Is Africa a Continent or a Country?

Well, when I left Tanzania for Los Angeles California in 2000 for higher learning institutions after my high school education at Saint Anthony High School in Dar-Es- Salaam, I never thought that many of my friends in Los Angeles could be ignorant about Africa. I once thought that my classmate at California State University-Los Angeles was joking when she said, “You have a nice accent and I love it, where are you from?” “I am from Tanzania, the home of mountain Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti you see in discovery channel” I replied. Guess what the next question was! “Where is that again? She asked. I replied, “East Africa”. “Is that a country or a big city? What other languages do you speak apart from English?” she asked. Then she said, “I thought Africa was one big country with a few African languages, the home of the Serengeti, giraffes and the Kilimanjaro peaks as we see in movies” I shook my head and laughed. Therefore, I was compelled to give her a quick lesson about African. That Africa is a continent among other continents such as North America, South America, Europe, Asia and others. Africa has 53 independent countries and Tanzania is one of them.

There are thousands of indigenous languages spoken in Africa and many more dialects. Every African country you visit will no doubt be home to more than a dozen (if not several hundred) languages, even the smaller countries. Tanzania alone has more than 120 languages (tribes) including Kisukuma, the major tribe, Kichagga, Kihaya, Kinyakyusa, Kigogo just to mention a few. I speak Kisukuma, Swahili and English. Swahili “Kiswahili” is our national language as you can imagine, a country with over 36 million people at the time has more than 120 tribes, a national language is not only important but as necessity. English is another language that the country puts emphasis on in school as the medium of trade and communication across Tanzanian borders. In the new era of globalization, a global village in which state boundaries don’t seem to exist, English has become the language of trade and the medium of communication at its highest level. Tanzanian officials are now pressing even more emphasis on English as the medium of communication is schools and colleges for competitive advantage in global markets. It is an iron in itself for the country that believed in Swahili and a country that does not only take pride on Swahili as a uniting language, but also a national identity.

Although it might be too late to get Tanzanians ready to face the challenges of globalization with limited English knowledge, English remains crucial to the Tanzanian economy especially when the country continues to conduct investment promotions to the outside world for more integration at the global level. I think Tanzania has no other choices other than forming new curriculum and use English to train the work force of the 21st century. Any country that ignores the challenges of the 21st century will not produce citizens of the new global village.

However, apart from thousands of tribes, Africa is a home of mainly spoken languages such English, French, Portuguese and Italian. Almost every African country was at one time a colony, speaking English, Portuguese, Italian or French. Understanding these languages will also help you communicate if you visit Africa. Many Africans will speak Creole or pidgin versions of these European languages such as Pidgin English, a mixed language with English words but they may not be so easy to understand when you first hear them. Tanzania was one of the first countries to attain independence in 1961 when the efforts to reverse the effects of colonialism started and a national language “Swahili” was declared by Baba wa Taifa, President Nyerere.

Other countries that adapted Swahili are Kenya and Uganda due to the so called East African community that collapsed in 1977. Good relationship among East African countries, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda remain a key to their economic integration up to these days. While many East Africans speak some English or French, knowing a few words of Swahili will really help you out in the more rural areas and along the coast. Since Swahili is a second language to most East Africans, they will understand a little broken Swahili, and they will certainly appreciate your efforts. Don’t bother to learn other Tanzanian tribes unless you really need to, but you will always be confused because there are so many tribes that lead to my final questions “How would African people communicate among each other if there were no national languages?” There would a disaster without a national language. Do African people discriminate each other based on tribes? Hell, yes, as Americans discriminate one another based on countries of origin or colors of their skin, Africans discriminate one another based on tribes and places of origin within the same country.

Is Tanzania Safe? Will the Global Economic Crisis Spare the Most Vulnerable Economies?

Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress on Thursday he is "shocked" at the breakdown in U.S. credit markets and said he was "partially" wrong to resist regulation of some securities.
The root cause of this global financial crisis is indeed a man made scenario and did not happen overnight. It started with securitization or what they call financial engineering where creativity in the financial market occurred. Bundling and unbundling and packaging of financial products, they also call them instruments entered the era of creative arts and speculative market of the new generation. Derivatives and credit swap defaults were born to join the existing Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and collateralized mortgage obligations(CMO); all these were considered HOT PRODUCTS of our time especially when backed by the US government or AAA ratings. With the backing from the US government everybody felt in love with them and invested heavily; the Chinese came in too grabbed all kinds of US government T-bills and T-notes, bonds, and securities, speculators saw home values rising and speculated on more homes based on interest only mortgages, and banks saw fortunes in home loans and enjoyed without caution. At Wall Street, things went so well too. Times were good for everybody and we all loved it. Now the global financial market suffers, blame on deregulation or find someone to blame. Where was the government? probably making money on securities and whatever it could sell like most people did, right? Now it comes back and takes over banks, but at least it prevented most of the banks from going under with your money. right?I hope the government doesn't run out of money. Is this the collapse of capitalism or the test on capitalistic free financial markets? Or time to redefine capitalism? I thought privatization was intended to rescue poor performing government ran sectors in Tanzania. What happened to the privatization Mkapa and the alike implemented in Tanzania? Oooh!, not a very good move, another caution to developing economies. Tight regulations; very important but how tight for free financial markets to function? May be oversight to keep an eye on creative ways of making money in the financial world (financial engineering) or financial manipulation.
I hope financial products like MBS, CMO, Credit Swap Defaults and all derivatives alike haven’t arrived in Tanzania yet, or will not or scare the hell out of Tanzanians. But of course the impact of this economic crisis will be felt in Tanzania as well. Tourism industry will feel it, Export will be affected, Investors will stop funding their overseas expansions, donors will hold onto their money, BUT DURING THIS TIME, CASH IS THE KING. HOLD ONTO YOUR MONEY.

Crisis explainer (UNDERSTAND THE CRISIS)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb_R1-PqRrw

Untangling credit default swaps (WHAT ARE CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdEI6PkGZK8&feature=related

how do we measure fear in these tough times? Volatility comes in.
Volatility refers to the degree of (typically short-term) unpredictable change over time of a certain variable also known as the rate and magnitude of changes in price. Volatility is often viewed as a negative in that it represents uncertainty and market risk. When the market is calm, volatility is typically low. High readings on the Volatility Index typically represent a fearful marketplace.
September was the most volatile month in memory, more bad financial news than good news. Major events happened in one month alone. Volatility and fear continued to rise. However, with October 3, 700+billion bailout bill approval by the congress, financial markets continue to struggle. October 6, the Dow Jones industrials dropped more than 700 points and fell below 10,000 for the first time in four years. Global financial crisis does not seem to come to an end. Economists predict could be a long and deep economic downturn. Vast majority of the time, if the Big Three US stock indices are up, volatility is always low. Currently, volatility has remained high with unexpected financial markets; worries over credit markets, disappointing earnings updates is the US and news about job loses, bank failures in the US and Europe.

