SELOUS ELEPHANTS FACE EXTINCTION.

The elephant population in the 56,000 sq.km. Selous Game reserve has been reduced by half within the last ten years because of poaching, an official of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, said in Dar as Salaam recently, According to an aerial survey and ground count conducted in October 1986 the elephant population has been reduced from 110,000 in 1977 to just over 55,000 last year. The count also showed 11,390 elephant carcases at the time of the census.

Meanwhile the rhino situation in Selous is even worse. The census showed that the rhinoceros population had gone down from about 400 in 1977 to about 50 last year.

The rhinoceros, one of the most endangered species in the world is being hunted for its horn which is sold at Shs 100,000 per kilo in the Middle and Far East to make daggers or as an aphrodisiac. If this disastrous situation continues, the official warned, we will reach a situation where the animals will not be able to breed because they will be so far apart – Daily News

CELEBRATIONS AND REFLECTIONS ON THE 20th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARUSHA DECLARATION

THE ARUSHA DECLARATION
Date: February 5, 1967
Place: Arusha, Tanzania
Basic elements: – The TANU Creed,
– The Policy of Socialism;
– The Policy of Self-Reliance;
– TANU Membership;
– The Leadership Code.
Described at the time as: A textbook model of Third World development, one of the most coherent and constructive documents to have emerged in Africa so far – Los Angeles Times.
Actions which followed and are associated with it: Nationalisation of the “commanding heights” of the economy – the Banks, insurance companies and much of estate agriculture.

Tanzania has been celebrating. A Shs 1,2 million Heroes Monument has been unveiled in Dodoma. The Tanzanian flag has been hoisted by youths on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Other groups of young people have been walking and cycling from all over Tanzania to Dodoma to join in the celebrations. Potholes have been filled in on roads, buildings have been painted. There was music and dancing.

But there has also been a great deal of reflection. The occasion? The 20th Anniversary of the Arusha Declaration and the tenth Anniversary of the CCM Party.

It is a cliche to say that Tanzania is at a crossroads but everything seems to indicate that that is just where Tanzania is. And one of the most encouraging things about Tanzania today is the degree of freedom with which everyone joins in the discussion about the best direction for Tanzania in the future.

The Achievements
The celebrations, or, more correctly, the reflections began in December 1986 when, as reported in Bulletin No 26, President Mwinyi opened an International Conference on the Arusha Declaration in Arusha. He made a pragmatic speech, as is his custom, and began by saying that Tanzanians always knew that building socialism in a society with inherited capitalist and feudalistic tendencies would be a long process. “It is for this reason” he said, “that no time frame was established for the implementation of the Arusha Declaration. It is not surprising therefore,” he said, “that today, almost twenty years after the adoption of the Declaration, Tanzania is neither socialist nor self-reliant.”

He went on “but the process of building socialism and self-reliance has begun. It is also a fact that the foundation for further progress towards our cherished goal has already been firmly laid down. Remarkable and positive change has taken place in Tanzania since the adoption of the Arusha Declaration.

“The most fundamental principle of our socialist policy is equality among all citizens …. equality means equal access to basic social services. It also means equality in decision making on matters of interest and importance to society. It means, above all, equality in personal incomes.

“The results of our efforts to give reality to the principle of human equality are most visible in the field of education, By providing free education Tanzania has made remarkable achievements in the struggle against one of our enemies, ignorance. At the time of independence in 1961 only 486,000 children went to primary school. Today 3.7 million go. In 1961 only 11,832 pupils were enrolled in public secondary schools. In 1984 40,617 were enrolled. At independence we had one University College with only 14 students. Today we have two full universities – Dar es Salaam with 3,970 students and the Sokoine University with approaching 500 students.

“Great achievements have also been made in the field of health. By providing free medical services, the Government has ensured that no Tanzanian dies of disease because of lack of money to pay for medical care.

