THE NEW GOVERNMENTS

President Mkapa has made drastic changes in the upper ranks of the Union government by introducing 18 new faces and retaining only five of President Mwinyi’s cabinet. Nowhere to be seen are the strong men of the old CCM regime – former Prime Ministers John Malecela, Cleopa Msuya and Joseph Warioba, former Lands Minister Edward Lowassa, Party Secretary General Horace Kolimba, and Party ideologist Kingunge Ngombale-Mwiru. The work of the former Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will in future be undertaken by the Prime Minister’s Office. The Civil Service and Manpower Development Ministry has been abolished. The former Ministry of Works, Transport and Communications has been divided into two.

The new 23-person cabinet is as follows:

PRESIDENT’S OFFICE: Planning – Daniel Yona
Without Portfolio – Matheo Quaresi
VICE-PRESIDENT – Dr. Omar Ali Juma. Formerly Chief Minister of Zanzibar.
VICE-PRESIDENT’S OFFICE: Mohammed Seif Khatib. New
PRIME MINISTER – Frederick Sumaye. New. Until recently Minister of Agriculture. Formerly Junior Minister and before that an engineer in agricultural machinery testing unit.
PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE: MINISTERS OF STATE – Bakari Mbonde – Mussa Nkangaa
FINANCE – Prof. Simon Mbilinyi. New. Respected academic. Presidential adviser with much international experience. just recently appointed Chairman of the new, largely indigenous ‘Akiba Commercial Bank’.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS – Lt. Col. Jakaya Kikwete, until recently Minister of Finance who was given the task of dealing with the fallout from the tax evasion scandal of last year. He won the first round in the selection process for CCM presidential candidates but lost to Mr Mkapa in the second round.
HOME AFFAIRS – Ali Ameir Mohamed. New. Formerly Deputy Secretary-General of the CCM in Zanzibar.
DEFENCE AND NATIONAL SERVICE – Edgar Maokola-Majogo. Former Junior Minister.
WORKS – Anna Abdallah. Until recently Minister of State, Prime Ministers Office.
JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS- Harith Bakari Mwapachu. New. Has held many managerial positions in parastatal organisations including Air Tanzania.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, WOMEN AND CHILDREN – Mary Nagu. New
SCIENCE,TECHNOLOGY AND HIGHER EDUCATION – Jackson Makwetta. Until recently Minister of Water, Energy and Minerals.
HEALTH – Mrs Zakia Meghji. The only Asian minister and the only person to retain her previous position.
ENERGY AND MINERALS – Dr William Shija. A former Minister of Information and Tourism.
WATER AND LIVESTOCK DEVELOPMENT – Dr. Pius Nrgwandu.
AGRICULTURE AND COOPERATIVES – Paul Kimiti. Former Regional Commissioner. Has held other posts.
TOURISM AND NATURAL RESOURCES – Dr Juma Ngasongwa. New. Former Head of Department of Development Studies, Sokoine University. Until recently Economic Adviser to President Mwinyi.
LANDS, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT – Gideon Cheyo. New. Respected holder of many senior civil service appointments.
LABOUR AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT – Sebastian Kinyondo. New.
TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS – William Kusila. New.
EDUCATION AND CULTURE – Prof. Juma Kapuya. New. Scientist at the University of Dar es Salaam
INDUSTRIES AND TRADE – Dr. Abdallah Kigoda. New

DEPUTY MINISTERS:
PRESIDENT’S OFFICE. MINISTER OF STATE: William Lukuvi Diria
FINANCE: Kilonsi Mporogomyi and Abdi Salim Issa
HOME AFFAIRS – Emmanuel Mwambulukutu
LAABOUR AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT – Njelu Kasaka
EDUCATION AND CULTURE – MS Gladness Mziray
INDUSTRIES AND TRADE – MS Shamim Khan
TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS – Dr. Maua Daftari
ENERGY AND MINERALS – Nassoro Malocho
WORKS – John Magufuri

ZANZIBAR GOVERNMENT
For the first time the President and Chief Minister both come from Unguja. There is only one minister from Pemba.
CHIEF MINISTER – Dr. Mohamed Bilal (50). Nominated member. Until recently Benjamin Mkapa’s Permanent Secretary in the Union Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education.
DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER AND MINISTER OF EDUCATION – Omari Ramadhani Mapuri.
FINANCE – MS Amina Salim Ali. No change.
JUSTICE AND CONSITUTIONAL AFFAIRS – Idd Pandu Hassan
WATER, WORKS, ENERGY,AND ENVIRONMENT – Kamali Basha Pandu
MINISTER FOR REGIONAL AMDINISTRATION AND DEFENCE – Ali Haji Ali
AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK AND NATURAL RESOURCES – Brig. General Adam Mwakanjuki.
HEALTH – Said Bakari Jesha
COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT – Aman Abeid Karume
INFORMATION, CULTURE, TOURISM AND YOUTH – Issa Mohamed Issa
TRADE, COMMERCE AND MARKETING – Taimur Saleh Juma
MINISTERS WITHOUT PORTFOLIO – Mohamed Abdallah Khamis and Burham Sadat.
MINISTER OF STATE FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN – MS Asha Bakari Makame, the only minister from Pemba.

(Thank you Strato Mosha, Cuthbert Kimambo and Simon Mlay for sending the above information just in time for inclusion in this issue – Editor.)

COMPETITION IN BANKING

Following the publication of the Arusha Declaration on 29th January 1967 the foreign banks hitherto operating in Tanzania were nationalised and responsibility for commercial banking vested in the National Bank of Commerce on the mainland and the People’s Bank of Zanzibar on the islands of Unguja and Pemba. In June 9967 the National Bank of Commerce operated from 35 branches and total deposits amounted to TShs. 763 million. By June 1991 there was a network of 198 branches and 239 mobile offices accepting three times the volume of deposits in real terns. Growth of this dimension was in itself a remarkable achievement, but it was accompanied by serious and growing defects, which considerably reduced the bank8s ability to meet the demands made upon it for the purposes of economic recovery and development.

The first problem was in part a result of the bank’s own phenomenal growth. While lending in the private sector (14% of the total loan portfolio) was well managed, private deposit banking procedures developed in the days of small scale banking proved unable to meet the needs of a rapidly growing and increasingly moneterised population. The result has been growing delays, poor customer performance, inadequate internal controls and an increased resort by the public to cash transactions. There are in addition special problems arising from the parlous state of the telephone system, which affects communications with branches using telex or fax, and postal delays caused by the unreliability of the overstretched air services, It is clear that there is in the immediate future no perfect answer to the problem of organisation. Nevertheless, it is believed that the introduction of computerisation combined with measures to improve staff skills and attitudes could greatly improve standards of performance.

The tribulations of the commercial banks have, however, been compounded by circumstances beyond their control. Their role as an engine of development by financing economic enterprises has always been acknowledged, but the autonomy of the banks in deciding on the commercial justification for loans has been seriously restricted by the Government and the Party, who from time to time have insisted on loan facilities in loss making circumstances. The result has been the accumulation of bad debts which, in the case of the National Bank of Commerce, amounted in December 1989 to TShs 68,500 million. This access to loan finance for loss making parastatals, crop marketing boards and cooperative unions has acted upon these bodies as a disincentive to putting their own houses in order. Ss far as the National Bank of Commerce was concerned it has had the result that the bank was only saved from insolvency by the intervention of the Bank of Tanzania. Money creation for such purposes is a serious cause of inflation. Moreover, since the parastatals, cooperative unions and crop marketing bards accounted for 86% of outstanding bank credit, the bank’s ability to meet the needs of growth in the private sector was severely limited.

In July 1988 President Mwinyi established a Presidential Commission of Enquiry into the Monetary and Banking System of Tanzania. The Commission, working under the chairmanship of Mr. C.N. Nyirabu, a former Governor of the Bank of Tanzania, submitted its final report on 19th July 1990. The report, which, unhappily, has not yet been published, was wide-ranging and covered the entire financial sector. Since the future performance of the banks depended on Government policy with respect to the crop marketing boards among other changes external to .the banks themselves, the Commission did not hesitate to offer advice in these areas also. Above all, the Commission called for a reconsideration of the role of Government in economic affairs. It recognised the Government’s overriding responsibility by the passage of laws and the provision of the institutional framework to determine the general character and direction of economic activity, but having set up the machinery and decided on the broad lines of policy it was the duty of Government to leave commercial decisions to the banks and other financial institutions each in their own allotted spheres of activity.