If what we call big investors and major donors to the most vulnerable economies like Tanzania and the alike struggle to keep their financial markets functional, will the poor economies be spared? YES & NO. Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress today he is "shocked" at the breakdown in U.S. credit markets and said he was "partially" wrong to resist regulation of some securities. Financial crisis 'like a tsunami' "A once in a century tsunami" Greenspan said.
October 16, Chicago Board Options Exchange (ticker symbol VIX) set a record high above 70 percent yesterday 81+ reading was comfirmed a bad print by CBOE spokesperson. This so-called "fear gauge" was as low as 20-25 percent right through August. VIX is negatively correlated with S&P 500. The high VIX, the lower S&P 500.
As major companies like GM and the alike report losses and low earnings, they pump fear and influence VIX reading as stock prices plunge.
VIX is effectively a proxy for general sentiment in the markets, it tends to move in lockstep opposition to the major indices. Whenever the stock markets are up, people grow complacent and fear wanes. This leads to a lower VIX. Conversely when the major stock indices slide lower, fear gradually begins to grow faster within investors and speculators.
Usually inverse relationship between the stock markets and the VIX is well known and heavily studied. The anomaly of the VIX Divergences arises when this relationship breaks on a material change in the stock indices. For example, what if the US stock markets and VIX are both up or both down by material amounts on the same trading day? These rare days do indeed occur and are the perplexing VIX Divergences! VIX translates, roughly, to the expected movement in the S&P 500 index over the next 30-day period, on an annualized basis.
The price of call options and put options can be used to calculate implied volatility, because volatility is one of the factors used to calculate the value of these options. As more bad news about the financial markets keep coming, Volatility Index reads high as fear among investors rises. Other volatility or Fear Gauges are:-
•CBOE NASDAQ Volatility Index-(ticker symbol VXN) -The VXN is a measure of implied volatility for the Nasdaq 100 (NDX).
•The DJIA Volatility Index (ticker symbol VXD)-calculated from prices of near-term Options on the Dow (DJX) traded at the CBOE. NOW WE KNOW WHAT VOLATILITY (FEAR)MEANS.

THE FUTURE OF TANZANIA AFTER BALALI AND LOWASA (Will things change or history retains same momentum?)

Our country hasn’t done enough yet and we should not be fooled by praises from developed nations like USA and others. More work lies ahead of us. Poverty continues to dig even deeper in our communities, leaders continue to steal from us everyday and go unpunished. I hope Balali and the Richmond guys get their share of punishments including freezing of their accounts, and so forth. Until harsh actions against greed leaders are taken, other than forcing them to resign, my faith to Tanzanian government will be restored.

As I imagine how much money has been looted by the hands of trusted officials in such sensitive positions like that of PM and Balali, I wonder how these greed people could do that?, how did the government let that happen anyway?, or why these people had so much authority to even be able to do that?. If we had effecient and proper steps, procedures and accounting control procedures, what bullet proof vests they used to go unchecked, and unoticed until the money was paid to wrong hands? I think they had never been able to steal at the first place. For our nation to be safe in the future, tighter procedures must be established immediately. I hold the government responsible for letting things get out of control.

Suppose Balali’s 133 billion shillings and Lowasa’s 172 billion was used to build schools or hospitals or hire and train more teachers, how much impact that could make? Every citizen’s life had been touched and Bush should have noticed that immediately. That is when Tanzania should get true praise but not praise for using donor’s money. As work needs to be done on our international airports (in pictures), so do the corrupt governing system. We need Kikwete and his cabinet more than we need the developed world, whose intention is not only to do us a great favor, but do them good at the expense of our despair.

Tanzania has a lot of money and resources to turn the country into a developed nation in just a few decades. But poor planning, corruption, greed, poor education and neo-colonialism continue to hurt us all. We should not be begging as we are doing. We should fight begging addiction and dependence to colonial masters, stop creating new colonial masters. We fought for political independence; we cannot fight for economic independence. We should not anticipate others to solve our problems. (Mgeni njoo mwenyeji apone), we are capable of taking care of our problems, as an independent Africa using the wealth concentrated in few dirty hands.

While we continue to strengthen relationships with the outside world, our leaders must take extra cautions especially when accepting grants of any form. Grants are capable of doing us both good and harm. The impact can be beyond explanations especially when grants serve intended purpose. But how can this be accomplished if our central bank’s money can be stolen? However, any donor’s hidden agenda if any, requires even more scrutiny and wisdom from our leaders. History repeats itself. As USA sees potential in Tanzania, it sees opportunity and wealth of all kinds. The return on its investments is also well calculated. This can cause even more harm in the long-run.

Colonialism did its great harm, so does neo-colonialism. Our leaders continue to volunteer to bring strangers and show them nation’s treasures through investment promotions and friendly relationships. When strangers see the treasures, they want to become our best friends so we can trust them and even show them more of our treasures. This is what happened during the early contacts with the outside world earlier before the industrial revolution of the 18th century. Its negative impacts continue to hit hard on all African generations and all generations to come.
Mtanzania

The Need to Protect Local Businesses has become more Important than ever Before

Protectionism is what I have been asking for. Tanzania local businesses are entitled to some sort of protection for more competitive advantages than foreign investors.Why? because (1) they are the indigenous in their home country (2) Like in the U.S, they must enjoy some legislations that encourage local business to survive in competitive market while gaining local market share (3) the economy of Tanzania should not only be comprised of foreign investors (minorities) (4) local businesses must also benefit from the free market economy and its integration at the global level (5) the country as whole must benefit from foreign investors by establishing conducive investment environment while making foreign investors liable to more taxation, local labor laws but not more competitive opportunities and advantages than local businesses (6) to safeguard sensitive government information, government contracts must be contracted by local businesses (7) the government should emphasis on training on marketing and strategic management for sustainable competitive advantage to local businesses and government owned companies like TANESCO, PPF, NSSF, and Tourism industry for core competency in this era of global economy and market integration.