“The number of hospitals has increased from 98 at Independence to 149 today. The number of dispensaries has increased from 978 to more than 2,600: At the time of Independence there were only 12 Tanzanian doctors for a population of more than ten million people. The equivalent of one doctor far over 830,000 people. Now there are about 800 doctors which is equivalent to one doctor far 26,000 people. The achievements made in the field of health are clearly reflected in the quality of life. For example, infant mortality rate has fallen from 225 babies for every 1,000 children born to 137. People live longer. Life expectancy is now 51 years. This is still low compared to more advanced societies but at independence it was only 35.

“The improvement in health services has been greatly enhanced by the provision of clean water to an increasing number of people, particularly in the rural areas. In 1961 only about 11% had access to clean water. Today it is estimated that over ten million people or just under 50% of the population have access to clean water within 400 meters of their homes.

“The policy of socialism has enabled us to prevent the growth of gross inequalities in incomes between Tanzanians. For example, in 1962 the ratio of urban personal income after tax was estimated to be 18.8 to 1. In 1966 the ratio was 15.7 to 1. In 1984 the ratio was 4.9 to 1. This progress towards equality in personal incomes has been made possible through deliberate fiscal, monetary and income policies. These policies have helped us to prevent the growth of a class society”.

The Debate
The debate began at the International Conference and continued in the press and in public forums from then until the celebrations began early in February 1987. It will continue in the future as the Central Committee of the NEC began planning a further workshop on the Arusha Declaration while the celebrations were still underway.

The debate was not confined to Tanzania. Haroub Othman, writing in ‘The Observer’ looked at what he described as the “unfulfilled promise” of the Arusha Declaration. “One of its major weaknesses was its failure to provide an analysis of the Tanzanian class system; the struggle for independence and democracy and that for socialism was not addressed” he wrote. After listing some of the remarkable achievements of Tanzania especially in the social services he pointed to some of the serious policy errors that had been made, particularly in the economic sphere. “Agricultural investment has been abysmally low; less than 15%; state farms have consequently ground to a halt while the peasant farmer struggles to fend for himself, his only contact with the Government being through the various taxation mechanisms necessary to prop up bureaucracies in marketing boards.

“Agricultural production is not just stagnant: it is showing a downward curve. Tanzania now has to depend on food aid, of necessity with political strings. The performance in industry has not been much better – most industries are working at about 30% capacity if they are not shut ,down. Indiscipline, inefficiency and corruption have become the norm.

“This sad economic state has led to the virtual death of one of the Arusha Declaration’s main pillars – the Leadership Code. This sets out the code of conduct for public leaders. It essentially sought to limit the accumulation of wealth by such leaders. But the galloping inflation and the low salaries have made a total mockery of the Code. What about the Party? Ah, the man in the street will tell you, the Party is supreme. It is also specified in the Declaration as the tool for building socialism. But the grass root branches are weak – no meetings, no membership dues, no ideological classes. Consequently the Party has to be heavily subsidised by the Government, From Shs 11,124,417 in 1973/74 (39.3% of the Party’s total budget) to Shs 384,014,700 in 1984/85 (92.5% of the Party’s budget). The question is supreme to whom?”

‘Africa Now’ in the cover story of its February 1987 issue focussed on implementation of the villagisation policy. “While the villagisation policy was undoubtedly good. it was the manner with which Party and Government officials went about implementing it that exposed it to grave criticism from which it was to suffer for years to come. It was clear that the people who were handpicked to spearhead the implementation of the programme knew very little or absolutely nothing about what they were being asked to undertake, treating it more as a military style operation than as a project that might take a lifetime to accomplish ….. The failure of the overall supervising authority to discover in time what had gone wrong and to institute remedial measures was another factor which led to unfortunate results. Indeed, it was not until the second part of the decade that calls for ‘de-urbanisation’ of the ujamaa villages, so as to allow more room for agricultural undertakings, began to be voiced. But the damage had already been done”.

The article went on on the subject of the Leadership Code. “A committee was set up for the Code’s enforcement and to investigate alleged violations of it. But, over a period, it is apparent that the committee has failed in its purpose and lacks both the eyes with which to see the violations of the Code and the teeth with which to punish the miscreants”.

