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

50 YEARS AGO (1943)

this article was included in TA 44 (Jan 1993)

THERE WOULD BE MANY UNNECESSARY CASUALTIES
The official report on the recent ‘Lodestar Exercise’ in which a ‘Japanese force’ was landed at Dar es Salaam was designed to test the arrangements for the defence of the city against enemy attack. The quality of the ‘blackout’ was much criticised. ‘Landings occurred at Msasani Beach but the failure of the Sea View air raid siren to sound the alarm caused delay in the mobilising of residents in that suburb and there would have been many casualties. It has since been traced to the last minute intrusion of a swarm of bees in the actuating mechanism, and steps have been taken to prevent a recurrence. The arrival of louder sirens, which have been on order for some time, will increase the effectiveness of the alarm – Tanganyika Standard. January 29, 1943.

FARMERS CONDEMN LABOUR POLICY
A public meeting under the chairmanship of Mr J F Anderson M.L.C., was held in Arusha on January 20. It was the largest gathering of planters and farmers since the war started – 75 being present, representing every branch of agricultural production in the Northern Province. The meeting was the outcome of frustration and bewilderment among these employers of labour.

The following resolution was passed unanimously: ‘Be it resolved that this meeting condemns the principle of Government making revenue out of the Territory’s present urgent need of conscript labour which should be delivered by Government when required at nett cost without addition of any overhead or ‘hidden’ charges. Furthermore, accommodation in rest camps en route should be provided as a public service’. The following specimen schedule was appended which was considered as the reasonable charges that might be incurred in this connection.

Medical – Shs 1/-
1 week’s feeding prior to transportation – Shs 1/40
Transport from and to Dodoma
38 labourers per lorry at 75 cents per mile – Shs 12/-
3 days food en route – Shs 0/60
Blankets – Shs 6/-

Originally Government sent a notice to farmers informing them that conscripts would be available at a charge of Shs 50 per head for 7-9 months. Mr Anderson telegraphed a protest to Government whereupon this charge was reduced to Shs. 40 per head – Tanganyika Standard, January 25, 1943.

SERIOUS EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE
The most serious earthquake Tanganyika has experienced for many years has wrecked numerous buildings and a Roman Catholic mission in a remote part of South West Tanzania – the Songea District. There were no casualties but the damage to buildings was estimated at £3,000 – London Times, November 9 1942.

RED ARMY DAY – TANGANYIKA

The celebration of Red Army Day in Tanganyika took the form of a parade in which service units, the Police and others took part. Twin flagstaffs flew the British and Russian emblems. Some of the African population appeared to be taken aback by the resemblance of the uniforms of one military unit to those of the German Askari of 1914 – shorts below the knee, khaki puttees and sunflaps down the back. Tanganyika Standard. March 5 1943.