We will be achieving one of these gradually since we have already started heading that direction as you can see on this article below:

Tour operators welcome new tourism legislation
2007-10-30 09:41:49 By Adam Ihucha, Arusha

The government has won many hearts of local tour operators for introducing legislation to restrict foreigners to involve in tourism transactions. In their comments made separately to this paper, the operators said the proposed new legislation anticipated to be in force by early next year was much overdue. ``Now we are heading to the right direction, in fact the move by the government is highly appreciated,`` said Firoz Suleiman, Director of Sunny Safaris. He proposed that taxes accruing from the tourism industry should be paid according to the law of the land. The Managing Director of Golden Rose Travel and Tours Company, Walter Maeda commended the Government for eventually acting in a ``better late than never`` style. He said neighbouring Kenya`s tourism authority barred foreigners from dealing with all tourism related undertakings long ago. ``The secret behind the flourishing tourism business in Kenya is that the industry is fully run by indigenous people,`` he remarked. Maeda says until the new legislation comes into force,``Tanzania policy allows foreigners to invest in petty businesses such as restaurants and guest houses and yet be entitled with the title, investor,`` Maeda noted. Armstrong Nyaka of Jackis Tours was happy that at last the government had wakened up and seen the way it has been loosing a large chunks of cash accrued from the tourism trade. ``A lot of money has been secretly siphoned out of the country by foreign tour and travel operators who maintain offices in Tanzania and abroad at the expense of the nation and its people,`` he said. Carlos Da Silva Verela of African Rhino Safaris and Ecotourism Africa said the majority of small indigenous investors in tourism used to face stiff competition brought by the foreign investors.
SOURCE: Guardian