The Tanzanian News Agency (Shihata) in one of a series of articles during the celebrations took a strongly positive position: “The Declaration is a great document, a towering masterpiece to have emerged in Africa; it is almost a revelation, It drew acclaim from all over the world and amassed a wealth of prestige and respect for Tanzania – then and now, only a poor Third World African nation. To belittle the spirit of the document, therefore, is to despise oneself; to demand its removal is to betray the Tanzanian masses who agonised with it through its formation. To dislike it indicates a moral turpitude of self-aggrandisement and self centredness in the true spirit of the bourgeois mentality”.

At a rather lower level of rhetoric, Shihata produced a number of articles on specific aspects of the Declaration and its aftermath, For example, on the subject of the banks it wrote “the banks, most of which were foreign owned, withdrew skilled and experienced personnel in the vain hope of disrupting their operations and making the country’s financial transactions come to a standstill. But, far from wrecking the banks and slowing down economic development, the banks operated more efficiently, expanding their activities and realised more profits. The National Bank of Commerce is today giving better service to the people of Tanzania than the private banks did. The Bank now has 150 branches in the whole country compared to 41 at the time of nationalisation. ]n 1984/85 it declared a dividend of Shs 40 million”

Daily News staff writer Halima Shariff also pointed to one of the more positive elements… Tanzania today is more self-reliant in terms of indigenous experts manning various sectors of production and adopting her own development policies”. But, in a well balanced article he thought it appropriate to mention also the recent report of the Auditor General. The report had said that the Government had suffered a Shs 52,688 million loss in cash and stores in 1984/85 in 18 ministries and departments and in 14 regions. People had been apathetic about prompt accounting. He went on to welcome the Shs 120 billion Economic Recovery Programme launched in June 1986 and the allocation of between 30 and 40 per cent of annual development budgets to agriculture. He went on “we need to be more action oriented and do what we have to do today, not tomorrow”

The Socialist
Some cutting comments came from a reader of the Daily News who signed himself “Socialist” – “As I understand it, socialism is an attitude of mind; it cannot be acquired by one’s ability to propound Marxist and Leninist philosophies alone. It could be acquired by a person who believes in justice and liberty – one who hates poverty, oppression and war. Any person who has a belief in that should count himself a socialist, I believe that socialists are made from their beliefs and nothing more.

“Most of the people in our country, though of such beliefs, are scared out of socialism because of what those persons who call themselves Socialist are doing. Look around you, you may not fail to spot a person who exploits and oppresses his fellow human beings. One wonders as to whether they truly understand what they talk about when they call themselves socialists.

“It is high time the socialists, if there are any, put their own houses in order to attract other members to their fold. It is my contention that a mere lecturing of a person for three months and then give him a card does not make him a socialist.

“The Arusha Declaration is said to be a blueprint of socialist construction in Tanzania. Are we more socialist now than we were in 1967? Have the anti-socialist attitudes we had then changed? Are we not now more capitalist minded than we were in 1967? Look at our youths. What are they doing? Look at our firms. How are they managed? Look at our workers. Look at our peasants. Look at our offices. And, finally, look at our Party.

“Since we have said that socialism is an attitude of mind, it is not difficult for any person who understands socialism and who is honest with himself to judge the extent of our success in building socialism in this country since 1967”

Self – Reliance.
Meanwhile back in this country, the article by Haroub Othman in the “Guardian”, referred to above, had brought a response from one of its readers. Christine Lawrence in a letter to the Editor referred to part of his article in which he had said that the forthcoming Party Congress in October would be the last hope for socialists in Tanzania. She went on to write that: Socialist in his sense seems to imply a limited concept allied to a Western/Marxist stereotype of a socialist state. Whatever comes out of the next Party Congress will be a Tanzanian variety of socialism, and this is as it should be.

“Self-reliance is certainly not dead. As you know, the majority of people in Tanzania live in rural areas. In spite of great difficulties over the years, they have continued to be self-reliant. These are the people who elect the Government, upon whom the economy depends and for whom the Party must speak most loudly.

