The funny thing is WE DEMAND to be called a Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) in the world…
By @PaulFrancisTZ, a.k.a. Citizen Paul
LET US FACE IT, like it or not, Tanzania is the Richest Poor Country in the World! Why do I say this? Allow me to explore, or rather, let us explore together.
First, in all of Africa, Tanzania has rather large deposits of mineral wealth; we are talking oil and gas, diamonds, platinum (eeeeh? Ya didnt know, did ya?), coal, gemstomes, copper (in some areas), cobalt (we have plenty of this!), and a bevy of other minerals such as mica, calcium, gypsum, etc., that the people at the Department of Geology in Dodoma will care to open up for you their sacrosant records! Hail Mary, Mother of God!
Second, Tanzania has often been called the Bread Basket of Africa. We have well over 60,000 square kilometres of arable land, suitable for commercial and subsistence farming. Yet, the so-called investors always want to grab the 10,000 square kilometres of arable land that is being used by smallholder agriculturalists, you know, the hand-to-mouth types, and I wonder why? Often we hear of clashes between these so-called investors with the populace – the peasantry – who have often taken matters into their own hands. Remember the Arumeru incident when the citizens of that area decided to decimate everything that was in Aloyce Kimaro’s farm, around Duluti, area? They literally hacked down all the banana trees, they killed all the livestock and burned down to a cinder ALL buildings on the ground. They sabotaged machinery by putting sand and water and salt into the fuel tanks, burned down all the tyres of the tractors. It was sheer mayhem!
Third, when it comes to water resources, we have lots and lots of rivers and lakes – most of Lake Victoria is in Tanzania, we have Lake Tanganyika (Africa’s deepest lake) and we also have Lake Nyasa, often called Lake Malawi. We have rivers; the Kilombero and Great Ruaha have lots of water. Yet, people suffer from lack of water resources, and surprisingly there IS drought in many parts of Tanzania! What gives?
Fourth, if we are going to start counting our livestock, let me just say we will spend the next twenty or so years making a census of them cows, goats and sheep, not forgetting the poultry! So let’s not go there!
Fifth, I could go on and on and on about the wealth we have in secondary, tertiary and university institutions that have cropped up in the recent five to ten years. But I wont.
So what is Tanzania’s problem?
We have dinosaurs in Government. Yes! Real, living dinosaurs. Not the Tyrannosaurus Rex type, but the Mongoloid and Human Sapiens types! Humanoid species that simply refuse to think out of the box, and have continued to regurgitate what has been, for the past half century. It’s still the same old stale tea and coffee – I would use expletives, but my editor doesnt sanction that language – that is being dished out, year after year!
These dinosaurs in government – from ministers to permanent secretaries to commissioners – have put the country into so much trouble, now they dont even know where or who to turn to. Let them be mad at me, but I will have to say the truth, so help me Jesus!
The truth of the matter is that, even His Excellency – though he doesnt like that title – Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, is often at loggerheads with these Godforsaken individuals, who not only avoid from thinking out of the box, but see their coveted positions as a way of getting rich quick.
Allow me to point out one very significant difference, that exists between higher echelon personnel of the two Governments of the Union.
If you go to Zanzibar, and want to have a tete-a-tete with a Minister, as I once did with former Minister Ali Juma Shamuhuna, you simply go to his/her office, talk to the personal secretary, who links you up with the Personal Assistant, who, after having discussed what you want to talk to the Minisiter about, a date is scheduled, he briefs the Minister, and that is the end of that. Come the day, you walk in as if entering your own house, the secretary asking you whether you want coffee or tea! THAT is how Government should be.
In Mainland Tanzania, meetings with Ministers are coordinated outside of the office, through go-betweens, who, upon meeting you – and these are not official government employees – and having listened to you, they smell money and tell you to bring a brown envelope, before any such date with the Minister can be scheduled. Then you meet the Minister at his home and work out ALL details, including how much his “cut” will be, before you enter that office, when on the same day, some preferred members of the press have been duly notified, and you sign the contract of “cooperation” between, either your government or your company, the cooperation being how much – in terms of percentage – your organisation will dish out to the Minister, who has the authority to sign some documents giving you access to the resources you need to realise that beneficial prpject to the development and growth of the country. You follow me so far?