Globalization and Education System in Post Colonial Tanzania

Tanzania formally Tanganyika is a relatively large country located in East Africa. Tanzania has a total area of 945,087 square kilometers (364,900 square miles), slightly larger than twice the size of California. The area of Tanzania includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Unguja; both Pemba and Unguja form a semi-autonomous region called Zanzibar that is part of an official union with the republic of Tanzania. . Tanzania was formed by the federation of the nations of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in 1964 both making total population of 36 million people. Tanzania is the former Germany colony and one of the British colonies after WW I. Tanzania gained its independence in 1961 but adapted British Education system and British parliamentary political system under the leadership of Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the Tanzanian teacher educated aboard. Tanzania shares boundaries with eight surrounding countries via: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. This paper will focus on Tanzania education system and the impact this education system has on globalization phenomena and vise versa; i.e. Impact of globalization on Tanzania education system as a whole. Early examples of educational globalization include the spread of global religions, especially Islam and Christianity, and colonialism, which often disrupted and displaced indigenous forms of traditional education throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries. Migration of European and Arabs into Tanzania marked the early globalizing influences of education have taken on more subtle shapes. The importance of education to any society is crucial for the preservation of the lives of its members and the maintenance of the social structure. Under certain circumstances, education also promotes social change. Tanzania has two types of education systems; informal and formal education. Informal education is traditional education that emphasizes principles of good citizenship, acquisition of life skills and the perpetuation of valued customs and traditions. The formal education system was introduced during British colonial rule and is a structure comprised of 7 years of Primary, 4 years of secondary, 2 years of Secondary at Advance level and 3 years of university education. Primary education is compulsory to all, there are kindergarten/Nursery schools and some day care centers found mostly in urban centers. Tanzania education system is under the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Higher Education. Over the years Tanzanian economy has witnessed a rapid integration with the rest of the world through a process widely called globalization. Although through history, Africa a whole has established contacts with the outside world early before the 16th century and throughout colonial eras, globalization is the new phenomenon in the free world and post colonial Africa and therefore Tanzania in this particular context. Globalization is defined as the process of increasing economic, political, social and cultural integration, whereby influences beyond national boundaries have a crucial impact constraining and influencing all aspects of national well-being. The interaction is seen in form of increased flow of goods, ideas and services, increased flow of capital, and migration of people (ESRF, 2002). During the German and British colonial periods education provided was restricted to a few individuals intended to serve the colonial interests. Rodney on his book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa argues that in the colonial society, education was designed to serve the colonialist and in the regime of slavery, education was one institution for forming slaves. Other scholars have also argued that colonial education was designed to serve colonial system as it created clerks, messengers, nannies and colonialists puppets. Too much learning would have been both superfluous and dangerous for clerks and messengers. British colonial education focused on teaching English as the media of communication. Even after independence, although both Kiswahili and English were made the Media of instruction in schools. English speaking groups or individuals were considered more educated than Kiswahili speakers. British education was discriminative against tribes, male and female and most educational centers were concentrated on regions of the British interests such as agricultural areas, mining or British neighborhoods. Therefore was unequal distribution of schools and educational centers and hence classes among Tanzanians; educated and uneducated communities. Colonial education prepared class structures during and after independence, communities that were equipped with education centers became future leaders. The educations system was patriarchal therefore, the most privileged in the educations system were men and therefore women were left behind. Immediately after independence in 1961, the education act of 1962 to regulate the provision of education so as to abolish racial discrimination in provision of education, streamline the curriculum, examination, administration and financing of education to provide uniformity as well as to promote English and Kiswahili as the media of instruction. Although Kiswahili was added as another medium of instruction along with English, the legacy of colonial education system was made to prevail and continued to serve the need of the colonial masters. Since British colonial education was discriminative; schools were built in the areas where the colonial government has interests; regions with fertile soils for agriculture such as sisal and cotton plantations as well as administrative colonial centers to intensify exploitation. Some scholars have argued that colonizers did not introduce education in Tanzania: they introduced a new set of formal educational institutions which partly supplemented and partly replaced those which were there before. The colonial system also stimulated values and practices which amounted to new informal education. The main purpose of the colonial school system was to train Africans to help and manage local administration at the lowest ranks and to staff the private capitalist firms owned by Europeans. In effect, that meant selecting a few Tanzanians to participate in the domination and exploitation of the continent as a whole. Along with colonial formal education, religious education was introduced by missionaries as it served colonialist culture while absorbing traditional culture. Seminary schools were made available to few religious followers who were converted into Christianity. Non Christians did not have access to missionary schools. Even after independence, Roman Catholic missionary schools only admit catholic followers. unlike other parts of the world, literacy in Tanzania is connected with religion, so that in Islamic areas it is a Koranic education and in Christian education train priests and monks. Even up to this day Tanzanian educational system is not designed to give young people confidence and pride as members of Tanzania societies, but one which sought to instill a sense of deference towards all that was European and capitalist. Unlike American education which is designed to prepare students to become entrepreneurs or other challenges of life, Tanzanian education system is designed to generate civil servants. The small working class of colonial Africa held jobs such as agricultural labor and domestic services. Most of the working class was unskilled, in contrast to the accumulating skills of capitalism. According to Rodney, projects that required technical expertise, Europeans did the supervision by standing around in their helmets and white shorts (Rodney 1973). Even after independence it was not surprising to see European experts supervising government projects such that of road and railway constructions. During this era of globalization, Chinese workers and experts have taken over railway constructions and most government constructions. As I write this paper the city of Dar- ES Salaam has many Chinese businessmen than it was during British colonialism. Chinese workers are believed to have very strong work ethic that if they take over any project, they are more likely to deliver before deadlines or right on time. It does not mean that Tanzania has no railway experts and engineers, but since Chinese government provides loans, grants to the government or bid at the lowest possible bids, they have better chances to get any contracts they place a bid on. Most critics have argued that Tanzanian education system does not provide confident professionals for competitive advantages in the global economy. Therefore foreign investors enjoy competitive advantage from skilled labor, strategic business management, access to high technology and big capitals. Colonial education was patriarchal because it only targeted men. Women did not have equal opportunity to education as that of men and therefore man continued to dominate women in most aspect. What happened to African women under colonialism is that the social, religious, constitutional and political privileges and rights disappeared, while the economic exploitation continued and was often intensified. Although international organizations and human rights activists from other parts of the world have made it clear that women in all countries must be given equal opportunities to education so as to meet the growing need for both men and women in the global economy, women in Tanzania still focus on certain careers and avoid careers that are thought to be designed for men. As more women have gained more access to education, more opportunities have become available to women of all races worldwide. For example in early 2007, United Nation Secretary General nominated the first Tanzanian female as Depute secretary General, Asha Migiro from Tanzania. This is one indication that even women from poor countries as long as they are well educated can serve international bodies like the United Nations and this is made possible by globalization processes. One of the advantagesof colonial education was that it created nationalism. African independence was conditioned by the administrative framework of the given colonies. The few Tanzanians who gained access to colonial system and education were able to rise later on to created nationalism awareness. For instance, Mr. Julius Kambarage Nyerere who attended colonial education system was later successful in his struggle for independence. In 1961 Tanzania achieved independence under Nyerere’s leadership. Scholars have argued that colonialism modernized Africa politically through nation states; therefore created political structures same as that of the colonialists. Tanzania adapted British parliamentary system as the legacy of the colonial system. In popular discourse, globalization is often synonymous with internationalization, referring to the growing interconnectedness and interdependence of people and institutions throughout the world. The need for education systems that supports globalization has become more important than ever. Countries that have good education systems have competitive advantages in this era of free trade than that of developing countries like Tanzania. Since the British colonial education did not prepare Tanzania for global economy, Tanzania continues to be one of the poorest countries in the world. Tanzania continues to rely on importation of manufactured goods, books and other educational technologies, dependence on international organizations and financial institutions like UNICEF, World Bank and IMF. This worries me even more and it becomes another concern to whether Tanzania will ever have full control on its education system and the economy. As developed nations such that of the west aggressively market their products using high technologies, capital and high tech medias such as television stations, internet and radios, developing countries like Tanzania continue to be marginalized as they struggle with unskilled labors, lack of capital and poor technologies. It will therefore take Tanzania many years before adequate skilled labor force is provided to face the challenges of global forces. Unlike in United States of America, Tanzania does not have adequate schools to generate more skilled labors to meet economic needs of globalization. This has discouraged foreign investors to fully utilize all the labor force Tanzania can provide and instead, they are seeking skilled labor forces for management positions elsewhere. As part of the globalization process, the spread of education is widely viewed as contributing to democratization throughout the world. Schools prepare people for participation in the economy, giving them the knowledge to make responsible judgments, the motivation to make appropriate contributions to the well being of society, and a consciousness about the consequences of their behavior. But with limitations found in Tanzania education system including luck of funds, the benefit of globalization and the ability for Tanzanians to become global players is significantly affected hence unequal share in the global economy. The stronger and the rich have access to all the tools they need to succeed in the global markets and free economy. As the world gets so interconnected through the era of globalization, immigration has become a major concern where non-skilled and skilled labors have migrated to countries that have stable economies like United States and United Kingdom. Skilled labor such as doctors, engineers and accountants, in recent years have been encouraged to migrate to United States, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom to seek for better salaries and better living standards. For instance, the US embassy in Tanzania is crowded by student visa applicants who want to leave the country. In spite of high non-refundable applications fees at the embassy, Tanzanians who want to leave the country for schools abroad are not being discourages. At the same token, professionals are seeking for better paying jobs elsewhere. Higher education is increasingly becoming a commercial product to be bought and sold like any other commodities. Higher education commercialization has now reached the global marketplace. In Tanzania the poor are left behind as the rich pick schools abroad. In US for example, colleges have done a great job in advertising programs to attract international students from all over the world. Although globalization has created more opportunities to those who can afford colleges abroad, most of those students never return to their home countries; they seek for permanent residence in foreign countries for more competitive salaries while enjoying modern life standards. Through globalization process, there have been spread of education that is widely viewed as contributing to democratization throughout the world. National and international assistance organizations, such as the U. S. Agency for International Development and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), embrace these objectives. Mass provision of schools and scholarships, technological advances have permitted distance education to convey Western concepts to the extreme margins of society, exposing new regions and populations to knowledge generated by culturally dominant groups and helping to absorb them into the consumer society. For instance, Tanzania today has more foreign universities than local universities such as American colleges like Waldorf College with foreign dressed students embracing American culture and high desires to migrate to United States of America. Foreign colleges are teaching foreign values and significantly contribute in dissolving traditional morals and values. Tanzania with the population of more than 36 million people it has only four public universities; University of Dar es Salaam and Sokoine University are the only major universities, Institute of Development Mzumbe, and Institute of Financial Management. The need for westernized skilled labor force has grown very tremendously since many transnational companies and other foreign companies have established branches all over the world. Local labor force educated within local universities is considered incompetent and not aggressive enough to face the challenges of globalization. “Given the increasing economic globalization and restructuring in the world political and economic systems, and the requirements for knowledge and information within that system, educational needs (in terms of structure, function, curriculum and approach) at all levels, especially at the tertiary level, have changed” (Mr. Derick). In recent years, Tanzania has emphasized is English as the media of instructions but most college graduates can barely speak English and hence makes it difficult to communicate with foreign investors in this era of free trade in a global village setting. Educational requirements for the workforce of the future are extremely important. More work is needed for Tanzania to face the challenges of global economy.