“As regards the “aggressive policy of seeking aid” what can a poor country do except stand on its own feet and shout? They certainly stood out a long time against the IMF terms and in so doing gave encouragement to other nations in similar dire straits. To say that this policy is not self-reliant is quite mistaken.

“Haroub Othman rightly points out that there have been some achievements in the years since the Arusha Declaration. If the time has now come to revise the Arusha Declaration, should we not regard this as a sign of growth and development?”

The Guardian printed this letter under the heading “Stand up for Self-Reliance.” And that is exactly what Mwalimu Nyerere did in his speech at the climax of the celebrations on 5th February 1987 in Dodoma. The speech occupies 32 pages; in the extracts which follow we have tried to give the main gist of the first part of this important speech. The remainder will be covered in issue No. 28. David Brewin

ADDRESS BY MWALIMU JULIUS K. NYERERE

Mr. President, Wanachama wa CCM, Wananchi,

We have a double celebration today. 20 years of the Arusha Declaration. And 10 years since Chama cha Mapinduzi came into existence.

It is a celebration. And on both counts it deserves to be. Despite all our problems, or perhaps because of our problems, we have a right to rejoice because we have reached this anniversary and enjoy peace and quiet.

Chama Cha Mapinduzi
For twelve years we had a One Party State with two parties. On February 5th 1977 we put that right. Chama Cha Mapinduzi was born. That event marked a very important step forward for Tanzania. It reduced the opportunity for dangerous intrigue against the independence and unity of our nation. Few people in the world have noticed the great success of that move. For it is only when you fail that the rest of the world comments. Yet CCM has already proved its worth. When enemies of our unity tried to divide us, Chama Cha Mapinduzi was able quickly and in unity to clean up the political atmosphere where it had got soiled. But we still have a lot of work to do.

When CCM was formed, we all said that we hoped it would take the good points of both TANU and ASP and forget the bad. In some things that has happened. But it has not always happened.

At some time since then CCM has got lax. We allowed our record of unity to make us big headed and lazy. Many of our Branches and Cells do not hold meetings in accordance with the constitution. That means that democracy within the Party was weakened. How can members control their Party and help decide its policy when they don’t meet. And when meetings are held, they are not meetings for discussion, but just to listen to speeches and take orders from leaders. In these conditions it is hard for our leaders to learn what the people think. This too means that our democracy has been weakened.

But at District, Regional and National level, meetings have always been held regularly. And at all Party Committee meetings we have the very good practice of discussing everything openly and frankly. Also four other things have ensured that the peoples problems have always been brought to the attention of the national Party and the Government.

First, our people are politically conscious – resulting from long term political education. Secondly, we have a Parliament and Revolutionary Council where the troubles of the people are discussed openly and without fear. Thirdly, we have a good number of Party members and leaders who have remained very active, And, fourthly, we have a Government and Party press which has drawn attention to faults and problems as well as successes.

As a result, our democracy has been maintained. And to strengthen that democracy further, the Party has begun to correct its faults. District, Branch and Cell elected leaders are now more concerned to call meetings; for if meetings are not held they have to explain why. The improvement is not universal yet; and the system of checking up does not operate everywhere yet. But it will.

I am less confident of progress in the second area. I do not know whether real discussion does now take place when Party meetings are held. Nor am I sure that, if any discussion does take place at Branch meetings, it includes a consideration of what they can do to solve a local problem. And if this does happen I am doubtful about how often the meeting makes plans, and then acts to overcome the difficulty – by local effort.

Our Party is very good at mobilising people for a rally, a mass meeting like this one or the reception of an honoured guest. We are not so good at organising the people for voluntary work to solve their own problems.
And when a big celebration is to take place, it is very easy for the Party to decide to put a cess on something which is produced or sold locally. This is a mistake. First it is not the job of the Party to put a cess on goods; this is the responsibility of the Government. And, secondly, the ease of acting in that way encourages laziness in the Party.

Party elections take place this year. The possibility of losing their jobs always wakes people up! An election also gives Party members a chance to get rid of leaders who have failed them or to re-elect those who have tried to carry out their responsibilities. Just now there is a great deal of activity in the country! In pointing that out I am not campaigning – for anyone!. I am just saying that CCM is here to stay.
When the Party celebrates its 20th anniversary I believe it will be stronger, more socialist, and still more firmly rooted among the people.