The Commission recognised that the commercial banks could not operate effectively as engines of development so long as their loan portfolios remained encumbered by a very large volume of non-performing credits. Following the Commission’s advice, a Loans and Advances Realisation Trust (LART) endowed with powers as receiver and liquidator has been set up and all such loans, including assets lodged with the hanks as collateral, have been transferred to it.

Outstanding among the numerous recommendations of the Commission was their belief in the benign influence that competition could have on the standards of performance of the commercial banks and other financial institutions. This opinion was shared by the Government and resulted in the enactment of the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1991. This Act empowered the Bank of Tanzania to license any bank, including a foreign or joint venture bank, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions, to operate in Tanzania. So far, only the Standard Chartered Bank has been thus licensed, though other applications are believed to be in the pipeline, It is understood that Standard Chartered was intending to begin operations in 1993 and that its operations for the time being would be confined to Dar es Salaam. Provision has also been made in the 1991 Act for foreign banks not intending to transact business with Tanzania to open representative offices, Hitherto only the Equator Bank has been authorised by the Bank of Tanzania under this provision. A decision on the recommendation of the Commission to divide the National Bank of Commerce into three separate banks is understood to be in abeyance.

Owing to the overriding importance to Tanzania of the export drive, the Commission looks to the competing commercial banks to improve their procedures and to be innovative in their response to the needs of exporters. To this end they advise that the commercial banks should be allowed to hold portfolios of foreign exchange and be recognised dealers on behalf of exporters.

It is hardly surprising that far-reaching changes of the kind recommended by the Commission are taking some time to implement. They are, however, of critical importance to the country as it struggles to surmount the daunting difficulties of economic regeneration, While it is unlikely that the recommendations of the Commission will be carried out in every detail, it has certainly performed a great service in its analysis of the serious problems affecting the financial institutions of Tanzania, The changes now in train are being supported by a World Bank Financial Sector Adjustment Credit.
J. Roger Carter

A VISIT TO KINDWITI – THE LEPROSY CENTRE

(Extracts from a Diary)

At Dar es Salaam airport on November 5th 1992 everything could not have been smoother. Pleasant atmosphere, changing the money, finding a taxi and so on. Straight out to Buguruni, and under a mango tree I found the house I was looking for. In fact, every house was under a mango tree.

As I carried my bag across, all the little boys and girls as they passed said ‘Shikmu!’ (I clasp your feet), to which 1 answered ‘Marahaba’ (Thankyou). When I was here twenty-eight years ago, I was the one who used to say Shikmu, but then I didn’t have a long grey beard.

On November 6th I woke up at 4.30 a.m. and listened for some sort of sound which might indicate that the driver had come to take me to the bus for Kindwiti, But it seems that he has a wife somewhere far away and was not expected to come until the following morning.

The next day I woke at 5 a.m. and went with the driver to the bus. I got a seat, which was just as well because I sat in it for the next eight and half hours! The seat was comfortable, but the bus was inclined to jump up and down because the road did. We stopped, after possibly two hours, when there was a very loud mechanical noise. I think that the prop shaft came off and rattled along the road. People got out of the bus and someone had a very large hammer. Anyway after about twenty minutes the bus continued its bumping southward.

In fact it is about 120 miles to Utete and the journey cost 1000 shillings. When we got there, I jumped out of the bus with great relief and contemplated how to get across the river. It was probably less than half a kilometre wide at the time and I jumped into a canoe, which seemed to be quite solid and safe. I thought I could probably make it to the other side. I landed and asked which way to Kindwitwi and someone with a bicycle offered to show me. When we got to the top of the slope he indicated that I should get onto the carrier of the bicycle which I did. Although this was possibly better than walking, it was also very precarious since there were no foot rests and I had my briefcase (which was all I had) balanced in front of me. After a kilometre of hard pedalling, we found someone else who was walking to Kindwitwi and I was handed over to this new guide. We walked on in silence and heat, and, after probably no more than another 3 kilometres, we got to the village.

We went straight up to Canon Robin Lamburn’s house and there he was, sitting in the seat which apparently he always occupies, in his room in his house. He was having tea and the first thing I did was drink tea, until I had used all the hot water, which must have been about five cups. He has a system of using a strainer and pouring the hot water over the tea. It makes a surprisingly successful cup. Perhaps it was because he was using what must have been a fairly strong Tanzanian tea. We had landed at 2.30 p.m. and I got to the village at about 3.20 pm, which Robin seemed to think was a bit slow.

I was shown a room; retired there for a brief rest and then returned for the evening meal. It consisted of rice, beans and fish. As there was no fruit, the second course was rice and honey, which I am very fond of. The problem with the fish was than they were rather small, and consisted of a large head, a large tail and a considerable number of bones in between. In fact I was able to find no more than a piece of skin which would just about cover a teaspoon, and even that seemed to be liberally sprinkled with bones. Anyway, Robin was his usual convivial self, and we followed the meal with tea or coffee. Robin has become very deaf. He has a little hearing aid but it seemed to make wee noises much of the time and was only of limited help. I found the best thing was to sit somewhere near the hearing aid and blast in its direction. Thus one could have a reasonable conversation.

I woke up next day for Communion at 7.30 a.m. After 15 minutes there was no one else there. However, about ten people then drifted in. The service was really very nice and I had little difficulty in understanding the Swahili. I even knew most of the hymns. Afterwards we stood in line. Most people ‘Jambo’ed’ one another but to me and Father it was again ‘Shikamu’

Breakfast consisted of the bread I had brought the previous day, maize porridge with some honey and canned milk and tea. Then we went for a walk around the village. Robin took me to the ‘ward’ where the remaining dozen or so leprosy patients are accommodated. These are the much disfigured ones who have little hope of a normal life and will continue to receive rations. There are many others in the village who do not need special facilities but who continue to need treatment since the cure takes two years to complete. We saw a school, the clinic and the library, and met numerous people. Got back about half way through the morning. Robin normally has a morning snooze and then is OK until lunch time; a further snooze until 3 p.m. when tea appears. I was happy to have a rest and read my book. It is extremely humid and that makes it quite difficult.

I found another place to shower because the shower behind the guest quarters and Robin’s one consisted of some rather flimsy reeds which could keep the eyes of casual bystanders out, but the facility consisted of a bowl of water and a cup with which to pour it over oneself. My shower had a 44g drum set up above which was filled daily with water and you could have a real shower. In the cool evening and by moonlight this was really very pleasant and refreshing.

The Rufiji Leprosy Trust is already thinking about what it will do when leprosy is eliminated as a major problem hopefully, by the end of the century. It could be TB, AIDS, or other things. They have recently reduced or cut rations to former patients who are now able-bodied and can fend for themselves. The avoidance of a dependency attitude is very important and that is very much their aim. Robin objects to giving out cash but when asked to contribute to funerals and such like things, is a soft touch. He walked me back to my house because I didn’t know which way to go and was rather nervous about meeting lions on the way.

During the night there was considerable activity in my room. It could have been birds on the roof; rats playing around in the area above the door; bats doing their thing.1 am sure it is not what my host’s predecessors experienced; they used to leave the door to the sitting room open at night so that the dogs could get in and out at will. They woke up one night to hear the dogs screaming; opened the bedroom door and came face to face with a leopard. It was so scared that it dropped the dog and ran away.

Breakfast, and then a walk down around the riverine agricultural area. They are trying to stop the banks of where the river comes to when in flood from collapsing by planting trees. I suggested that Vetiver grass might help as well and apparently it is available in Tanzania. Farming must be pretty difficult. There are hippos and pigs to contend with as well as many of the usual pests and diseases. Everything looked pretty dry and miserable as it was some time since the rains. Lunch, rest, tea. Then I went down to the lake behind Robin’s house. I think it is an old branch of the Rufiji. Some people had been trying to grow vegetables down there, but the problem was water. It had to be collected in buckets from the lake, and apparently the water was getting more and more salt, so the people had given up. By the way, the water we drink at table is like mineral water. There is a boiling natural spring near the lake. Very tasty it is too.

In the evening another meal with Robin, including a chicken. At one point – I think Robin was possibly negotiating the purchase – a small chicken flew in through the door, rushed across the room jumped up onto Robin’s head and flew out through the window.

