... right?
It has became a fashion to blame the government for the state of our development (read poverty) as a country!
Now, I will not sit here and say our government does everything superbly, with absolutely no mistakes! - that will be so not true...because I am sure they have a lot of "uups" moments!
But, in making our arguments, we compare other countries to ours.. and then blame our government for not making sure "they" make things happen as those other folks.
My interpretation (which may be totally wrong)is that, these arguments imply that the governments in those other countries does a better job "producing" wealth for its people; and that "we" are poor because our government does not do the same.
Now, I will agree to the fact that when you are poor you have no business going around behaving like a millionaire! That is... our government needs to make sure its priorities align with its "intentions" to alleviate poverty form the masses. Having said that however, I believe it is wrong to assume that it is the government that is supposed to "do the stuff".
Those countries that seem a little more wealthy, produce more not because their government produce, rather because there are individuals in those countries that are ready to grab the bull by the horn and make it happen!
You look around the world...; anyplace where meaningful development has been realized...; what you will see is the existence of a vibrant local (indigenous) economy! It is about the indigenous people rather than their government! IN this world of ours, we have places where governments are literally crap (tyrannical, un-democratic, dictatorial etc)..., and yet they (as a country)are economically more advanced than us! Development is brought about by the people/the citizens... not the government! The government governs and create the environment... "we" grab the opportunities and make it happen!
The government creates the environment & the infrastructure that will support production, "We" roll up our shirts and "do it"
The government governs in a way that guarantees fair and equitable returns; "we" jump right in and maximize the opportunities!
"We" are the ones to do it!
So the big questions should always be... do we have the environment that will allow the private sector to flourish?
We see most foreign companies coming to Tz and make a killing out of our backyards! The question should be... are those opportunities available to an indigenous Tanzanian?
So you will see.. there are areas that we can lie the blame squarely on the government shoulders...; but to blame the government because our cashew production has dwindled? I am not sure how we reconcile that.
We really do NOT want the government to engage itself in production activities - that will be so wrong! You want to know what will happen... simply recall our 70's & 80's economy! Take a very close look at Zimbabwe ya leo!
Now, in Tanzania the government walked away from production activities, opened the doors wide open for the private sector to take over everything that was originally run by the government.
We all know what happened!
Watanzania we were (and I would argue, majority of us still are) not prepared to take advantage of those opportunities. Wengi tulikuwa kama kuku wa kizungu walioachiwa mlango wazi! Like deer caught on headlights of a speeding car! totally unprepared and totally oblivious of the opportunities.
Wageni (wakuja) toka huko walikotoka - saw the opportunities came and grab them quickly! Wenye nchi tumebaki tunalia lia!
Over the past three years, I have been blessed enough to be able to frequently visit Tanzania (sometimes twice a year)! I personally, nimeshakutana na wamarekani (weupe) wawili... wanaishi Tz illegally - wapo wapo tu! Mmoja wao (mwanamke) keshapata jamaa wa kimatumbi, kaolewa naye na sasa anasubiri "makaratasi" yake - just like what we do out here! Watu wanatoka marekani (nchi iliyoendelea)... wanakwenda kuzamia Tz... huenda tunafahamu haya na hutuelewi what is really going on... au huenda this is news! Whatever the case, inabidi tujiulize hao wenzetu wanaona nini tusichokiona!
Dar, kuna wasouth kibao wamezamia... wanakuja na vikampuni vidogo vidogo... mtu anachofanya ni kubandika mabango ya: "Jikinge na ukimwi"! Lugha yetu (inabidi amwajiri Mtz kutafsiri), mbao zetu... jamaa keshakuwa mwekezaji... kisa ana pesa!
Ukitaka kujua jinsi walivyo mwagikia Dar.. jaribu kutembelea maeneo ya Yacht Club saa za jioni ujionee... kwao bongo life is good! Kwa mndengereko mwenye nchi.. njaa hadi kwenye meno!
Folks, I hope you see where I am going with this.
Most of us bado tuna akili ya miaka ya 60 thru 80's. Kila kitu serikali itufanyie. Sina pesa... tatizo serikali! Wazungu wamekuja wananunua ardhi utadhani yao!
Ukweli ni kuwa... it is 2007 and what is "playing now on a theatre near you" is a "global economy". You either learn to play like a major league "baller" fast, or you lose!