The Arusha Declaration
Today we are also celebrating 20 years of the Arusha Declaration. It was one of the good things taken over by the CCM from one of its constituent parties!

The Arusha Declaration defines the ideology of the Party. It is our basic statement of purposes and principles; it is the foundation of all Party and Government decisions.

In the course of time every basic document deserves review to see whether it still applies to changed conditions. The American Constitution is over 200 years old and still valid; but it has been amended 26 times. So it is not surprising that some people whisper that the Arusha Declaration needs revision.

Even I agree that it does. One obvious example is the need for a new edition with the word CCM instead of the word TANU – throughout! Apart from things like that, let us look at it again.

The Creed
Part One sets out the Creed ~ the ideology of the Party:
– That all human beings are equal;
– That every individual has a right to dignity and respect;
– That every citizen is an integral part of the nation and has
the right to take an equal part in Government ……. and so on. All the nine principles are of this kind. So who wants to change them? There may be a few individuals who do, but they are certainly not the Peasants and Workers of Tanzania. There is nothing to amend – unless we want to improve,the style and the punctuation!

Policy of Socialism
Part 2 of the Arusha Declaration defines what socialism is. It is important to understand this Part very thoroughly, for all sorts of things get called socialism these days!

This Part 2 has four sections. The first explains exploitation, and says that exploitation of man by man is incompatible with socialism. And it concludes: “Tanzania is a nation of peasants and workers, but it is not yet 11 socialist society. It still contains elements of feudalism and capitalism with their temptations. These feudalistic and capitalistic features of our society could spread and entrench themselves”

That was said 20 years ago, but it is still true. It is not easy to root out the foundations of capitalism and feudalism from any society. And when a country is in serious economic difficulties – as we are – the capitalists use the problem as a means of trying to get it to abandon its socialist ambition. They try to persuade the people as a whole, and the chicken-hearted socialists, to abandon the path which has brought them to where they are now. They tell them that if they would use a different and non-socialist path they would be more prosperous, and they would not experience any difficulties. Converting our people away from socialism is the objective of the capitalists and exploiters all over the world, as well as of their followers in Tanzania. Yet I do not believe the capitalists will succeed.

Secondly, the Arusha Declaration says that to root out exploitation the major means of production and exchange must be “controlled and owned by the peasants through the machinery of their Government and their cooperatives”.

But the Declaration does not go into detail about what should be owned by the nation, what by local authorities, what by cooperatives. Nor does the Declaration say what sections can be controlled by means other than public ownership. It says land must be publicly owned; but it does not say “the 100 acre shamba owned by one person must be nationalised; the 99 acre shamba owned by a different person must not be nationalised”. It leaves the Government, under the general guidance of the Party. and in the light of circumstances at any one time, to do what is necessary to implement the principle of public ownership and control.

So when a new problem comes up, we again discuss and decide what should be publicly owned, and what economic activities of the nation can be controlled by other means – whether by licencing, by taxation or something else.

Tanzania has already completed the task of taking the major means of production and exchange into public ownership. This is a vitally important achievement in any country, especially in a Third World country, which is trying to build socialism.

We criticise the efficiency of some of the Parastatals which run these enterprises on our behalf. And we reorganise them from time to time – sometimes even allowing some minor units to go back to private ownership. But we do not revise the principles of public ownership and control. There are those who would like us to do so but they are not socialists. Public ownership and control is an essential element in socialism.

The third section of this part of the Arusha Declaration emphasises that “true socialism cannot exist without democracy also existing in the society”. How can that be denied? Socialism is based on the principle of human equality and dignity. Every person must be able to take part in their government.

It is true that real progress towards socialism is difficult if the capitalists succeed in using democracy to confuse the mass of the people about the meanings and implications of socialism. They then vote for non-socialists. But you certainly cannot build socialism, or maintain it, unless it is understood, and rests on the will of the people and the support of the people. You cannot force people to be free or to be socialists!