Chinese Stock Market Slump Shakes the World Stock Markets

Over the past four years, United States stock markets have recovered very strongly. Chinese emerging economy and stock markets have played a major role in the world markets. China main stock index has doubled in value in the past year making China one of the major players in the world stock markets and the world economy as a whole. Chinese recent economic slump has worried the entire globe and has triggered stock prices to fall tragically in China, India, Europe, Australia and in the United States. Chinese stocks plunged nearly 9 percent on Tuesday.


What is going on?
The question facing many investors and some of us is how far and how long the fall in prices will last. What went wrong in Chinese stock markets is now affecting the world stock markets.


The markets were surprised by the speed and size of recent declines.

According to BBC "Markets across Europe and Asia remained deep in the red, triggered by 9% losses in Shanghai the previous day"

Markets in Asia, Australia and India have suffered substantial losses. What went wrong? Who is getting affected? Is the world market safe enough? Will the world stock markets recover?

The Chinese stock markets shake up/meltdown was caused by rumours of Chinese
government cracking down on illegal share offerings and trading, as well as fears about accelerating inflation.

Political factors also weighed on the market movements with speculation about government plans for tax reform and rural expenditure. Even though, China's economy has been doing great we must remember that "Even if a market's upwards trend is not broken, a market correction can still be significant" analysts said.

"Turnover in Shanghai shares ballooned to an all-time high of 128 billion yuan ($16.5 billion), nearly a fifth higher than the previous daily record of 107.8 billion yuan set in January.
The market was hit by several negative rumors in late trade, including talk that authorities would take strong steps to cool speculative activity" Chinese economy has been growing so fast to make most economists worry.Visit money.cnn.com/2007/02/27/news/international/bc.markets.china.stocks.close.reut/index.htm?postversion=2007022709 for more information.

What happens in Chinese stock markets has impact in all over the world. This is the proof that the world stock market is so interconnected and very Volatile. Investors are now so worried.
The second day in a row US stock markets continue to worry investors "Overnight, shares on Wall Street closed in the red, with the key US Dow Jones and S&P 500 indexes falling 0.3%, while the NASDAQ lost 0.5%. " visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6410629.stm for more info.

Other than Chinese market meltdown, in the United States of America there are some other factors that have triggered fall in the stock market prices such as the Tuesday computer glitch: "Tuesday's market meltdown was triggered by a sharp fall in Chinese shares and signs of economic weakness. A computer glitch also impacted the reporting of the Dow Jones industrial average, making the big decline in the United States appear even more dramatic". This is according to CNN.

Well, here we go again. Technology can cause big trouble in the matter of seconds. We have been so reliant to technology as you can tell; the world economy also relies on technology. A small glitch can cause a big loss of money.

"Around 2:00 pm today the market's extraordinarily heavy trading volume caused a delay in the Dow Jones data systems and as a result, the calculation of the Dow Jones Industrial Average temporarily lagged behind the market decline and as we identified the problem we decided to switch over to a back-up system and the result was a rapid catch-up in the published value of the Dow Jones Industrial Average," explained a Dow Jones spokeswoman. Thanks God I don't work for Dow Jones because someone from the IT department has to explain this.

Will the world stock markets recover? Yes. The stock markets is recovering and it will continue to recover. " Gains are modest, with Dow finishing up about 50 points; Fed chief Bernanke helps reassure investors; bonds, global markets struggle" http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/28/markets/markets_0445/index.htm?cnn=yes

I think this is the right time to buy overpriced stocks but the question is how long will stock prices continue to fall? Stocks can be good investment but can also turn into a big loss in seconds when the market shakes. Although it is risky buying the over priced stocks before the stocks slump, it can be another way of dealing stocks at this time. Is this the safe way especially when everyone feels the impact of what is going on in the stock markets? I don't know.

Is Tanzania being affected by the world stock markets slide? How? This is another hard homework especially when Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange is not automated and has very few local and foreign companies listed. For instance on March 1, 2007 only four companies were listed in Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange; SIMBA, SWISSPORT,TBL and TWIGA. Tanzanian stock markets can be safe in some ways but if the major investors are suffering in their home countries, Tanzanian economy will also suffer in some way. When the world stock markets suffer, it is hard to tell how Tanzania stock market is doing. Unlike US stock markets, Tanzanian companies and stock markets are not transnational and therefore seem not connected to the world market share.

The matter of the fact is China, United States of America, Europe and other transnational corporations have invested heavily in all over the world and therefore African continent which makes me believe that when Chinese economy shakes, USA feels the impact so do Africa and other parts of the world markets.