Robin’s house consists of three rooms; the Holy of Holies, which is his room; the kitchen; and, the sitting room in which were to be seen an astonishing number of books, many of them of great interest, but deteriorating in condition because of climate and insects; Robin’s M E certificate; the Queen’s signature having survived the depredations of paper-eaters. Also various crosses and other things, mementoes of a long life. I would think that in spite of the hardships of his situation, he is probably very happy and entirely content to remain at Kindwiti. He has an extremely important function to perform, because although young people come and go, Robin goes on for ever and provides the continuity …….
David Gooday

PRIVATISATION GUIDELINES

The World Bank Mission in Tanzania has issued proposed guidelines for what was described in the BUSINESS TIMES (December 4) as a programme for Government withdrawal from the running of economic enterprises.

The Bank was said to consider that the programme would be a formidable challenge but could bring Tanzania to the forefront of the process of ‘divestiture’ in Sub Saharan Africa.

According to the guidelines, more than half of the regional cooperative unions would be liquidated, most regional trading companies would be auctioned and many regional transport companies would be sold by tender.

Only the Tanzania Cigarette Company and the Mtibwa Sugar Estates would remain relatively unchanged by the privatisation exercise because they are scheduled to make part of their shares available to private investors. Air Tanzania Corporation and Tanzania Breweries would undergo partial trade sale.

Several other good performing companies would be subject to full trade sale including MECCO, the Friendship Textile Mills, National Pharmaceuticals, Williamson Diamonds, Tanzania Distilleries, Minjingu Phosphate Company, Sabuni Industries, Mwanza Textiles, Tanzania Sheet Glass and Nyanza Glass Works.

Enterprises scheduled for sale by tender include Darbrew, Tanzania Hides and Skins, National Steel Corporation, and the National Engineering Company.

Several other enterprises would enter into a lease of assets – Musoma Textiles, Morogoro Polyester Textiles and Southern Paper Mills.

Enterprises scheduled for liquidation include the Tanzania Shoe Company, Tanita, Rubber Industries and Tanzania Instant Coffee.

Joint venture arrangements are already under way in the case of the New Africa Hotel, Tanzania Railways Hotels, Tangold Products Ltd and Landrover Tanzania Ltd.

TANZANIA IN THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

SMUGGLING
TIME MAGAZINE published a lengthy cover story under the title ‘The Agony of Africa’ in its September 7th issue. On East Africa it wrote ‘Trade between Kenya and Tanzania is supposed to be closely regulated. At Namanga on the border, there are police, customs and immigration posts on either side …. but the boundary does not physically exist. Tanzanian instant coffee is smuggled into Kenya. Tanzania produces fresh milk that is sold in sachets but it has a short shelf life so Kenyan ultra-heat-treated milk is smuggled into Tanzania. Tanzanian gold, diamonds and emeralds come across the line; state controls on mining in Tanzania have made smuggling the export route of choice ……’

WITH HINDSIGHT
Would he, now that he was in retirement, and with hindsight, have done things differently, Mwalimu Nyerere was asked in a lengthy interview published in Volume Number 1 of AFRICA FORUM. “In the basic things, I would not change anything” he replied. “I do not think I would change the Arusha declaration. With hindsight, I would have tried to implement it differently. On nationalisation, either I would have nationalised more carefully or taken joint ventures with the owners, rather than nationalise outright”. On rural policies Mwalimu would have toned down ‘Siasa ni Kilimo” (Agriculture is Politics), the rallying cry of the Iringa Declaration that led to villagisation. “I would have tried to develop agriculture differently. Agriculture is very difficult to communalise. I would have emphasised the family but encouraged the people to work together. We wasted too much energy trying to develop community farming. We could have been more relaxed about it… but the object would have been exactly the same….”.

In his retirement Mwalimu was said to go every day to his farm, to inspect his cattle (most of them retirement presents from grateful citizens), work with a hand hoe, keep fit by walking ten miles some days – he dislikes an unfit appearance and has often told off officials who developed beer guts ….

ZAMBIA PULLS OUT
After failing to take off as scheduled on April 1st this year as scheduled, African Joint Services which was being planned as the forerunner of a regional airline of the Preferential Trade Area (PTA) for Eastern and Southern African States, has received a jolt according to the October issue of AFRICAN BUSINESS. Zambia, which had been one of the founder members with Tanzania and Uganda, has withdraw because of economic constraints. New partners are now being sought.

TANZANIA COMING INTO ITS OWN
In a lengthy and well illustrated article in the November 1992 issue of its publication HIGH LIFE, British Airways gave an update on safaris in Africa. ‘Tanzania’ the author wrote, ‘for so long overshadowed by Kenya’s booming safari trade, is at last coming into its own. Certainly, there is nothing to beat the spectacle of the wildebeest migration in the vast Serengeti plains. The greatest wildlife show on earth. I was there in February at the start of the rains when the plains are green and the wildebeest – all 1.2 million of them – were massed in the south of the park. It is an extraordinary sight. Most of the calves are born in the space of a couple of weeks. The day I arrived I saw only a handful. By the end of the week the plains were alive with gangling new-born babies ….

TANZANIA PLANS AN ENVIRONMENT HOUSE

Tanzania’s Minister for Tourism, Natural Resources and the Environment was quoted in the January 1993 issue of AFRICAN BUSINESS as having announced that the government is planning to establish an Environment House to accommodate all non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) involved in conservation.
The aim was to ensure more efficient coordination and use of common facilities. He made the announcement when welcoming Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, founder President of the World Wide Fund for Nature, who was in the country to inaugurate Tanzania’s first forest park – the Udzungwa Mountains National Park in Morogoro Region.

TAARAB MUSIC
‘As the Kiswahili language links Uganda, Kenya and
Tanzania, the Taarab music of Zanzibar links ancient customs and modern behaviour’ wrote Graeme Ewens in a book quoted in the December issue of AFRICA LIFE. ‘The music grew from women’s wedding music (first recorded by Siti Binti Saad in 1928) to today’s large orchestras. The classic Swahili top song is ‘Malaika’ recorded by the singer Miriam Makeba. This aside, however, East African music has not spread like other styles. Instead, it has been dominated by waves of Zairean influence…..

SEED FROM THE LIVINGSTONE TREE GERMINATES
110-year old seeds from the tree under which the heart of the explorer David Livingstone was buried have been germinated at a school in Kent, according to the DAILY TELEGRAPH (October 5). The seeds were from among several brought to Britain as souvenirs by one of the parents in 1882 and stored in a cardboard box in the school’s archive room. The Scottish explorer had been found dead by his servants in May 1893 at Ghitambo in what is now Zambia. They removed his heart and viscera in order to embalm his body and buried them in a tin box under a mapundu tree. His body was later brought to England for burial in Westminster Abbey. Livingstone’s niece was a pupil at the school. The seeds have been planted in the school greenhouse and the ones which germinated were growing during the summer by six inches a month but the Headmistress fears that they will soon outgrow the greenhouse and she is looking for someone to adopt the trees.

NOT OVERLY PLEASED
According to an article by Hans Bakker in a recent issue of the JOHANNESBURG STAR the Tanzanian leadership is not overly pleased with the end of the cold war and the beginning of what is referred to as the ‘New World Order’. It quoted President Mwinyi as saying that Africa had become the loser. “To us it remains a new order. Order in the real sense of order. We have to obey orders. In the past, when we were given orders by one side we could always find refuge in the other. But now … we have to obey orders whether we like it or not. At present, with commodity prices continuing to fall, we have no alternative but to go with our caps in hand and ask for aid….”

Similar sentiments were expressed by Mwalimu Nyerere in an article he wrote in the GUARDIAN (November 16) ‘The market has become religion’ he wrote, ‘and the money speculators have become the leaders of the world. So we have a ‘New World Order’….. there are no signs of a (real) New World Order. What we have is a world dominated and ruled by the wealthy and the strong…. basically international affairs are conducted in accordance with the law of the jungle, where might is right….’.

FOOTBALL VIOLENCE WITH A DIFFERENCE
According to the DAILY TELEGRAPH (September 7) football violence took a new turn in Tanzania recently. Not fans v fans, not police v fans, but police v players. When Milambo players disputed a referee’s decision in the game against Simba, 50 policemen intervened, giving some of the footballers a severe pasting. The goalkeeper fractured his knee and a defender suffered a serious rib injury. An MP told Parliament that the players should be paid compensation for the ‘cruel’ actions of the police.