The final section of this part of the Arusha Declaration says that socialism is more than organisations or slogans. It is an ideology and a belief – an attitude of mind. “A socialist society can only be built by those who believe in, and who themselves practice, the principles of socialism”.

Our experience shows the need for socialist commitment by leaders which includes all Party members. Our socialist progress has been hindered by some dishonest, selfish, Party leaders and members who support socialism with their mouths but not with their actions. Such people bring discredit on the CCM and on the doctrine of socialism.

Self-Reliance
Part 3 of the Arusha Declaration deals with Self-Reliance. It starts by saying “TANU is involved in a war against poverty and oppression in our country; this struggle is aimed at moving the people of Tanzania from a state of poverty to a state of prosperity.” You don’t need me to tell you we have not won that war! After a very good start we have experienced many setbacks.

The next section is headed “A poor man does not use money as a weapon.” We said that in 1967 because very many people were constantly demanding that the Government give them money in order to bring development. But today we still talk in the same way. We still seem to think that the money is there and the trouble is the Minister of Finance.

We still talk as if without money there can be no development of any kind. Ask why the office is dirty – “no money.” Why the streets are full of rubbish “no money”. Usually these days there is the additional excuse – “there is no foreign exchange”. Or “Hali ya hewa ni mbaya” (conditions are bad).

Yet we know that the amount of money a country has is a sign of how developed it is. America is a developed country; its national income is equivalent to 15,390 U.S. Dollars for every citizen. Tanzania is not developed. Our national income is equivalent to 210 U.S. Dollars for every citizen. Thus it is obvious that it would be very stupid indeed for us in Tanzania to try to imitate these wealthy people either in our everyday lives or in our plans for economic development.

But we can still develop ourselves on the basis of self-reliance. Our development strategy has to be based on what we can do for ourselves.

That is what the Arusha Declaration said 20 years ago. And now we know it to be true – from experience.

Of course there are some things you cannot do without money. So we are grateful for the aid we have received from friendly countries and people … But the aid is given to help our own efforts, not to put us to sleep …. Now however, some people don’t think of doing anything for themselves. A village school is needed – we ask for aid; a maize mill – we ask for aid. And if we ask why these things have not been built they say we have not yet got a donor!

That approach was always contrary to the Arusha Declaration. Now it is absurd also.

Often now Government is told “we will lend you money if you abandon your socialist policies”. That is what the Arusha Declaration said would happen. It is obvious that if we depend on money for our development when we don’t have any money, we shall become slaves of those who do have it, The proverb says: the rich govern the poor, and he who borrows is the slave of he who lends, The Arusha Declaration says~ to govern yourself is to be self-reliant. All the governments of Tanzania have refused to agree to pal i Hcal conditions for aid or loans. That is true of President Mwinyi’s Government as it was for mine.

But it is obvious that we have to remain vigilant. The IMF is not a friend of Tanzania. It is an institution used by the imperialist countries which govern it to control the economy of a poor country and destabilise the governments of countries they do not like. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. So let us be vigilant! If you agree to give them a goat they will demand a camel.

(Mwalimu Nyerere went on to emphasise the vital importance of agriculture in Tanzania’s economy and the need to concentrate effort on the peasant farmer rather than on large scale farming. He spoke briefly about Party membership – again the Arusha Declaration did not need changing – and then spoke at some length on the Leadership Code. He had no objection to leaders making a little extra money in their spare time but said that the Code must be maintained in its essentials. “If some leaders break the Code what should we do? Abandon the Code? Religious leaders try to reform those of their followers who sin. If reform does not take place, the sinners are expelled from the Mosque or Church. CCM is not a religious Party but we have the ideology and rules of socialists. When we enter the Party all of us promise to adopt this ideology and follow these practices. And if we break that promise the Party has the right to try to get us to reform. If it does not succeed it has the right to expel us”.
We hope to publish further extracts in our next issue – Editor

FIVE WOMEN IN NEW CABINET

The Honourable Anne Makinda, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister and First Vice President was clearly delighted to be the first to pass on the news to the Bulletin, during her recent visit to Britain, that President Mwinyi now had five women in his Cabinet. She suggested that in publishing the news of the Government reshuffle, which took place on March 23rd 1987, we should make quite clear in our heading that Tanzanian women had taken a further big step forward.