You want to find the witch? We (the wabongo/wenye nchi) are the witches! Most of us are simply not there! bado tunachezea "chandimu" (mpira wa karatasi)!
Huko bongo kuna Tanzania mbili. Ya kwanza ya wanaokula upepo... na nyingine ya wanaosubiri serikali iwafanyie kitu.
The bottom line ndugu...where you see a big problem... another person sees greatest opportunity on a silver plate!
For those who see, and if they can collect enough courage and take a dive... they go ahead, seize those opportunities and we see them driving around with MB's & BMW's & Lex's etc! Wengine... kalagh'abao!
We are wasting too much time trying to diagnose matatizo ya serikali!
Laiti tungeamka kidogo na kuanza kutafuta "namna"! Laiti tungeamka na ku "smell the coffee" - that is s'one is already up and is in my own kitchen brewing "my" coffee for him/herself!
Nasubiri madongo:)
Ned
7 comments:
Ned,
I could not have agreed more with stand - that is, the regular Joes should be the one to do the nitty gritty of production. Nonetheless, you mentioned one key responsibility that all governments have, which the creation of an environment & the infrastructure that will support production. That, my friend, has not happened in Tanzania.
So when we challenge the government, we are not talking about having the government run farms or factories, we are talking about creation of opportunities through educating, financing (SBA, a governmental entity, funds small businesses in USA) and even helping the wananchi to exploit markets. For instance, Bill Clinton embarked on a strategic mission that opened the Chinese market for the American corporation. State of Ohio has set up "economic" embassies in other countries, just to highlight the role of government is helping the private sector succeed.
I think we are justified blaming the Tanzanian government for failing to create an environment that helps ordinary folks in Tanzania to succeed. That is not to say that individuals don't have personal responsibilities to make it happen, but in a more general sense, our serikali still deserves a lot of madongo.
Metty,
Thank you for the comment.
While we agree on some of the key points.. I still can't figure out - why then, foreigners come to our country and succeed while we are right here!
Ok... I do agree waswahili tuna tatizo sugu la kuwababaikia wazungu... But, what about some waswahili who have made it?
You say... they do have money and we don't! That my friend is a can of worms... we may have to open it one of these days... But I am of the opinion that while money has a lot to do with this whole equation.. IT IS NOT everything!
I also think our attitude has a lot to do with our situation, and thus - our perceptions on who we believe thinks works... has a lot to do with where we are today.
Now, I would agree whole heartedly if you will ask... who has the responsibility to "change" our perceptions and attitide towards our lives. - B'cause that is a VERY valid (and probably the most important) question!
Ned
Ned, you are right that - while money has a lot to do with this whole equation... IT IS NOT everything!
But looking at the situation that prevails in rural Tanzania today, I don’t see how these households can raise their incomes above subsistence, and begin to accumulate savings on their own, without any help be it from the govt directly or from the private sector so that these impoverished households can get started in market-based activities.
- I believe we do have the environment that CAN allow for a reasonable participation from us - indigenous wabongo. Ned, I am afraid that you are talking of a very small segment of the population here. But for the majority of Bongolanders, they have got no means to take part in that major league, believe me. Of course our attitudes and perceptions also contribute to our misery, but you can’t change that overnight, it is a gradual process.
Ned, what I see is that there is a need to empower the nationals (natives) and to equip them with the necessary competencies, skills and capital to enable them participate in global activities. But, how will that happen if we don’t have a strong state? Poor people need a strong state. So, while we think globally, we need to act locally.
You also mention that - Ukweli ni kuwa... it is 2007 and what is "playing now on a theatre near you" is a "global economy". You either learn to play like a major league "baller" fast, or you lose! –
It is true that today we live in a globalised economy. But, in my opinion, market forces and interests must be balanced by community forces and interests. This requires government regulations on market activity in the public interest, equitable participation of civil society and responsible behaviour by private companies (both local and transnational).
Our govt should do its jobs in setting up the rules of this globalization game and not let the multinational corporations make the rules of the game themselves. Do not forget that the the hungry man of yesterday is not necessarily satisfied today. So if we are not careful all what these multinational corporations will do is maximise their profits and they won’t give a damn to improve the welfare of the natives (poor pay, ecological disasters, environment degradation etc). I think you have heard of what is happening with our “Sangara” processing industries in Mwanza. It is sheer exploitation. The govt should set the rules so that this doesn’t happen again.