THE BIGGEST STEEL PILING JOB IN EAST AFRICA
The COURIER, in its September-October issue gave considerable prominence to an account of the many European Community projects in Zanzibar. These include a US$ 31 million project for rehabilitation of the ports of Malindi in Zanzibar town and at Mkoani, Pemba. The government hopes that the completed port works at Malindi, which include demolition of the old wharf, the construction of new west and north wharves and the construction of a new container storage area of 5,500 square metres, will facilitate plans to make it into a free port. The depth of water at Malindi after dredging is now from 7.5 to 11.5 metres compared with only 4 metres before the rehabilitation. For the first time, ocean-going vessels will be able to sail direct to the two islands thereby reducing transit times, eliminating lighterage charges and saving the expense of transhipment in the port of Dar es Salaam. A total of 543 steel piles were driven 60 metres deep through the ocean floor at Malindi. Each pile was filled with reinforced concrete and had to accept a theoretical load of 200 tons. This had to be done after a soil investigation revealed that it would be impossible to construct the deck by drilling boreholes into the ocean floor since the coral limestone would not be able to sustain the pressure. British contracts engineer, John Appleby, said that the works at Malindi represented the biggest piling job ever carried out in East Africa.

The EC has also financed the rehabilitation of the Mnazi Mmoja Hospital in Zanzibar (built in 1927) and Chake Chake Hospital in Pemba (built in 1914).

The EC has provided US$ 336,000 for urgent repairs to the House of Wonders (built in 1870) in Stone Town and the restoration of the Old Fort.

The EC has also financed (US$ 11.5 million) the rehabilitation of the north feeder road in Pemba which runs for 38 kilometres from Maili Tano to Konde.

COOPERATIVE ACCOUNTING
The journal of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants, CERTIFIED ACCOUNTANT, in its October issue featured Tanzania in text and illustration in recounting the experience of VS0 volunteer Aileen Lyon who worked for three years at ‘one of the largest cooperative colleges in East and Central Africa – the Cooperative College at Moshi’. Here she taught a tertiary course leading to an advanced diploma.

‘MIRACLE TREES’
The Editor of the TROPICAL AGRICULTURE ASSBCIATION NEWSLETTER (December 1992) has described a ‘treasure hunt’ under way at Mbeya for ‘miracle (coffee) trees’ that do not appear to suffer from two major diseases affecting coffee in the region – Leaf Rust and Coffee Berry Disease. One clue to the source of the disease resistance found in the miracle trees (some of which have been found on Kilimanjaro) is the elongated shape of the berries.

DAR ES SALAAM THE BASE?

Dar es Salaam was mentioned on the front pages of several South African newspapers almost every day during December 1992. This followed attacks resulting in the deaths of white people by what was described as the ‘Dar es Salaam based African People’s Liberation Army (APLA) – the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) which was believed to have associated itself with the attacks. The Johannesburg CITIZEN quoted the PAC as stating that APLA was controlled from Dar es Salaam. However, in spite of several attempts, South African journalists were unable to obtain a response from the PAC’s office in Dar es Salaam. The Johannesburg STAR subsequently reported that strong statements had been issued by the OAU, ANC, and SA Communist Party condemning statements reportedly made by APLA cadres, declaring war on whites.

WORLD CUP
The December issue of NEW AFRICAN gave the latest results in the preliminary rounds of the 1994 World Cup. There were some surprises. Burundi beat Ghana 1-0. Niger held the African champions Cote d’Ivoire to a goalless draw and, in group H, ‘Tanzania and Madagascar slugged out a dour 0-0 draw’.

‘MISSIONARIES WILL ALWAYS BE NEEDED’

When I asked Archbishop John Ramadhani if missionaries were still needed in Tanzania he replied that they will always be needed because Christians need to be constantly reminded that they are a worldwide Church and, as partners, have much to learn from one another”. So wrote Andrew Ashton in the GUILDFORD DIOCESAN HERALD (November) after a visit he paid to St Raphael’s Hospital in Korogwe.

REVIEWS

THE BUSINESS GUIDE TO TANZANIA, 1992-1993. 120 pages. Available from IMI Ltd, 56 Upper Berkeley St., London W1H 7PP, f12.00

IMI, Initiative Marketing International, and members of the Tanzania-UK Business Group have prepared this Guide with the Tanzania Trade Centre in London, the Board of External Trade and other government ministries and departments. It is aimed at easing the path for British businessmen into Tanzania in rapidly changing circumstances. Basic economic facts are given to show the scale of Tanzanian trading opportunities, including free market exchange rates to May 1992. The population charts show projected increase according to Regions (although the column giving the percentage increase is not clearly described).

The core of the Guide is an account of the Government’s reform of the national economy, starting in 1985 and leading to the work of the 1992 Commission for Parastatal Reform. The extent of privatisation proposals, from Air Tanzania, Arusha and Kilimanjaro coffee cooperatives to the great Tanzania Tourist Corporation hotels, must shake those who knew Tanzania and its pattern of institutions in the sixties and the seventies. Is nothing sacred? The Guide further lists some hundred investment opportunities, from construction of a brewery in Mwanza, to a mini cement plant in Shinyanga or a language teaching institute.

Agents in the UK offering to supply goods from Tanzania are listed, The variety of wares they specialise in ranges from beeswax, cashewnuts and cloves to sapphires and sisal. Among them are a number who specialise in ‘handicrafts’, ‘giftware’ and ‘tourist curios’. This is an area of trade yet to be fully realised. ‘Airport art’, the outcome of a commercial debasement of Tanzanian traditions and expertise, is the usual stock in trade of these agencies. It may be in the future that Tanzania will, following the current examples of Zimbabwe and Kenya, treat these products as a significant element in overseas trade and how they will become an object of serious promotion by the Board of External Trade.

The visiting businessmen may wish to enjoy Tanzania beyond the industrial estate and the Ministry anterooms, and the Guide devotes pages to the major and the lesser national parks, although there is little detail on the costs that the visitor who is not on package tour might meet. From its nature, the Guide does not warn of all pitfalls, but it does provide an outline of visa and immigration rules and some of the hurdles of registration that are required jumps for the visiting businessman or anyone hoping to carry on work under the 1972 Business Licensing Act.

Advertisers in the Guide are not only well-known multinationals but also leading Tanzanian companies, manufacturing, banking, including the British High Commission in Dar es Salaam reminding us that ‘British is still best’ and a substantial notice encouraging membership of the Britain- Tanzania Society. The Guide presents an encouraging picture of the nation in change.
Warren Shaw

THE TRADITIONAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF TANZANIA. Compiled by G W Lewis and E G Makala. Edited by J C Bangsund. Published by The Music Conservatoire of Tanzania. 1990.

The main section of this book comprises 68 pages, and lists the various musical instruments found in Tanzania, giving brief descriptions of them and their mode of manufacture, the manner in which they are played, and their uses in the context of the social life of the people. The introduction is excellent, and has much to say about the all important aspect of the place of music in society and the part that the instruments play in social occasions. Mention is also made of the various different cultures involved, including Arabic, “Modern African”, and Western, although the influences of these are not discussed in great detail, the purpose of the book being to concentrate on the ‘traditional’ music and its instruments. In Tanzania, music and dance is still very much a part of people’s lives, in spite of outside influences.

The instruments are classified according to the Hornbostel- Sachs system, which places them in four main groups;
1. Idiophones (“self-sounding” instruments), sounds being produced by, for instance, shaking, as with maracas, or striking, as with xylophones,
2. Membranophones, such as drums using a stretched skin.
3. Aerophones, which comprise (a) horns and trumpets, (b) flutes, and (c) reed instruments.
4. Chordophones: stringed instruments, whether plucked or bowed, with or without resonators.

The book covers an extremely wide range of instruments from most of Tanzania’s ethnic groups. In view of this, I wish that the authors/compilers had envisaged a much larger volume than that produced; there would then have been scope for more detailed descriptions of the instruments and the ways in which they are played. It is difficult to describe accurately the intricacies of playing some of the more complex stringed instruments; for example in the case of the ndono, a musical bow, there is little hope of giving an adequate account of how it is played in the short space allotted.

Another criticism I have concerns the layout; it is not at first obvious exactly where an account of a particular instrument actually begins. It might have been better if each new instrument (or group of instruments) had begun on a fresh page, or had been headed by the name of the instrument in bold type, rather than (in most cases) by the illustration.

The drawings, by J Masanja, are most beautifully done. There are one or two instances where an extra drawing of somebody playing the instrument would be useful, especially in the section on Chordophones, but the instruments themselves are very clearly drawn.