TANZANIA-THE PLACE TO INVEST YOUR MONEY

The latest edition of a World Bank/International Finance Corporation report, `Doing Business - 2007`, ranks Tanzania and Ghana among the top ten reformers in reducing the time and cost to start businesses in the world. The report acknowledges that many governments have been taking action towards that end, with 213 reforms having been introduced in 112 countries between January 2005 and April 2006. ``During that period reformers simplified business regulations, strengthened property rights, eased tax burdens, increased access to credit and reduced the cost of exporting and importing,`` it notes. The report compares regulation modalities and levels in 175 countries, saying Tanzania introduced electronic data interchange and risk-based inspections at customs. This made the time taken to clear imports fall by 12 days. It is further noted that Gambia, Nigeria and Tanzania registered significant cuts in delays associated with legal procedures, while Mozambique and Tanzania simplified their business licensing regimes. A whole two-thirds of African countries made at least one reform, the report reveals, adding that Tanzania and Ghana were clearly among the top reformers in 2005/06. Also to win accolades are Georgia (the topmost reformer), Romania, Mexico, China, Peru, France, Croatia and Guatemala. South Africa dropped from last year\'s position 28 to 29, while the Democratic Republic of Congo retained position 175 and Burundi dropped from 160 to 166. The drastic social and economic reforms made in Tanzania made the country jump from position 150 last year to 142 in this year\'s rankings in terms of easing the conduct of doing business, explains the authoritative report. It says entrepreneurs now follow only 13 procedures and take only 30 days to start businesses in Tanzania, while formerly it would take up to 26 procedures and 313 days to get a business licence. In the top reforming economies in the past three years, nearly 85 per cent of reforms took place in the first 15 months of a new government, observes the report, noting: ``If it is easy to set up a business, more businesses register.`` Five times as many businesses register annually in El Salvador since its reforms, while new entries jumped by 78 per cent after reforms in the former Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia, 55 per cent in Georgia, 25 per cent in Lithuania and 16 per cent in Uganda. Reforms picked up more in Africa than in any other region in 2005/06, with Madagascar reducing the minimum capital requirement by 80 per cent and speeding registration by relocating legal clerks to one-stop shops. Ethiopia and Uganda are also listed as having followed suit in company registration, as Nigeria started allowing entrepreneurs to verify the availability of company names online. For its part, Rwanda scrapped a law originally adopted by King Leopold of Belgium during the colonial era that allowed only one notary in the entire country. Now 33 notaries are working throughout the country, reducing business start-up delays appreciably. Kenya is still ranked as the better place of doing business in East Africa but it has dropped from position 80 last year to 83 this year. A new business has to follow 13 procedures in 54 days to start operations, 11 procedures over 170 days to get licences, and eight procedures and 73 days to register a property. One will need 11 documents in Kenya to export, while it will take 25 days to export and cost the enterprise $ 1,980 per container to export. Nine documents are needed for importation purposes and imports take up to 45 days to arrive at a cost of $2,325 per container. Indicators in the report show Uganda having fallen from position 103 last year to 107 this year, with entrepreneurs having to go through 17 procedures over 30 days to start businesses, 19 procedures in 156 days to get licences, and 13 procedures in 227 days to register a property. To embark on exports, 12 documents are required in Uganda, while it will take 42 days to export with container costing $1,050. A total of 19 documents are needed for imports, and it takes 67 days to receive the goods at a cost of $2,945 per container. Rwanda retained position 158, with a new enterprise having to follow nine procedures over 16 days to set up shop and 17 procedures in 252 days to get licensed. It will take five procedures and 371 days to register a property and 14 documents to export. The exports will take 60 days at a cost of $3,840 per container. A total of 20 documents are required for imports, the gods spending 95 days on the way at a cost of $4,080 per container, notes the report. Both last year and in 2005 Africa trailed all other regions in terms of pace reform. However, this year it ranks third, behind only Eastern Europe and Central Asia and the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development high-income countries. The United States\' Millennium Challenge Account also introduced conditions for grant eligibility in 2004 based on performance in the time and cost of business start-up and 13 countries have since started reforms aimed at meeting the criteria. Burkina Faso, El Salvador, Georgia and Madagascar have already qualified. Since its introduction in October 2003, the Doing Business project has inspired or prompted 48 reforms around the world, with economies ranked in respect of how easy it is to do business there. This comes on a scale of 1 to 175, with first place being the best. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means that the regulatory environment is conducive to the operation of business.

THE FUTURE OF TANZANIA

I had dreamed of wonderful city somewhere in Africa. Dar es salaam will soon be the one as the future turns into reality by 2010 through 2020. The city of Dar es Salaam continues to grow very fast. This is another indication of great progress Tanzania's economy has enjoyed for the past ten years. Although we still have a long way to go, the future of Tanzania seems to be brighter than that of most African countries.

The picture above is another indication of high level of precise and design. Putting the city at level of any large cities in the world. Dar es Salaam will soon look like New York and London. It is just the matter of time.

Highways and Freeways are not for only America, London and other developed nations; Africa needs infrastructures as well and we will eventually be getting there. Your fancy cars and high tech vehicles have a place in Africa as well.

Above is the Dar es Salaam city to be unveiled before 2020. Planning is underway to make this dream come true.

Bellow is Kigamboni Bandarini, how does this place look like? Great! isn't it? Bellow is another work of art, design and creativity. Our people are not sleeping, they think and design day and night. You can also be part of this creativity, just ask me how?.

Kigamboni will no longer be a remote location but very well connected to the city. Kigamboni is a great place now, land is available and very affordable. Need to live by the ocean? Kigamboni is another place you might think of. Just design your mansion to enjoy free ocean breeze from the Indian ocean. Let your Mercedes Benz, BMW and any vehicle cruise above the ocean.

The city of Dar es Salaam by 2020. The new leadership continue to do a good job. Of course they have many challenges such as corruption and other concerns. But hey, they are doing their part. All this is due to good governance and dedication shown by some of Tanzania leaders eager and hungry for change. No matter what people say, our leaders are performing to the best capacity of their capability.

Thank you all, please visit my blog more often.

Jacob

China's Hu Jintao on Africa tour

At the beginning I did not clearly see China's connection to Darfur crisis, but now seems to be clicking. The oil, junk products from China are making China without Africa a mission impossible. China is killing us and it is surely killing our economy, industries, our products, market, our brain, our people and is indeed dumping the future of African economy in big trouble. Not only that, the guy is selling us all the weapons we need so we can kill each other like flies. “He is playing the only good guy for Africa” while the return of his investment materializes enormously. The guy is now paying visits to Africa like he grew up in Kenya or Shinyanga. This is his third visit since he took office. He will soon be going to Africa every month as long as his boys continue doing a good job. His interest is on how his economy and how his boys are doing but not how the African poor people are doing. Something must be cooking and paying off big time. Africa is the place to invest and everybody knows that. Man, as I said earlier, Chinese might be worse than the British, French, Portuguese and Germans. What are the African leaders thinking?

China is one of Sudan's major sources of weapons."China has also become a major, and perhaps the largest, supplier of weapons to Sudan, where its sales include fighter aircraft and helicopters, according to analysts". Pictures from BBCNEWS.

While there has been much debate on China's alleged transfer of nuclear or long-range missile technology to countries like Iran, North Korea and Pakistan, little attention has been paid to its routine export of conventional weapons and small arms.

China's Hu Jintao has been the leader of China since 2003. China's exploration in Africa has become so intense that China's ties to Africa have increased. In recent years trade has expanded dramatically between Africa and China. Like during the 1800's industrial revolution China seeks resources to feed its fast growing population, economy and markets for its exports.

China's economy is growing so fast along with its population. Who knows, China might be one of the supper powers in the world. Like missionaries, Arabs, traders, and explorers of the 15th century, Chinese are found all over the world; Manzese, Kariakoo Shimo la Udongo and every where else. This time Chinese are aggressively looking for place to live, work, raw material but not slaves or spreading gospel. Let us not forget the fact that Chinese can work day and night but Africans are not accustomed to work at night. Guess who will take all the contracts and work to deliver deadlines on time: the Chinese! Correct.

Chinese are now spotted in Africa selling every kind of manufactured goods from china in every street like the so called Machinga in Tanzania. If the Chinese can do what the mahinga does, are they really investors or survivors like the machinga themselves? Are these colonizers? I don't think so. These are poor Chinese trying to make it like anybody else who wants to make it away from home.