The changes were brought about as the result of the failure of the Minister of Trade and Industry (Mr. Basil Mramba) to win his disputed election case.

Amongst the principal changes were the following. Firstly, a new Ministry has been created to be responsible solely for Water. The Minister is Mr Pius Ngw’andu. Mr Paul Bomani, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development became Minister of Labour and Manpower Development. The former Minister of Labour, Mr Daudi Mwakawago became Minister of Trade and Industries. The Minister of Education, Mr Jackson Makweta became Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development and his post was taken by Professor Kighoma Ali Malima. Mrs Gertrude Mongela took over the additional responsibility for Lands to add to her existing portfolio in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.

A further change was a lightening of the load on the President’s Office. Ne now remains with only one Minister of State – Mrs Anna Abdalla. The Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs and Planning now has two Ministers of State – Messrs Damas Mbogoro and Simai Pandu Mohamedi. Similarly, the Minister of Communications and Works now has a second Deputy Minister (J. J. Gachocha). Mrs Amina Salum Ali took over a new post in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with responsibility for International Cooperation. Mrs Fatma Said Ali remains Minister for Community Development, Culture, Youth and Sports.

MUSIC – RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN TANZANIA

Zanzibar has launched a National Arts and Music Council (BASAMU) according to the Daily News, It is designed to help the Ministry of Information, Culture and Sports to revive, preserve and promote music, art and other forms of entertainment.

Meanwhile, on the mainland, Mr John Mgandu, Lecturer in Music and Theatre at the University of Dar es Salaam, told the Bulletin recently that there has been an encouraging increase of interest in choir singing. Previously, he said, choirs had been largely confined to churches and schools. Nowadays however many parastatals, the Police, the TPDF and other organisations have their own choirs, employing a mixture of Tanzanian and Western musical elements with Western harmony.

The Music Conservatoire of Tanzania held a very well attended (200 people) concert on January 30th in Dar es Salaam. Mrs L.E. Crole-Rees, the Principal Tutor and Manager, told the Bulletin that the Conservatoire had been founded originally in 1966 and in 1986 had provided individual instruction to over 150 different pupils. Subjects studied included Beginners Music, Clarinet, Flute, Guitar, Piano, Recorder, Violin and the Theory and History of Music.

The Conservatoire has also published an illustrated booklet entitled “Traditional Musical Instruments of Tanzania”. The Conservatoire is also in the process of producing a more comprehensive booklet with sections on Idiophones (percussion instruments eg: Reed box rattles from Kayamba, Hembraphones (drums), Aerophones (wind instruments eg: Filimbi- flutes and Lilandi-dry gourds), Chordophones (stringed instruments eg: Zeze-fiddles) and Enanga (a zither from Mwanza region).

The Conservatoire, which operates from two small rooms on Sokoine (formerly City) Drive has difficulty in obtaining books on music and certain specific types of sheet music. Any music lover able to help is invited to write to Mrs Crole-Rees at P.O. Box 1397, Dar es Salaam.
David Brewin

RICE, CLOVES AND CROP DIVERSIFICATION IN ZANZIBAR

(Based on an interview Zanzibar’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock gave to the Bulletin in January 1987 – Editor)

In Zanzibar, the main staple food is rice. There are also maize, cassava and bananas. Because of its importance and the fact that we have to pay very heavily for the 50,000 tons we have to import, the Government is putting great emphasis on rice growing. One project, which has been going on for ten years (five years was spent on research) aims ultimately to irrigate 5000 hectares. So far we have developed some 600. The UNDP/FAO and World Food Programme have been helping us and it is apparent that with help, our farmers could produce two or three times the amount of rice they are producing now. In cassava and bananas we are self-sufficient.