The book also contains two very useful appendices, the first of which lists the various ethnic groups, their locations, and the instruments used, The second acts as an alphabetical index, containing over 100 names of instruments referred to in the text.

I strongly recommend this hook as an introduction to those interested in pursuing the subject further, and hope that the Music Conservatoire will, in due course, publish a much more detailed survey of traditional music and instruments in Tanzania,
John Brearley

ORTHINOLOGICAL WINTER SURVEYS ON THE COAST OF TANZANIA 1988-89, T . Bregnballe et al. International Council for Bird Preservation Study Report No. 43. 1990.

The Tanzanian and Danish Sections of the International Council for Bird Preservation jointly carried out this bird survey covering approximately 10% of the Tanzanian coastline, which lies on the major migration routes for waders. Birds were counted from the end of January to the beginning of March 1988189 along a 200 km stretch of coast centering on the Rufiji Delta and in Zanzibar and the Lindi Region with the aims of :
1. describing the occurrence and distribution of birds, especially waders, along the coast during the northern winter;
2. evaluating the importance of possible threats to the coastal ecosystem;
3 , including Tanzanian students and Game Officers in practical field ornithology.

The report is clearly laid out with maps showing migration routes, counting sites and types of coastal morphology (e.g. barren sandflats, mangrove, flats of fossil coral), followed by tables giving exact locations of counting sites each with a brief description of the habitat, state of the tide and time spent and method adopted for counting. Then follow the tables of actual counts including density per kilometre in chosen areas.

There is a physical description of the regions visited and a discussion on the accuracy and interpretation of counts, the importance of sites, threats and impacts and recommendations for future research.

The most numerous groups of birds counted were waders, terns and egrets, but the coast of Tanzania constitutes an important cover for populations of several species. Ornithologically speaking, it has not been comprehensively described – the team discovered a previously unknown wintering area for the Lesser Black-beaked Gull, Herring Gull and Caspian Tern. As the report makes clear, only if counts are made regularly and widely will the importance of areas for wintering, breeding and stopovers become apparent, so telling us more about which areas have priority for conservation and how they contribute to the annual world migration pattern.

At the time of the report, the team say ‘…the present extent of exploitation of resources as well as the extent of disturbance had few and only small-scale negative effects on waterbirds nesting and foraging’. They describe the effects of mangrove reduction on habitats and disturbance to birds by humans and rats; the effect of fishing on bird food supply is unknown, but presumably minimal in these parts.
However, the effect of illegal dynamite fishing is inimical to the marine ecosystem and inevitably can be effectively controlled only by the Tanzanian authorities: the report points to the lack of resources and destruction of local fisheries.

The birdwatcher in Tanzania can use the report (with allowances for shifting sandbars etc.) to visit the sites covered by the report. Note that the team fulfilled their aims without problems – visas causing lost time in 1988 and a sunk yacht in 1989, but birdwatchers do not lack perseverance and time waiting is usually put to watching,..
Cherridah Coppard


TANZANIA AND THE IMF: THE DYNAMICS OF LIBERALIZATION.
Morace Campbell and Howard Stein, eds. Westview Press. Colorado. 1992. 211pp.

Since the late 1970s the economic crisis has thrown Tanzania into turmoil. Severe balance of payments problem, rising inflation, falling production and living standards meant that the country could not continue on this path and something had to be done. Adjustment of the economy was inevitable, but what kind of adjustment and with what consequences, and at what cost to the population? This book 4s one of the first comprehensive attempts to address these questions.

The most important contribution of the book is that the authors take a historical approach to the economic and social problems of Tanzania and try to locate the debate on adjustment po1icj.e~ in the dynamics of social change in Tanzania. With regard to the latter point the book goes beyond the usual analysis that puts all the blame for the adoption and impact of the adjustment on the IMF and the World Bank, The book is divided into nine chapters dealing with the political and social implications of economic liberalization in Tanzania.

Kiondo (ch. 2) argues that the nature of economic reforms in Tanzania is shaped by external as well as internal forces in the private sector – commercial interests and the ‘nouveau riches’ of the smuggling cum export/impost business – who support the full reform programme and those – mainly in the productive sectors of agriculture and industry – who want a limited and controlled reform. The latter group has some measure of support from those within the sector whose interests are threatened by the reform project, While the battle is fought between these groups over the shape and timing of the restructuring programme the masses of the Tanzanian people are kept out of the discussions. The ‘demobilizing’ character of the political structure in Tanzania (Campbell, ch. 5) which had brought all forms of political and trade union activities under the umbrella of the one party rule with its one class populist ideology had meant that the opposition to the restructuring of the Tanzanian economy remained fragmented.

The theme of struggle between different fractions of the ruling class and the changing political alliances is repeated throughout the book. In the final chapter Samoff argues that over time the governing class (as opposed to the ruling class) has tilted towards its external allies. As the “free market’ ideology takes root in the wake of the structural adjustment programmes, creation and nurturing of a ‘modernizing middle class’ (which in my view is already there) will lead to the formation of the other alliances between the governing class and the emerging class interests.

The ending of the populist nationalist ideology also means the restructuring of its social and economic policies that for three decades emphasized the meeting of the basic needs of the people, The commitment to this objective came out of the struggle for independence and had remarkable results. But these gains are in jeopardy now because of the cuts in social expenditure.

As far as education is concerned, Roy-Campbell (ch. 8) points out that the return of school fees is undermining the universal primary education (primary school enrolment dropped by 10 percent between 1984 and 1988). This has come on top of poor working conditions and very low salaries, over-crowded classes and limited access to secondary schools that has in turn led to the mushrooming of private tuition classes and schools. Roy-Campbell also draws our attention to the broader issue of the relationship between knowledge, language and state legitimation. In her view the 1987-91 project (funded by British aid of £1.46 million) to improve the teaching of English in secondary schools was yet another manifestation of a fundamental shift in an educational policy that for three decades promoted Africanisation of the curricula and the use of Kiswahili as the medium of instruction.

The crisis in the social services is not confined to education. The inevitable outcome of the free market approach to the provision of social services is the emergence of a two tier system with all its inequitable consequences. It is easy to blame the economic crisis on the egalitarian policies of the past. But it is important to note that, as this book successfully demonstrates, the ideological shift followed the gradual shift of power away from peasants, workers, students and radical sections of the ruling party, and towards the business interests.

As for the impact of adjustment on women Vourela (ch. 6) argues that economic crisis has led to a crisis of reproduction (of human labour within the family and in the society at large). Reduction of funds for the health sector, and cutting of food subsidies has increased the pressure on women who have to spend more effort on their traditional caring activities, and, at the same time, engage in petty trade and other cash earning activities to supplement family
income.

H.Stein (ch. 4) provides a good summary of the economic conditions under the IMP supported adjustment package. He shows that a number of policy measures (credit restrictions and increased prices of agricultural inputs) have in fact reduced production despite the stated objectives of adjustment. Devaluation has also reduced the final prices (producer prices adjusted for the cost of processing agricultural products for export) paid to farmers. He goes on to argue that liberalization has not led to a socio-economic shift, and ‘it has simply been a device for perpetuating state hegemony in the crisis at the expense of most of the population. (80) In his view the bureaucratic class has been able to strengthen its position, whatever the outcome of the adjustment programme.

I find the concept of a bureaucratic class problematic, as it presumes a degree of common interest which is hard to find within the bureaucracy as a whole, especially in single-party political structures in which the party has an eclectic and populist ideology. Moreover, I cannot see how we can talk of a strengthening state when the state functions cannot be performed because of lack of finance and facilities and because of the low morale of civil servants, who have to divide their time between state duties and other income earning activities.

The book is quite up-to-date with regard to statistics and issues that are currently of concern to Tanzanians. There is also much in the book that is of relevance to other countries. We need more such books if we are going to have a better understanding of the process and dynamics of the social impact of orthodox adjustment policies in developing countries.
Mahmood Messkoub

TIMING AND SEQUENCING IN AGRICULTURAL POLICY REFORM: TANZANIA. David Booth. Development Policy Review. Vol.9 no.4. Dec, 1991.

David Booth uses a field study of the Iringa area to examine the effects of timing and sequencing on the success of reforms. He looks not just at the effects of reforms, but also at unachieved potential, in a clearly explained and well integrated article.