Now, I am not saying – for crying out loud – that all ministers of Mainland Tanzania are like that, but, boy, I HAVE been through such experiences that completely thwarted some very highly potential development projects, that were cancelled simply because a brown envelope was demanded up front. When you represent European entities, and you report to them what is happening, before you have finished explaining, the phone has been hung up and the call diverted to a dummy number that is either always busy or non-existing! Go figure.
Aside corruption of THIS KIND, there is the inter- and intradepartmental corruption that I could broach today, but my editor is telling me to wrap this up, as today is a holiday – YEP – so he too wants to. Unwittingly, close up office earlier than normal, today. Yes, it’s Maulid Day when I am writing this piece, so excuse me if I say some nasty things on such a “holy” day.
Tanzania is a rich country; it has so many public and religious holidays that I have simply refused to keep count of. The passed Fiftieth Commemmoration of the Zanzibar Revolution of 1964 is yet another example of the useless waste of public funds. Do you know just how much is spent during these awful and wasteful commemmorations? If you guessed a billion shillings, you are close on the money. These days are when the kids at the Commemorations Department – an obscure department that on the outside looks very dirty and unclean, but on the inside is quite a wealthy department, disguised that way so as not to raise any alar,s – get really happy, because they know it is Harvest Time for them. If you listen closely outside their doors you will hear these kids singing Church hymms, as if they were the most devout Catholics ever! Haha! I know I am mildly devout, but the joy that emanates from the Commemmoration Department kids whenver we have a public holiday is enough to make even the utmost of the unbelievers become and instant convert and start running around like a mad person, singing: Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Hosanna! Haleluyah!
The kids at the Commemoration Departments are usually doted with such huge sums of money that, come a holdiday – pick any public one – they start making calls to their suppliers, who are often told to come with samples of t-shirts, caps, etc. There is also the discourse of allowances to Government employees who are carefully selected to become part of the ceremonies. I say carefully selected because these are the ones who appear to be docent enough not to spill the beans as to how much money is actually being spent; comparing how much their bosses partake and how much they partake, in order to being kept with their mouths over lock and key. Their colleagues often bribe those who sit on the inter and intradepartmental committees to select who will be among the participants to be on the festivities. It is like a wedding preparation, only the budget is HUGE!
Tanzania spends so much money in the national public holidays I often wonder where the Government gets the AUDACITY to declare the country as being POOR! While the peasantry in the illages suffer from such chronic diseases as dysentery, malaria, tuberculosis, all which are treatable, the upper echelon governmental officials sit in their cushy, poshy, air-conditioned offices, thinking about how much extra money they are going to get and how they are going to spend it, with their nyumba ndogos, their gilfriends and their missus, taking the kids out to the beach hotels or even to Zanzibar or Mombasa or Mauritius for the weekend. Money in the bags, right?
You will ask me: Are you jealous of these civil servants who get so cocky come public holiday times?
Am glad you asked. Why should I be?
Money gotten out of corruption is unholy money which will come to nothing. It is the devil’s money, and we all know that the devil allows no one to bear fruits that are good from his money. It doesnt happen that way.
I would rather toil in hard, honest work, than take a dime of money that is dirty, and then celebrate that God is Good, while that is NOT HIS MONEY! No way!
While the peasantry linger on in the remote areas, unreachabe from even the lowest ranking public officials, we must wonder how they view those in power, when they listen to the radio, the proceedings of the commmemoration ceremonie – coming up for grabs is the National Heroes Day (Mashujaa Day) – sometime in April. Between now and then – Thank you Jesus – there is nothing ,ajor happening, unless someone invents a silly public holiday like National Crackpost Day!
I have said the truth. Tanzania is the World’s Poorest Richest Country! And you can take that to the bank for your cut of the expenses – hey, you DONT have an expense slip? Shauri yako! Bye!
What needs be done? My editor tells me that I should leave that for the next issue, so please stay tuned, same newspaper, same channel!
@PaulFrancisTZ, a.k.a. Citizen Paul: paulfrancis.mongi@gmail.com | text at +255-772-949577