In the cash crop area Zanzibar has a monocrop agricultural system depending on cloves. And prices have gone down severely. At one time we were selling cloves at $9,900 a ton. Today we get only $3,500 to $4,000. Mr D.L. Heydon from Britain’s Tropical Development Research Institute (TDRI) produced a very useful report for us (Clove Producer Price Policy. April-May 1986) in which he recommended us to raise the producer price. In doing so we would encourage farmers to collect the full harvest each year.

We accepted the recommendation and first grade cloves are now being bought from farmers at Shs 72 per kilo compared with Shs 25 last year. We have already seen beneficial results. Fields are being kept much cleaner. We hope to be able to review the price each year in accordance with the rise in production costs and in world market prices.

Because we are walking on this one leg however, we risk falling down. We are therefore trying to diversify. We hope to develop spices such as vanilla, black pepper, chillies, and cardamom as cash crops. We are undertaking research but are not sure whether these new crops will be economic. We are also therefore making efforts to further develop other cash crops including citrus and other fruits.
Hon. Soud Yussuf Mgeni

BOOK REVIEWS

William Ostberg, THE KONDOA TRANSFORMATION: COMING TO GRIPS WITH SOIL
EROSION IN CENTRAL TANZANIA
. Research Report no. 76, Scandinavian Institute of Agricultural Studies, Uppsala, Sweden. 99p.

The problems of land degradation and conservation have been brought into the international limelight by the recent famines in the semi-arid regions of Africa. It is a matter of concern that there appears to be so little to show for the amount of effort that has gone into soil conservation. This is often because ‘the ideas and the techniques involved have not been taken up, or have even been actively opposed by the local farming population. It is thus very encouraging to read of a programme that has been successful because it has won the support of the farmers.

Kondoa became notorious in Tanzania for its extreme examples of soil erosion. Spectacular gullies scarred the hillsides, while broad sand rivers spilled over the agricultural land of the plains. The present soil conservation project, known as HADO (Hifadhi ya Ardhi Dodoma) began in 1973, but the transformation of the landscape dates from 1979 when cattle were excluded from the most severely eroded land; since then the vegetation has recovered rapidly, soil erosion has been greatly reduced, and formerly devastated land is being turned into productive farmland.

The author undertook a socio-economic study of the Kondoa eroded area during February and March 1955, and this report relates his findings to the history of the area and of the project. His analysis of the historical background takes us back to the 19th Century, and the demands placed on the countryside by the caravan trade. Since then the cultivated land area has increased with the growing population, and in particular, the “expansionist” agriculture of the dominant Rangi people. But perhaps the most serious problem has been the livestock that traditionally have been allowed to graze freely over all the land. Attempts at soil conservation during Colonial times led to the adoption of improved cultivation methods and rotational grazing schemes, but attempts at reducing the livestock population failed.

The HADO Project started on conventional lines. Land which was to be rehabilitated was closed to grazing. Then contour banks and check dams were built, and trees and grass were planted. Machines were used initially, but these were soon replaced by hand labour. By 1979 the project management realised that this job would take a hundred years, and it was expensive. The major benefit of all the work had been in fact the increased vegetation cover once the livestock was excluded. Therefore, why not exclude livestock from the whole eroded area for a limited period?

This was done. It succeeded despite the reluctance of the local people to part with their livestock, and there were confrontations; in one incident a HADO worker was killed. Other operations were also opposed. Plantations were sited on eroded land that had been cultivated previously; resentful farmers have burnt some of them. Gradually, however, people have come to see the advantages of the measures. Cultivators find that they can plant more land, some of which was formerly reserved for grazing, and with the improved vegetation cover and reduced runoff the lowlands have been restored to productivity. The plantations are becoming more popular as poles can be bought cheaply and firewood is free.

Now the project is considering how livestock can be re-introduced to the area without undoing all the progress that has been achieved, If this can be done there will be lessons in the HADO Project for soil conservation in many parts of Africa.

The report is well structured and easy to read. Sadly, it lacks a summary, though one can be obtained separately. As so much literature on development problems is not published by commercial publishers, it is important that work such as this is presented in a form which can be entered into the specialist databases that now cover the subject – a summary would therefore be invaluable.
A.J.E. Mitchell