The case study is set against a background of more general work on sequencing, particularly the usual requirement that IMF reforms of pricing structures precede World Bank measures to increase supply. Thus the much vaunted reactions to higher prices for agricultural goods are impossible or severely muted, increasing hardship for those having to pay such prices.

Booth’s study of Iringa is fascinating both to those familiar with Tanzania and as a case study. Me traces the history of liberalization from 1984, and shows that its partial nature produced disappointing results, The arguments for reform are based on the importance of pricing signals, particularly in supply, where years of inadequate returns have depressed output, especially in the agricultural sector, But if prices rise without the infrastructure necessary to produce reaction (increased output, switched demand) the price rises will merely cause hardship to consumers, including producers who must pay more for agricultural inputs. Booth argues that while reforms have brought some benefits these are less than they might have been and are still heavily dependent on overseas aid.

One encouraging result emerges from the analysis of ethnic distribution of benefits from reforms. These have been distributed across racial groups, and have accrued to new African enterprises, as well as Arab and Asian owned businesses. Booth notes the greater discretion surrounding the African businesses, but it is clear that they have benefited none the less. The Africanisation is particularly significant in a region that he describes as ‘largely European’ at independence, and the centre of a number of earlier European agricultural experiments.

On a number of fronts Booth finds that the partial nature of reforms has frustrated the full realisation of their advantages. He pinpoints remaining bureaucracies and transport as two areas which still block the full response to exchange rates and price changes. In the context of earlier aid debates (particularly given the U.K. involvement in road construction in Tanzania) it is interesting to see these needs highlighted in the wake of fiscal and market reforms. It demonstrates, as does the entire article, the interdependence of the economic system and the very importance of sequencing suggested in the article.
Most of the analysis is economic but David Booth is a sociologist, and ends by examining the social strains that this patchy reform engenders, As noted above this is not primarily ethnic in Iringa, but resentment is generated against a mixed race class of beneficiaries, including Africans. However Booth is concerned that these tensions might take on an ethnic dimension in the country as a whole, and is concerned about this. It is not entirely clear that better sequencing would necessarily imply more even benefits, since unfortunately efficiency and equity do not necessarily go together. But David Booth’s article provides a clear analysis and vivid picture of the present reforms – their success, missed potential and possible dangers.
Catherine Price

PUBLIC SECTOR PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT IN THREE AFRICAN COUNTRIES: CURRENT PROBLEMS AND POSSIBILITIES. Harry Taylor. University of Manchester. Public Administration and Development. Vo1.12 pp 193-207. Oct. 1992.

Following a brief visit to three developing countries in sub Saharan Africa (Tanzania, Kenya and Zimbabwe) to study public sector personnel systems, the author reviews personnel practices in civil service and parastatal organisations. Harry Taylor argues that Personnel Management in LDC.s (as exemplified by his study) tends to be reactive and concentrates on house-keeping functions including maintaining of records, administering conditions of service, monitoring manpower levels etc. This is in contrast to the situation obtaining in developed countries where, he argues, the personnel management function transcends basic house-keeping activities and includes making a contribution to organisational strategic planning.

I have a number of difficulties with: (a) the author’s findings on the state of public personnel management in the countries studied and the generalisations emanating from those findings; (b) his assumptions on the state of public personnel management in developed countries; and (c) the agenda for reform proposed by the author.

The author ought to be informed that in the three countries, and one could generalise for most English speaking Africa, strategic tasks in relation to the personnel function in government/parastataIs would not be taking place at the individual ministry/firm level. In the civil service these are performed centrally by the Directorate of Personnel Management in the case of Kenya, the Civil Service Department of the President’s office in Tanzania, and by the Ministry of Public Service in Zimbabwe. Moreover, the Civil/Public Service Commissions of the three countries perform some essential strategic arrangement functions for their civil services. Since strategic direction tasks are performed centrally, the personnel function at a level of the ministry tends, of necessity, to concentrate on house-keeping functions. These central personnel agencies have been especially involved in strategic type of functions since structural adjustment reforms in the three countries began three years ago. As part of that reform process for example, the Tanzania Civil Service has undertaken a review of the size and cost of the civil service; is reviewing measures for strengthening management of personnel records as well as the upgrading of skill levels of senior and middle level civil service personnel.

With regard to the parastatals, most parastatal firms operate under the direction of holding companies and, in these circumstances, organisational strategic planning including for the personnel function, would tend to performed at the parent/holding company level. At the individual firm level, therefore, personnel managers concentrate on house-keeping tasks.

A more valid criticism of the state of personnel management in these countries would have focused on the extent to which the house-keeping functions including recruitment, administering the conditions of service, staff welfare administration etc. are not performed properly. The factors which the author cites to explain why personnel management has not bothered to address strategic issues including political interference, absence of a critical mass of personnel management experts, and the historical legacy – personnel management is a residual activity in public administration, do explain even better why house-keeping personnel management functions are performed badly.

There is evidence to demonstrate that political interference has on many occasions made it difficult to recruit public service personnel on merit; and evidence to show how political interference has made it difficult for personnel management departments to focus on strategic issues. We do not want to go into an argument with the author with regard to his important point, ie: his claim that in developed countries the personnel management function tends to focus more on strategic than on house-keeping issues. As he himself admits, even in these countries the focus on strategic issues is a recent phenomenon in public service organisations. Within the British Civil Service, for example, it can only have come to the fore since the setting up of Executive Agencies. Until recently, strategic personnel management functions were performed, if at all, in the Treasury and the Civil Service Department, for the entire civil service. At the Department level, personnel management concentrated on house-keeping functions. Some improvements have been made and there is now greater involvement by personnel managers in organisational strategic activities.

There have also been, improvements, however, in the way house-keeping personnel management functions are carried out in these countries and the positive developments have been due, in part, to reduced incidence of political interference, and the presence of a critical mass of personnel management experts which, in turn, made it possible for the development of personnel management as a profession. In the light of the foregoing observations concerning the state of personnel management, our prescription on improving the personnel function in Sub-Saharan Africa’s public sector would be somewhat different from the author’s and would include the following:

1. Upgrade the status of personnel management in government departments and at firm level in parastatals. This will involve making the function a more discrete activity than is presently the case.

2. Noting that the size of the civil services and personnel parastatal sectors are such that they may not always call for the establishment of capacity for strategic personnel management at the department or single firm level, there is need to strengthen the working of the personnel agencies in government and parent parastatal levels which are already in existence.

3. There is need to reform the entire machinery of public administration in these countries. It is only in that way that many of the problems which afflict personnel management in these countries can be addressed. If there is no overall strategic planning in the governmental machinery, why should one expect to have strategic planning for the personnel function?

4. The need for enhanced professionalism in personnel management is an imperative in these countries and leadership in this direction can come from the private sector.
Gelase Mutahaba

CRATER OF THE RAIN GOD (Channel 4 Wildlife Programme).
December 21 1992.

On 21st December Channel 4 showed an outstanding film based on the wildlife of the Ngorongoro Crater. It was indeed, as the narrator said, a ‘story without parallel’. The narrative was brilliant; the pictures of the animals and the scenery of the crater, and even more, the musical background, all contributed to a film deserving of much credit. A clear vision of what the Ngorongoro crater is all about was given. Basically, the crater (stretching for ten miles across) is a vast home that displays nearly all the species of wildlife found in the dark continent. There are over twenty thousand animals. But Ngorongoro is not just renowned for its animals; the place is full of forests, lakes, and even volcanoes can be seen.

Something worth knowing is why in that tiny land can the glory and majesty of Africa be magnified. It is said that the main secret is the fresh water which spurts from the mountains and the walls of the crater, enabling the existence of the animals all year round – they don’t even need to hibernate, The Ngorongoro is called ‘the milk and honey for the animals’. In November each year the East winds of the Indian Ocean known to be accompanied by the ‘Black God’, bring even more water to the crater.

The history of Ngorongoro goes back more than two million years. It is said to have been a home for many nomadic tribes in years past, and more recently the Maasai, who have now settled on the highlands surrounding and overlooking the crater, The ashes that gush from the volcano are later distributed on the Ngorongoro soils where they deposit abundant amounts of nutrients that fertilise the soil, thus encouraging the growth of the savannah grasses.

The animal life at Ngorongoro comprises the hunters and the hunted. Lions and spotted hyenas are believed to be the most invincible predators. It was also noted that more lions and hyenas exist in this place than in any other comparable place in Africa, Among the herbivores the dominant group are the wildebeests which account for over a third of the whole animal population found in the crater.
Perhaps the Ngorongoro is one of the greatest marvels left in Africa. What can be missed? Elephants, black rhino, buffalos, baboons, zebras, vultures and many other birds and animals can be seen.
Philip Fakudze


SURGERY IN TANZANIA
. J . K . Shija. Dar es Salaam University
Press, 1991. 56 pages.

This is a historical survey from 1877 when Tanzania was first introduced to western type scientific medicine by the Church Missionary Society Hospital at Mamboya near Mpwapwa; the arrival of five German military ‘surgeons’ in 1838 at medical headquarters in Bagamoyo; the opening of the Sewa Hadji Hospital in Dar es Salaam in 1883 (following donation of 12 400 rupees by a wealthy Indian merchant of the same name); the first qualified Tanzanian medical practitioner (Joseph R. Mutahangarwa in 1940); and, Tanzania’s own Medical School in 1963.

But the most useful part of the book is the 27 tables arising from a 1982 questionnaire sent to the six main institutions undertaking major surgery including an analysis of surgical admissions, surgical beds, staff problems etc. Among current problems mentioned are the Pcinderella9ubjects anaesthesiology and pathology in medical education. Several recommendations are made for improvements so as to ensure ‘surgery for all by the year 2000′.


OTHER PUBLICATIONS

FOREIGN AID NEGOTIATIONS – THE SWEDISH TANZANIA AID DIALOGUE.

Ole Elgstrom. Avebury, Ashgate Publishing Ltd. 1992. 179
pages.

This book or case study endeavours to treat foreign aid negotiations in a scientific way through four approaches, contextual, organisational, cybernetic – cognitive and power approaches. The author refers to what he describes as the schizophrenic nature of Swedish Aid bargaining behaviour – from basically persuasive strategies to very tough demands.

CONSERVATION AND BIODIVERSITY OF LAKE TANGANYIKA, F. C. Roest . Bulletin of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation. Wageningen, The Netherlands, 1990. A 3-page summary of an international symposium.

NUTRITION STATUS AND THE RISK OF MORTALITY IN CHILDREN 6-36 MONTHS OLD IN TANZANIA, Olivia Yambi et.al of Cornell University. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, vo1.13, no.4. 1991.

HANGING BY A THREAD. AN ACTIVE LEARNING PACK. Leeds Development Education Centre. 1992. This learning pack is designed for use in schools by 13-19 year olds. It focuses on issues of international trade and debt using cotton production in Tanzania as a case study.

URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN TANZANIA. Michael Yhdego of the Technical University of Denmark. Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 3,No. 1. 1991. 6 pages. This fact and figure filled paper is a litany of environmental problems in Dar es Salaam – especially in the Msimbazi river – which makes depressing reading.

FISHING OUT THE GENE POOL. Brian O’Riordan. Appropriate Technology Vol.18 No.4. 1992. 4 pages. This paper mentions the damage caused in Lake Victoria by the disappearance of the small nutritious fish species belonging to the genus Haplochromis of which 200 species used to be found in the Lake.

MANUFACUTRING MANAGEMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE TANZANIAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY. N.A.J. Hastings and K.A.B. Msimangira of the Monash University, Australia. International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vo1.5 No.2. 1992. 8 pages.

TNE PAYOFF OF DEVELOPING A SMALL-SCALE PHOSPHATE MIME AND BENEFICIATING OPERATION IN THE MBEYA REGION OF TANZANIA. W. van Vuuren and J . G . Hamilton of the University of Guelph, Canada. World Development, Vol.20, No.6. 1992. 12 pages.

EXPERIENCES IN HOLISTIC HEALTH DEVELOPMENT AMONG THE MASAAI OF THE ARUSHA REGION, TANZANIA. Rev. Gabriel Kimirei et.al. Contact Vo1.18, No. 124. 1992, 12 pages.

CHILD MALNUTRITION AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES IN TWO TANZANIAN VILLAGES. Margaret A. Wandel and Gerd Holmboe-Ottesen of the
University of Oslo. Health Policy and Planning; 7 ( 2 ) . 1992.

NEW PATHWAYS TO INDUSTIALISATION IN TANZANIA: THEORETICAL AND STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS. I D S Bulletin, Vol. 23, No. 3. 1992. 6 pages.

A FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF THE TRANSPORT SECTOR (World Bank Working Paper WPS 356). Ian G. Heggie and Michael Quick. World Bank. 1990. 32 pages.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA. Scott Tiffin &.al. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 1992. 212 pages including examples (from the extractive industries) from Angola, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

MATERNAL WORK, CHILD FEEDING AND NUTRITION IN RURAL TANZANIA. Margereta Wandel and Gerd Holmboe-Ottesen. Food and Nutrition Bulletin. Vol-14, No-1. Pages 49-54. 1992.

NON-PRIMARY EXPORTS OF AFRICAN LDC’S: HAVE TRADE PREFERENCES HELPED? D B and L J Truett. Journal of Developing Areas. July 1992. Pages 457-474. Examines the impact of the United States’ generalised system of preferences on four African economies including Tanzania.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. Biswas and S B C Agarwala. Butterworth-Heinemann. 1992. 249 pages. This has examples from four countries including Tanzania

DEVELOPING INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE URBAN POOR: EXPERIENCE IN KENYA, TANZANIA AND ZAMBIA. Carole Rakodi. Cities. August 1991. Pages 228-243.

IMPACT OF THE STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMS ON AFRICAN WOMEN FARMERS AND FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS. Jean M Due and G N Gladwin. American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 1991, 30 pages. Covers Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania.

LETTERS

RUBONDO ISLAND
I was particularly pleased to hear news of Rubondo Island National Park in the last issue of the Bulletin because this was the last major initiative of Peter Achard, then Senior Game Warden in the Game Department, before serious illness forced his retirement.

Peter can no longer read, but I am hoping his family will be able to convey to him that work he started still continues.
Roger Searle

THE AUTHOR WAS A SHE NOT A HE
I would like to give two comments on the review of my paper ‘The Challenge faced by the Building Materials Industries in Developing Countries in the 1990’s: with special reference to Tanzania’ in the September Bulletin. We seem to share the same views on the future of this sector in the 90s. The point which I disagree with is the suggestion that I tend to confuse “the large scale modern construction sector and the small scale traditional domestic sector’. The classification which is suggested was first introduced in this sector by O’Brien and Turin in the 1960s. They argued that in developing countries there are four separate sectors of construction, viz, ‘International Modern’, ‘National Modern’, ‘National Conversional’ and ‘Traditional’; each of which make different demands upon the building materials industries and is supplied by correspondingly separate building materials sectors. I find this approach quite misleading and untrue. I also wish to let the reviewer know that the author was a ‘she’ not a ‘he’.
Dr. Aida U. Kisanga

‘JUMA’S GOAT’
The September issue of the Bulletin, included an advertisement by Janus Publishing Co. As a result, my wife got in touch with them regarding a manuscript entitled ‘Juma’s Goat and other stories’. It was accepted and has just been published in time for Christmas. It is a book written for 11- 13 year olds about a fictional Tanzanian school boy who wanted a bicycle more than anything else. His rich uncle could have given him a bicycle, but gave him a goat in order to teach him patience and to learn to start from what is at hand. Ultimately Juma does get a bicycle. The stories have a development moral in them and are also concerned with ecology. It should prove interesting reading to children with African interests.
S.v.Sicard

LUSHOTONIANS
The meeting for those at Lushoto School from 1942-6, announced in the January Bulletin, duly took place over the weekend of August 22nd in Lugano, Switzerland. It was attended by twenty-six people from England, Kenya and Switzerland, including husbands and wives. Gazing down from a mountain restaurant at the Swiss Alps, Lushotonians fondly remembered mostly happy school days in very different surroundings fifty years ago.

The friendships formed then between very small children far from home and well educated in difficult circumstances, were very strong and have been helped by the reunion of 1989 and the hard work of the Englers of Lugano. We are now all looking forward to the next reunion in Kent in 1993.
Jane Gibbs

12 NEW POLITICAL PARTIES REGISTERED

Within four days of the passage into law of the legislation governing Tanzania’s new Multi-party system on July 1 1992, some 36 sets of application forms to be registered as political parties had been applied for.

