ANB-BIA SUPPLEMENT

ISSUE/EDITION Nr 393 - 01/07/2000

CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS

DEMOCRACY

Tanzania seems to be slowly going the way of several other African countries. 
It used to have the reputation of being a peaceful nation, but that reputation is unfortunately fading away

What’s happening within Tanzania today?

• The relationship between Christians and Muslims is not all that smooth. There have been instances of religious intolerance leading to violence, whereas all religions are meant to liberate and lead people closer to their Creator.
• Current opinions about the Union between mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar are presented in such a way as to cause divisions and hatred between these two entities. Some critics call the Union «artificial».
• Opposition party leaders lack clear vision, and no longer enjoy solid support from their party members. They are doing their best to weaken the efforts of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Party of the Revolution) in implementing its policies. If we want progress, we have to discuss things together and make positive suggestions on things which need changing. There’s no need to go out of one’s way to confuse people.
• Members of the Civic United Front (CUF) opposition party in Zanzibar, are becoming more violent towards the police officers who try to keep public order.
• Some of our politicians and public servants are fond of nitpicking in other political parties and their leaders and try to push them down. They are always fighting about who will be in power next and unfortunately, this seems to be their sole concern!

Tanzania under Nyerere

From independence in 1961 until recently, Tanzania had been experiencing peace. This is because of the solid foundation laid by Mwalimu (i.e. teacher) Julius Nyerere for at least twenty years while he was still in power. Tanzanians felt more as ndugu (people who are related). Political or religious tensions were a rare event. Not so, now!

However, some of Tanzania’s critics are not happy to see the country’s citizens living peacefully. They try to find ways of creating conflicts among them — to disturb their minds. Some say that for a long time, Tanzanians were treated by the late Julius Nyerere as children who couldn’t think for themselves.

But for the vast majority of Tanzanians, Nyerere was the leader par excellence. He promoted unity in the country and encouraged people to live together as members of one family, and to speak the same language, thus promoting unity. He tried his best to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. Even children from poor families had access to education, medical treatment and other social services without any discrimination.

Today, with the Western world’s influence in policy-making, things have changed tremendously. People are valued in terms of wealth and those who don’t have the wherewithal, are considered to be nobodies. The poor are deprived of the basic necessities of life. The rich prosper, to the detriment of the majority poor.

Nyerere’s Ujamaa (communal) policy is usually blamed for poverty in Tanzania. But is this so? Ujamaa aimed to improve people’s standard of living collectively. For instance, people were encouraged to move into Ujamaa villages where they could get free medical services, education and other social services easily, without travelling long distances. They were also encouraged to have, apart from their own personal property, collective poverty which could benefit all members of the community. Common property was meant to reduce the high cost of goods bought in shops. Land was distributed according to the size of the family and nobody was without any land or property. Work was encouraged so that those who lived in Ujamaa villages could produce enough food and cash crops for their own good, Moreover, this was just an experiment in a few villages and was not a rule for the whole country. Nyerere’s stand was, that people should be educated about Ujamaa and not be forced into it.

Mistakes were made during the implementation of Ujamaa villages, and ultimately Ujamaa failed, not because it was necessarily impractical, but because the West was against it. The fear was that Nyerere was leading the country towards Marxism or Communism as practised in the East. Leaders of the various religious denominations were also afraid that if Communism were to come to Tanzania, then no one would be allowed to worship in any religion.

At independence, developing countries had to be either pro-East or pro-West if they were to survive economically. The West considered capitalism as the best political and economic system to be adopted in developing countries, and those countries which applied capitalistic policies received financial and military support from the USA and Western Europe. So Ujamaa was certainly not encouraged by the West.

What’s needed in Tanzania

In Tanzania, we need lasting peace, responsible freedom, improved social services, industrial and technological advancement. We need progress and leaders who can lead us to achieving these goals. We don’t need conflict, violence, enmity or war. We want people to feel they are free to belong to any religious group or join any political party.

Changes are needed in Tanzania in order that every citizen may feel they have a part to play in nation-building and our leaders have a duty to facilitate these changes.

• Telesphor Magobe, Malawi, June 2000 — © Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment

ENGLISH CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS

PeaceLink 2000 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement