The nation is crying

In Tanzania the greatest economic possession the poorest can have is his hand hoe. In rural areas of the country and elsewhere, those possessing land — which is supposed to be the greatest asset they can have — do so virtually. In the actual sense they disown it because it is unregistered land. The government requires that every plot be legally registered. To acquire this license, one must go through a bureaucratic process that costs well above Tshs 1,000,000, excluding the extra costs one might incur through bribery (this is for a land that is/slightly less than half the size of a football pitch).  This amount of money is equivalent to a yearly salary of an average government employee.

Rural communities in Tanzania are largely dependent on agriculture that is practiced only once in a year, limiting the variety of cultivated crops and productivity. For many it is subsistence farming the output of which is neither enough for themselves nor the country. The most important tool is the hand hoe. In times such as these exacerbated by a wide spread country-wide shortage of rains and escalating world food prices, a threat is imminent that a major hunger is along the way. In fact in places such as Mwanza in the Northern part of Tanzania, food aid is currently serving lives.

They preach to us about Kilimo Kwanza claiming that they would support the peasants with modern farming. But the truth is that this is a great concept that is ill implemented or rushed into. I will offer one explanation. They provide mortgaged agricultural tools such as machinery (e.g. Massey Ferguson) to the peasants provided that they have an immovable security. This security means a stripe of licensed land. All but a few can afford this mortgage.

In a country that depends on agriculture to power her economic growth up with more peasants than commercial farmers, expect nothing but a collapse of the economy and rampant poverty.

Let us be true to ourselves. Persistence farming will take us nowhere. New approaches that are simple and implementable must be employed. For example, why don’t we organize these farmers into small groups in their villages and lend them agricultural machinery and other tools at a payment that would be agreed responsibly?  With known groups we provide them with agriculturists to assist them in adapting their farming practices into modern farming with an eye on commercial farming. Then mobilize them into unions so that they have a greater say on their products with regards to prices.

The majority of Tanzanian soil is underused with huge potential for commercial farming. In regions such as Bukoba, Kagera, there is a lot of rains which can allow farming three times a year in intervals of four months. Bukoba itself can feed the entire country with cereals, milk and meat. When there is scarce rainfall irrigation schemes would be used which are well suited for the region given the large water swamps, valleys, rivers and lakes. A one-time investment in solar-water pumps could be used serving for 20 – 25 years. Other regions of Kigoma, Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya, Mwanza and so on can be used for export oriented farming. We need a well-thought out plan.

They tell us that the world is becoming a village characterized by competition in science and technology and possibly united by one language of English. Great advances in science and technology lead by the West are driving this globalization. Africa is being discovered. At a time when the US and other developed countries are developing intelligent and autonomous systems — be it rescue robots or driver-less cars — in Tanzania, about 30% students pass their secondary school entrance English exams in standard seven. (The level of numeracy and science is not the subject of scrutiny for this article.) About 50% of standard seven students ascend to secondary schools. If we trace these students all the way to secondary school through university, we find a flawed education system. What are we going to do with all those that are left behind 20 – 50 years to come? “Education is the driver of economic growth.” Science drives sustainable economic development. Tanzania is crying and the country is in crisis. We must know exactly what we want.

With not only limited resources of teachers and teaching materials, but also low level of education affordability we cannot afford a primary school in every village and a secondary school in every ward while ensuring a 21st century education. Pupils are hungry. At home there is no electricity. Libraries are empty. They cannot afford school uniforms. Some travel many kilometers before they can find the nearest school.

Great things have not come overnight. We do not need schools on every village or ward. We need education centers. For primary schools, several villages could depend on just one center. This center would bring together 3000 – 5000 students under one compound with storey buildings. Provide proper accommodation for those who cannot afford or come from distant places, concentrate instructors, establish libraries and laboratories, abolish school uniforms and all major fees and offer regular training to instructors.

It is natural for cities to grow. A November 2010 UN Habitat Report estimates that by 2050, 60% of Africans will live in cities tripling the number of urban residents. Mwanza is one of the fast growing cities in Tanzania. It is rightly nicknamed “The Rock City” due to its rocky hills. With the establishment of new businesses, the cost of living is becoming more and more expensive for the poor.With time the poorest are being forced to leave the inner city and go to the outskirts concentrating themselves in small compounds in the rocky hills. The process will continue for many years, and many will be forced to live in poorly serviced settlements. If un-watched I see a growth of another big slum in East Africa. Others are Kibera and Mathare which can both be found in Nairobi, Kenya.

It is not impossible and is never too late and I hope the Tanzanian fish has not started to rot, for the Chinese have warned us that if it does rot then it does so from the head.