Some critics think China is colonizing Africa especially the Western and Europe. I think this is China's turn to explore and populate the world like what the Westerners did during their turn. Africa should be worried but not the Westerners and the Europeans. Both Europe and the West have controlled the world economy since the partition of Africa in 1885. The fear that China is taking over the world economy is growing and it should not be a concern to westerners. The Western or Europeans did their good share of both destruction and construction. However, I am very skeptical with this China's political and economic ties as well. I think that History keeps repeating itself and history has provided more destructive impacts to Africa than constructive ones. As I promised to keep an eye on Kikwete and the economy of Tanzania I will at the same time watch China's ties to Africa.

Like most countries, China consumes oil. Africa supplies one third of China's oil. Before Hu Jintao left for his tour to Africa this week, announced $3billion in preferential loans and more aid over the next three years for Africa. It sounds like a big push if at all it benefits Africa’s local businesses. How are the interest rates on these loans? The Chinese economists know better not to lose than gain from each dime invested.

Apart from oil, China seeks market share for all its products including cheap goods that threaten local industries and local market. Is China really playing a good guy for Africa? Africa is desperate for investors but how far these investors can go and who really benefits the most. This remains a tough question but time will tell.

There is no enough evidence yet but China has been selling weapons to African countries like Zimbabwe. Well, look at Zimbabwe now. What is going on? Is Mugabe the only guy behind Zimbabwe poor economy?

Other than Cameroon, Mr Hu's tour will also take him to Liberia, Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique and Seychelles.

What is the motive behind china’s Hu Jintao’s interests to poor African people? I will be watching you Hu Jintao.

Agriculture Sector in Tanzania

The failure of agriculture production is not only due to climate factor. According to president Nyerere it is principally a problem of implementation. However, critics argue that in fact, just like any other Tanzanian economic sectors, the deterioration is caused by government’s basic economic strategy. Early in 1975, Tanzanian started to reform its economic policy gradually, which is known as the Dar es Salaam Spring.
In my view, the misfortune that Tanzanian had to experience was another historical experimentation for a non democratic socialism. The goal for Nyerere was to make a poor nation economically independent with an equalitarian society, unfortunately, just like any other social experiments, it became another big failure. In this essay, I am going to briefly analyze the issues that in my view could be considered as the major causes, and then I will examine the economic policy and practice of Tanzania with three different economic theories.

Historical Cause
Tanzania was once a colony to Germany; at that period, German intensified the Sisal corps production which is only good for industrial use as raw material. After the W.W.I, Tanzania became a British mandate, technically it means that Tanzanian could become an independent sovereignty at any time. Unlike Kenya, British did not invest on the infrastructure which is the basic economic foundation of the country. The simple fact is that roads connect people is obvious. Without it, people of rural world could not do commerce between them and could hardly get to go to Dar-es-Salaam, mwanza, Arusha and so forth. From a political perspective, this factor undermined the Tanzanian farmers to become unified as a single political unity or interest group. Later this factor became the key cause for the failure of Tanzanian economy, not because the road scarcity but because of its consequences.

Well, some have argued that Tanzanian government implemented consciously harmful policy toward agrarian world because the decision making in the government is uniquely composed by urban elite who favored industrial development which takes place in the urban area, because that is where they live. I personally disagree with these critics on this matter. President Nyerere's socialistic ideology was thought to be the right way to improve agriculture in Tanzania. The country had just became independent and her economy was at its infant stage. Socialism (Ujamaa) helped bring Tanzanians together but slowed down agricultural developement and the economy as a whole. Moreover, Ujamaa embraced subsistence farming which was poorly funded, uorganized farmers and depended on raifalls. No raifall no farming and famine comes.

As farmers are unorganized; therefore, they are not recognized by the urban elite. The fact is Tanzanian elite unlike in the case of Kenya, they do not have personal economic interest in agriculture activities; consequently they become insensitive to rural problems. As the result, because the poor profit and discriminatory policy, farmers lost the interest on large production, and engenders a situation of “Administratively Generated Rent” as the result. It means due to government policy, foodstuff becomes a scarcity, a large gap exists between official price and black market price, and urban people have to buy the food on the black market pay the higher price because the government’s food could not suffice .

Unlike in Kenya who has the system of Mixed Farm, farming industry in Tanzania at the time of independence was poorly developed. De facto Tanzanian farms were small of size, production was not so intensified, badly concentrated between them and cities. Nevertheless, Tanzania is a large African nation, at the period it had a relatively small population, hence rural people had no problem with scarcity of land or job, and agriculture provides 80% of employment (same as for today). In sum, Tanzanian agriculture sector at the time of independence was the core of nation’s economy, although it was not as advanced as the Kenyan one, but it was increasing, healthy and earning foreign currency.

Government Policy

The malaise in Tanzania has evoked a voluminous academic commentary. Most of Africanist argue that the causes of its failure are both internal and external; it is a response that; however, in my view lacks academic credibility for the reason that such answer could be used at any circumstance and apply to any issue. I am very interested with the explanation of Uma Lele (1984: 160) who suggests that external influence such as the drought of 1973-74, the break up of East African Community in 1977, the war with neighboring Uganda in 1979, two oil crisis of 1973 and 1979 had indeed contribute to the failure of Tanzanian economy. But, she argues, it is also necessary to “blame on failure of the government’s own economic policy”, because Tanzania is one of the largest African recipients of foreign aid, it received $2.7 billion from 1971-81. Therefore it exceeds the external factor cost. Lofchie (1988: 148) exemplifies that the nature of failure is a result of long series of harmful policy, a social political dilemma between concentration of capital and redistribution of wealth. As a matter of fact, external factor must to be considered with attention, but I believe internal cause should be studied with even closer consideration. The fact is the socialist Tanzanian government opposed to any substantial admixture of capitalist practices in the Tanzanian economic development, it was against the use of market incentive system as means to excite agriculture production or any other mercantile sectors, such policy also discouraged foreign investments. Overall, it eliminated the possibility of to use market competition as stimulus of economic growth.
Observers who are sympathetic to Tanzanian socialism generally seek to blame on the external economic effect in order to exonerate Nyerere’s socialist policies, which are in my own perception the ultra cause of economic failure. Other academics argue that if the export volume of agriculture corps remains the same during the 70’s, Tanzania would not have to face to such economic catastrophe. As a developing country, Tanzania needs foreign currency badly, but if the export volume of crops fall, and at the same time major import goods price such as for oil, and expenditure increases, it is normal that the government went bankrupt financially an faced balance of payments crisis during the early 1980’s.