Ned, again, let us not over-look one very important thing here. Ordinary Tanzanians live in poverty – they do not have the ability by themselves- to get out of the mess. This excludes of course a few well-to-do businessmen, urban employees and dwellers, the majority of whom are credit-worthy and somehow can get loans and credits from private banks and other financial institutions.
For the ordinary Tanzanians, this poverty is caused by a lack of capital per person, among others. Most peasant farmers are too poor to save for the future and thereby accumulate the capital per person (which could be used as collateral to secure loans etc) that could pull them out of their current misery. This is a poverty trap.
Let us now try, for example, to put our agricultural industry under the microscope.
So how is it that some very poor countries (East Asia) escaped the ravages of a poverty trap while Sub-saharan Africa did not? The most important determinant, it seems, is agricultural productivity (World Bank Data 2004). I can give you the comparative data analysis as provided by the Bank, if you will. Countries that started with high yields per hectare, and that used high levels of fertilizer input per hectare, used irrigated farms, used modern seed varities etc are the poor countries (East Asia) that tended to experience economic growth. Poor peasants, in Tanzania, start with a very low level of capital per person, and then find themselves trapped in poverty because the ratio of capital per person actually falls from generation to generation. The amount of capital declines when the population is growing faster than capital is being accumulated. Capital is accumulated when households save a part of their current income. But this doesn’t happen in Tanzania (to most peasants) due to low production levels.
If a peasant is trapped below the ladder of development, with the first rung too high off the ground, the climb does not even get started. Government policies and strategies should aim at helping these people gain a foothold on the ladder. After that, the tremendous dynamism of self-sustaining economic growth can take hold. This is, in my opinion, one way to bring about agricultural revolution in our land. It can be successful. But it must get started.
Ned,
I think Sibala nailed it. The problem is that the majority of folks in Bongoland are not educated. The fact that we still have Form IV leavers as MPs should tell you something. An educated person is an empowered person.
You and I look at wazungu as our equal now because you we are educated about their weaknesses and tactics. But try to picture a poor farmer in Singida who have not even been to Dar, the notion of global competition is far fetched.
Yes, the TZ government has done what it could to open up the markets and all, but I am convinced it didn't do a good job in preparing the majority for participation in the new ball game. That's where empowerment, which Sibala is calling for, comes in. But would you expect that while they even failed to control mining contracts?
Let the government provide the tools first, then we can blame the wananchi for not applying those tools. Wazunguz are succeeding in TZ because they come with empowered minds. We don't have that. When Idd Simba called for empowering the wazawa's, the CCM machinery called him racist.
I have been trying to post a comment since last night to avail. If I manage to post this short paragraph, then I will come back again. Testing, testing ... ...
Okay, looks like I managed.
Very insightful points you have raised, Ned. Anyway, qhat I had wanted to say since last night, to start with, I like this paragraph "... The bottom line ndugu ... where you see a big problem ... another person sees greatest opportunity on a silver plate!..."
When the power crisis was really hot, at one point I was in Kenya. I met one brother and we got talking. He was really surprised by our so-called patience, tolerance and quietness. He said, just as you have put it Ned, that "... a crisi in Kenya is an opportunity for many ..."
We are blessed with so many resources in Tanzania. However, many of us hardly acknowledge or even utilize them - education, if you may. I believe the government should have a conducive environment for the wananchi to further and support themselves.
Jaduong, you took the words out of my mouth.
Okay, looks like I managed.
Very insightful points you have raised, Ned. Anyway, what I had wanted to say since last night; to start with, I like this paragraph "... The bottom line ndugu ... where you see a big problem ... another person sees greatest opportunity on a silver plate!..."
When the power crisis was really hot in Tanzania, at one point I was in Kenya. I met one brother and we got talking. He was really surprised by our so-called patience, tolerance and quietness. He said, just as you have put it Ned, that "... a crisis in Kenya is an opportunity for many ..."
We are blessed with so many resources in Tanzania. However, many of us hardly acknowledge or even utilize them - I believe lack of education, if you may, being the main reason why we don't. Having said that, I believe the government should have a conducive environment for the wananchi to further and support themselves.
Jaduong, you took the words out of my mouth.
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