On July 28th the first six parties were registered:

NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY (NLD) Interim leader – Emmanuel Makaidi

CHAMA CHA DEMOKRASIA NA MAENDELEO (CHADEMA) former Finance Minister Edwin Mtei and former Junior Minister Edward Barongo.

UNION FOR MULTI-PARTY DEMOCRACY (UMD) Chief Abdullah Fundikira and Christopher Kasanga Tumbo

PRAGMATIC DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE (PDA) Nicholas Munuo Ng’uni

NATIONAL CONVENTION FOR CONSTRUCTION AND REFORM (NCCR-Mageuzi) Dar es Salaam lawyer Mabere Marando and Prince Bagenda.

LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (LDP) Hillary Mapunda

Radio Tanzania announced the names of six more registered parties as we were going to press; details are not available:

SEPT – Leader said to be Mahenda
TDP – Magesa
CHAMATA – Semiono
CCD – Kaoneka
TPP – Dr Chemponda
UPDP – Dadi (Headquarters in Zanzibar)

In introducing before Parliament the Bill for the Eighth Constitutional Amendment in Dodoma on April 30 1992, Prime Minister and First Vice-President John Malecela, stated that the Government would be presenting a series of Bills in the future to implement several of the recommendations of the Nyalali Presidential Commission (Bulletin No 42) but it did not accept all of them. The Commission had proposed, for example, a new form of federation with separate governments for the Federation, the mainland and Zanzibar. The Government did not accept this proposal because, although there were problems between the present Union Government and Zanzibar (in the areas of citizenship, exchange control, division of customs revenue, and the financing of the Union) the solution did not lie in setting up a Federation which would weaken the solidarity of the nation. The present constitutional set up would continue for the time being.

POLITICAL GATHERINGS – LEGAL AND ILLEGAL
Addressing thousands of people who turned up at the Mnazi Mmoja grounds on August 7th the Chairman of CHADEMA, Mr Edwin Mtei promised to promote local industry and cut down the importation of raw materials which should be obtained from within the country.

The Interim Chairman on UMB, Chief Fundikira, speaking at his party’s first rally, called for multi-party elections within the next twelve months. The Government has announced that the elections will be in 1995.

PDA Interim Chairman Nicholas Munuo blamed Socialism and Self Reliance for Tanzania’s present woes at his first rally.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Dodoma branch of the unregistered Democratic Party, Rev Christopher Mtikila and nine others, have been arrested for holding an illegal meeting.

The constitutional debate has already brought to the fore a number of
other significant issues (in addition to the perennial debate about the
position of Zanzibar in the Union):

INDIGENISATION OR ‘ECONOMIC MAGEUZI’
“Who is handling the Bureau de Change” asked Member of Parliament for Makete during an interview in the Dar es Salaam Express. “The black people of Tanzania are not handling them because they don’t have the money to establish such activities.” But, as an Asian businessman, quoted in the same paper said “I may be of Asian origin, but as far as I’m concerned I am a Tanzanian.” So has begun what is being called the debate on Indigenisation or ‘Economic Mageuzi’. Some political parties are beginning to raise the issue.

THE RELIGIOUS TIMEBOMB
The Business Times, in an article under this heading, quoted Professor Jamanne Wagao, the Economic Advisor to Mwalimu Nyerere, as stating that the fall of the Ujamaa ideology was the man cause of the recent growth of religious militancy in Tanzania. People were searching for alternative ideologies. Sheikh Kassim bin Jima bin Khamis was quoted as called upon the government to create special seats in the legislature for representatives of religious communities as the checks and balances under a one-party state might not be there within a multi-party system. Christian militants were said to be accusing President Mwinyi of failing to take stern measures against fellow Muslims who were preaching against and insulting the Bible.

THE NEW CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES ACT

In each of the last four decades, a new Law has been passed to govern Co-operatives in Tanzania. In 1968, in response to problems caused primarily by too rapid growth, the 1932 legislation was replaced by an Act which greatly strengthened the power of the government to intervene in Cooperative affairs. In 1975, the mould-breaking Villages and Ujamaa Villages Act made each village into a single corporation responsible both for the administrative functions of local government and the commercial functions hitherto carried out by Co-operatives. Everybody in the village was automatically a member. The Rural Primary Co-operatives ceased to exist and, shortly afterwards, the District and Regional Co-operative Unions were also abolished. The 1982 Act, which was discussed in the January 1986 Bullet of Tanzanian Affairs, brought Tanzania more than half-way back to Co-operative orthodoxy. Now the 1991 Co-operative Societies Act has completed the process.

Whether the 1991 Act represents final recantation of valuable Socialist principles or the welcome return of the Prodigal Son to the Cooperative father it is an outstandingly well-written piece of legislation. In its’ way, it is as radical as the 1975 Act. Many third world countries talk about the need for legislation which gives proper autonomy to Co-operatives. Tanzania. has led the way by producing such a Law. Many of the good features of the 1982 Act are retained in the 1991 Act. However, it is the changes which are of great interest.

At the root of it all is one word in the 1991 definition, “A Cooperative Society is an association of persons who have VOLUNTARILY joined together…”. The omission of the underlined word in the 1982 definition was meant to preserve the 1975 idea that everyone in the Village was automatically a member. The 1991 Act not only restates the time-honoured Co-operative Principle of voluntary membership. Its’ details are also consistent with all the Six Principles supported by the International Co-operative Alliance.

The 1982 statement that Co-operatives act in accordance with a ‘Socialist outlook” is gone. So is the rule that all Co-operative activity in a village should be under the umbrella of one multi-purpose Co-operative and of a Co-operative Development Committee. There is practical support for small group enterprise since groups with specialized skills are allowed to register with as few as four members.

Whereas the 1982 Act required the Registrar to “exercise control” over Co-operative Societies, the new requirement is to “promote, inspect and advise”, and there is a new emphasis on the duty of providing educational support. Although the Audit Commission is preserved, Societies now have the option of choosing “any competent and registered auditor appointed by the general meeting and approved by the Registrar”.

No longer can the Registrar order Societies to amalgamate or to divide or to join a federal body. In all such matters, the Registrar has a duty to advise and, in one case, there is the sanction that members can become personally liable for debts caused by not following the Registrar’s advice,

Only Societies which are receiving financial assistance from the Government can be forced to accept government nominees on their board and the power to direct Co-operatives to sack an incompetent or dishonest manager is shifted from the Registrar to an Apex Co-operative,

The word “Apex Co-operative” has e different meaning from before, No longer does the Act DICTATE a three-tier federal structure with one Appex. Now a four-tier structure is suggested subject to the consent of members. The proposal is for a single national federation with sectoral apexes in membership. All reflections of the National Apex as a party organ parallel with youth wing and the women’s organisation (UWT) are gone.

The 1982 Act ALLOWED the Registrar gradually to delegate certain duties to the APEX ORGANISATION as soon as the Apex was judged to be competent. The 1991 Act DIRECTS the Registrar to delegate to “THE COOPERATIVES ON MUTUAL AGREEMENT”, The direction would have more force if it was accompanied by a time limit but the dropping of the judgement of competence seems important. It may represent the abandonment of a recipe for perpetual paternalism. Few paternalists abandon power if they have been directed to wait till their proteges are competent.

It is a pity that all pronouns in the new Act are still masculine. A change, especially in references to qualifications of membership, would have given a small push in right direction. Too many Co-operatives are hampered by the fact that the women who do most of the farming are not members unless they are “heads of households”,

Finally, let us hope that the full potential of this liberating legislation will be realised. The “Registered Villages and Ujamaa Villages” failed so far as they did not bring prosperity to the people. Meanwhile in the African countries, Co-operatives closer to the orthodox Western pattern were failing equally badly. The poorest third of the population need other structures if they are ever to pull themselves out of poverty. The problems have not gone away and the search for solutions as radical as those associated with Ujamaa should still be on.

The new Act permits members to shape their own Co-operatives and is also calls for additional Co-operative education. Let us hope that the educators put before the members ideas associated with Socialism and Ujamaa as well as those associated with Free Market and Competition, Unless people are encouraged to look at ideas from both sources, the chances that they will create Co-operatives that meet their needs will be unnecessarily reduced

A pessimistic interpreter can see the new Act as a jump backwards from Socialistic modes of Co-operation which did not help the poorest to older styles which did not help them either. Alternatively, it can be seen as a commitment to trust the people to choose their own modes of Co-operation, anywhere on the spectrum between Marx and Adam Smith. Let us hope the second will prove closer to the truth.
Peter Yeo