Ujamaa Villages

Tanzanian government attempted to implement a nationwide system of collectivized agriculture. Due to geographical problem, Nyerere thought by putting peasants to live together they would benefice fully the social infrastructure such as school or clinic, another goal for the latter was to see the agriculture production increases subsequently. Ujamaa is the word in Swahili to describe such village. The technique of Ujamaa is to replace individual farms with a network of village communities in which land should be collectively held and production collectively organized. In the analysis of Arkadie ( 6), the project of Ujamaa was:
To transform the pattern of rural settlement by congregating the rural population with previously had been resident predominantly on dispersed family smallholding – in nucleated villages of sufficient size to be efficient units for the delivery of services.
Of cause, no one, especially for the peasantry would like to give up their traditional habitat, the resistance of villagers was common, both in terms of to give up the farms and to move. The villagization became even more intense after 1969 (during the period of second Five Year Plan). In two occasions, because the policy was so unpopular that Tanzanian government had to use military force, it happened in the region of Dodoma and Kokuma. According to Lofchie (1988: 153) before the collectivization, merely 5% of rural population lived in villages, but by the end of 1975 Ujamaa policy had forced more than 60% of rural population to live in settled villages.
After different academic researches, the collectivization policy contributed directly to Tanzanian agriculture crisis of 1974-75. For instance, the marked agriculture production in the 1970’s differs extraordinarily with the previous decades, thought, the population growth was about 2.5%, but the 6% growth realized in agriculture sector from 1950’s and 60’s indicates without doubt that it was increasing. But in contrast, during the 70’s different export corps are either decreased or stagnated. Worth, according to Lele (1984:166) during the 1980’s export volumes were less than half those of 1970. She argues that if the export volumes had been maintained as the 1970’s, the balance of payments crisis clearly would not as this bad.
On the other hand, in my view, if the industrial sectors had performed as great as Julius Nyerere had expected, although the food production decreased, the financial crisis could not happen either. Therefore, the poor economic performance including agriculture and industrial sector was the result of policy implemented by the socialist government.

Arusha Declaration: Between 1967 and 1975

In February 1967, president Nyerere declared in Arusha that Tanzania is a socialist country, his policy will pursuit the realization of self-reliance and egalitarian society (Arkadie: 1995). From 1961 to 65, politically Tanzania enjoyed a period of Open Society, with a multiparty and free civil association system. People are free to elected local officials and join any political association they want. However, due to the economic policy of that time, which was the USSR style of Central Planning system and Import Substituting Industrialization, the political environment changed gradually.
Like any other Third World countries of that period, Tanzanian leaders are looking for an economic development model that promises to promote a fast industrialization, which believed wrongly as the key to economic success. After 40 years of socialism, Soviet launched Sputnik, it demonstrates the successfulness of Russian economic model. Hence, the socialite Central Economic Planning, which opposes to the free market system was the one preferred by most new leaders of Third World. However, the Central Planning System, regardless five years or seven years plan has an objective to achieve. In order to realize the objective, it can not allow any different voices to challenge the plan. Therefore, to ensure the process, it requires as in Russia an authoritarian government. Nyerere as the result declared in Arusha that for the well being of the people, Tanzania is a socialist country, and embrace one party state system.
Tanzanian version of socialism development was an unbridled program of state regulation and control (Lofchie: 1988). It was accompanied by implacable governmental opposition to any substantial admixture of capitalist practices in the nation’s development and; therefore, refused to use the Free Market Incentives as a means of improving agriculture and industrial growth. Capitalism was considered as imperialism and profit seeking was evil doing. The socialism of Julius Nyerere carries out three major policies that caused the economic failure. 1. overvaluation of currency, 2. suppression of agriculture price 3. the determination of to pursuit ISI.

Overvaluation of Shilling

In 1967, Tanzanian government creates Tanzanian shilling, it was an over valuated one. The purpose to over valuate the currency is to allow the government to import foreign good, such as technology, at a cheaper price. The state also control the banking system, so the government could decide to which economic sector the loan will be provide, and at what interest rate, such practices are known as mandatory interest rates and guaranteed Letters of Credit. The overvaluation of currency significantly reduced the real producer price received by Tanzanian farmers because they are paid with the local money. But the profit they received are calculated with the official exchange rate between the U.S dollar and shilling; therefore, they received fewer shilling as by comparing with the shilling of real free market exchange rate. At the same time it also means that the food produced in Tanzania is much more expensive than the free market price, consequently it is more interesting to buy the food from international market, and the Tanzanian government encouraged such practice because it believes that by allowing food to be imported, it reduces the internal food price (World Bank: 1981), and provides cheaper and more food for urban population.

Suppression of Agriculture Price

The state establishes Marketing Board, which controls the buying and selling of all agriculture products. This system permits the government to setup a purchase price which does not reflect the real market price. Hence the government can offers to the urban people low cost food and at the meantime makes further profit on the export oriented corps such as coffee. The profit made with the Marketing Board in theory will go to finance the growing urban industries and other social expenditure such as school and clinics. The idea sounds excellent, but technically, the government made a mistake. The members of the Marketing Board were chosen by the government, not by the farmers like in Kenya, those officials represent; therefore, the interest of government not farmers. In addition because members are not elected by the farmers, they are insensitive to their issues. In contrast, in the neighboring Kenya, the members of Marketing Board are farmer elite elected by farmers, they are responsible to their constituency, and therefore farmers’ economist interest is protected.
In Tanzania, government legally controls prices for basic foodstuffs; Nyerere argues that by doing so, people’s interest is been protected. For the farmers, regardless the price of international market they will always receive the same tariff for their products, and for urban population, food will always be cheap. Hence, the government monopolized the buying of crops nationwide, the prices are fixed at below real market price, and agriculture producers could not negotiate the price with the government officials. When the cost of local food becomes too high, subsidies are provided to the urban people by selling the import food at below landed coast. Yet, the fact is in addition of import food and international aide, urban people still do not have enough food!
The socialist government’s strategy was a to be self sufficient; however, ironically it could not even maintain a normal ability of food production. The collectivization policy in the agrarian world was to promote a social equality among farmers; hence, larger farmers were called as “Kulaks” or exploiters, and had land confiscated. If to produce more food is; therefore, an act of capitalism and subject to punition, no farmer is willing to produce any extra food. This is the reason of way Tanzania experienced food crisis and had to import food from international market, which exhausts its currency reserve.

I am still working on this section, PLEASE STAY TUNED