Search:

Tanzanians - Brutally honest about their feelings toward the East African Federation

By: Jerry Okungu

[ Posted On: 2006-10-24 ]

Arusha, Tanzania -- A little known local newspaper, published in Arusha for Arushans has a screaming headline story. It releases its own findings on opinions of Tanzanians living in Arusha.

It confirms what is common knowledge in Tanzania: that our brothers are not yet ready for a political federation even though they are not rejecting the idea altogether.

All they are asking for is more time to go through the motions methodically.

Their argument is simple: Let Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania consolidate the operations of the recently established Customs Union then move to establish the Common Market and Monetary Union in that order before finally embarking on the Political Federation which they consider more sensitive, complicated and demanding.

Some of them claim that the idea of fast-tracking the political federation may itself have negative impact on Tanzanians because it is likely to water down the Community spirit in some parts of East Africa particularly in their country.

Quoting Robert Mushi, a retired civil servant, he contends that fast-tracking the federation would be like building a house from the rooftop rather than starting from the foundation. According to Mushi, the process should be logical, realistic and manageable and should not be tampered with by self- interest or populist publicity seekers.

Other Tanzanians are probing what real benefits they would derive from the federation.

They feel that currently Tanzania feels most vulnerable and disadvantaged in more ways than one compared to Kenya and Uganda. They have problems with qualified manpower compared to the other two Partner States. They have hordes of unemployed youth that would further be disadvantaged when doors are flung open to allow free movement of labour.

In their opinion, what Tanzania needs is more time and they are pleading with their President to exercise restraint and not to hurry them into the federation trap. They maintain that this is a serious decision that requires a lot of preparation at all levels.

Tanzanians are acutely aware that Kenyans and Ugandans have over the years acquired better education to make them more competitive. They are pleading that Tanzanians need time to catch up lest they become houseboys and laborers of their neighbors!

There is also the fear for peasants living in rural Tanzania. Clergyman Willy Akyoo of Bethel Victory Ministry Trust say that, "Many Tanzanians, especially those living in rural areas are in dire straights.

What would happen if they are suddenly confronted with people who are capitalist, awash with cash, streetwise and well educated? Here in Tanzania, we live like brothers and sisters, no tribalism and no religious conflicts"

Queen Alex of Arusha believes most passionately that the federation is no good for Tanzania. She does not want her country to be contaminated with wars, conflicts and other awful things that happen in neighboring countries. Obviously this Queen knows about tribal clashes in Kenya, the LRA conflict in Northern Uganda not o mention the Rwanda and Burundi decades of civil strife. According to this Queen, Tanzanians are better off with their poverty as long as they continue to live in relative peace.

The irony of this analysis was that in the same paper, there was a full page dedicated to all manner of crimes committed in Tanzania.
Sample this:

- Child killed in petrol blast
- Man battered to death for unknown reasons
- Neighbor defiles seven year old boy
- Cash, spare parts disappear mysteriously
- Girl leaves infant behind boyfriend's house
- Police bust marijuana dealers
- Angry mob lynch two robbery suspects.

Well, it would sound like Queen Alex's utopian Tanzania is yet to materialize in real life. The catalogue of crimes reads very much like Nairobi yet they all took place in various parts of Tanzania.

This picture is going to be useful to the campaigners for the federation for one simple reason: Tanzanians have been brutally honest. They have placed their cards on the table. It will be up to the federalists to convince Tanzanians that their fears are unfounded.

That these fears can be dealt with honestly and transparently in a way that will give all parties a win-win situation.

On the issue of education, I would like to draw their attention to how Daniel Arap Moi dealt with it in Kenya from 1978 when he assumed the presidency. At that time the entire civil service, the private sector, banks and universities were dominated by Kikuyus and Luos. The Kalenjins and the pastoralist communities had been extremely marginalized by the colonial and Kenyatta regimes. Moi embarked on affirmative quota system of admission to national schools and universities. Within 24 years of Moi presidency, there were more public universities and more Kalenjin Vice Chancellors than Luos and Kikuyus put together. We had more Kalenjin professors and doctors than the traditional Luos. Call it tribalism or whatever you like but the scales can be tilted in favour of the disadvantaged if there is a will on the part of the political leadership.

The only sensible way to cure the Tanzania headache of manpower inadequacy is to open up all public and private universities to all nationals on Moi's quota formula.

Just like the way the Customs Union arrangement has been implemented, let Tanzanians be guaranteed more numbers at the East African Universities for the next ten years to allow them catch up with the rest of the region. So the issue of being houseboys and laborers for their neighbors would not arise.

On the fear of Kenyan capitalists, what Tanzanians forget is that Kenyan peasants are no different from Tanzanian or Ugandan counterparts. They will all need protection from the federal constitution. There is no way the constitution will allow marauding streetwise land grabbers and speculators to destabilize whole communities across the region just because doors have been flung open. There will be laws to protect every body's basic human right and property. The mere fact that the presidency will rotate for the first three years is an indication that the architects of the super state will guard against senseless and irresponsible behavior of any kind.

In 1994 when I was introducing the idea of a regional newspaper in the three countries, I had one handicap in Tanzania and Uganda. I was leading a research team that was very Kenya. The company I worked for was Kenyan to the bone. Not withstanding that the Daily Nation was popular in Tanzania and Uganda, they saw us as another encroachment in their territory to dominate them culturally and ideologically. However, when I started discussing the model of putting the paper together, its management structure and recruitment procedures, I earned many supporters for the project in Tanzania and Uganda than even in Kenya. While Benjamin Mkapa and Yoweri Museveni launched it in Dares salaam respectively, Moi and his entire cabinet boycotted it in Nairobi.

In setting up the management structure for the East African, Tanzania office was manned entirely by Tanzanians from the Country Manager, the Bureau chief to the messenger. The same applied in Uganda. At that time, my vision was to develop a truly East African newspaper whose managers would not be constrained by their nationalities. I had hoped that a few years down the line, there would be institutionalized exchange programs for the East African staff among member states on a more regular basis to transfer skills, experience and widen the vision of our staff.

However, a few years later when the Nation Media Group reneged on the vision and started replacing Tanzanians with Kenyans in Dar-es- salaam for whatever plausible reason in disregard for those sensitivities we dealt with over a decade ago, the reaction from Tanzanian authorities was swift and brutal, the NMG investments in that country not withstanding. They deported the Kenyan staff en mass!

These are the weaknesses that the proposed federation must guard against at all costs.

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

Jerry Okungu is a freelance political analyst based in Nairobi, Kenya. Jerry also serves as a Board Director at The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. Jerry has written extensively on issues affecting Kenya and the rest of Africa over the years. Other articles written by Jerry Okungu are available at this location

| View Profile & All Articles By: Jerry Okungu |

		Post Comment
		Blog This Article!
		Discuss Article in Forum(s)
		Publication \| Reprint Terms

Please Rate this Article

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive African Insights Articles Via RSS!

| Category Feeds | All-in-one Feed | Other Feed & Syndication Options |

Additional Articles From - Home | Afro Issues | African Insights

	Print This Article
	Post Comment
	Add To Favorites
	Email To Friends
	Ezine Ready \| Syndication
	Make PDF Article
	Share in FaceBook
	Post To del.icio.us
	Post To Furl
	Add To Google Bookmarks
	Submit To Propellor
	Add To Yahoo! My Web
	Add Main Feed To Outlook
	Post to BookMarks @ AfroArticles.com

	Post To BookMarkAfrica.com

| More Subscription Options |

Site Home

Article Categories

More Search Options

Site Map

Submit Articles

Top Authors

Most Recent Articles