The Minister for Education, Ndugu Jackson Makweta, has praised the presence of British volunteers in different sectors of Tanzania’s development as an indicator of co-operation between the two countries. The Minister said this on June 30th 1986 when opening a conference of the British Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO), which coincided with the commemoration of 25 years of British Volunteer Service in Tanzania. Ndugu Makweta noted that, with the decision to put extra effort into the teaching of English, more language teaching experts, including the British volunteers would be needed to improve the teaching of language in secondary schools and colleges. He thanked the organisation foi- its decision to bring more volunteers next year on top of the more than 80 now working in the agricultural, livestock, forestry, health, community development and education sectors – Daily News,

The television programme on the Groundnut Scheme sought to put the blame on Mr. Strachey but in fact there were many to blame. Leaving the apportionment of guilt aside why did things turn out as they did ? One might as well ask why a baby who can’t even crawl can’t succeed in the 200m hurdles. No-one knew how to do the job, and those of us who knew how to find out did not have the time to do it. I went to Kongwa on the same train as the first bulldozers. Had there been less pressure, more time, and a proper sequence of investigation, pilot scale trials, training and practical planning, the job could probably have been done (though not in the agricultural pattern intended at the start) in the Southern Province, Kongwa was too dry: it is cattle country; Urambo was too wet for groundnuts but we did well enough with tobacco.

Large schemes can be successful – do not forget the Sudan Gezira. Large mechanised rain fed developments can succeed if the limits of management are of such a size that individual entrepreneurs and producers can handle them as in Zimbabwe, Kenya, the semi-mechanised sorghum in the Sudan, and the Punjab on both sides of the Indus. But in all these cases the sequence of investigation and pilot scale trial (and error!) leading up to training and planning have been more or less followed.

Perhaps the saddest outcome of the Groundnut Scheme is that many observers have run scared of broad development thinking and have taken to seeing development as a process which seeks to conserve what is and fears to consider new ways in a changing world. The population of Sub- Saharan Africa 100 years hence, will be five times what it is now. The old ways won’t do; we must have new ones on a large scale. However much small scale producers may be able to contribute, we already see larger scale ones entering the action using their own capital and management competence. The jot of increasing output at lower unit cost of product seems likely to come increasingly from them. It need not, but I think in many cases it will.
Prof, A. H. Bunting.
Reading University

The British Council in its annual booklet “Statistics of Students from Abroad in the United Kingdom” for the academic year 1984-85 reports that there were 225 (including 29 women) students from Tanzania in British universities. Of these, 192 were post-graduates and 33 under-graduates and 172 were in their first year of study. A further 62 (13 women) were studying in polytechnics (28 in the 1st year) and 103 (26 women) were in other institutions of higher and further education (79 in the 1st year). The grand total of all foreign students in Britain in 1964/85 was 55,608 including 28,232 from the Commonwealth and 6,128 from EEC countries.

The economic crisis continues to pre-occupy the minds of all who are concerned about Tanzania. In this issue we concentrate on three aspects of the crisis: the possibility of an agreement with the IIF; the new relationship between the Government and the Party arising out of Mwalimu Nyerere’s retirement; and agriculture. In his article “Tanzania: A Time For Decision” Colin Legum writes about the first two of these issues. It is possible that by the time this Bulletin is in your hands, some of the key decisions to which he refers will have been taken. An inkling of the way in which the discussions are being conducted is explained in the article “Seminars and Workshops”.

But half of this issue is a sixteen page supplement on the prime mover (or, as some tight say, non-mover) of Tanzania’s economy – agriculture.

Two of the British contributors to this supplement have been in Tanzania recently.

Andrew Coulson writes, – I recently returned to Tanzania for the first time since 1979. Not much had changed. There is a striking new terminal at Dar es Salaam airport, even more parastatals (430 according to the Daily News), and a burst of building in Dar es Salaam, not least along the Bagamoyo road. The city now has 1.7 million inhabitants, almost ten times its population in 1967. But it doesn’t feel like that since transport is so unpredictable and expensive that life has increasingly moved to the suburbs. When I was there, in February, everything was green. Clouds, greeness, availability of fruits and quick-yielding vegetables, the visibility of many new cars and pick-ups on the streets, and the fact that most of the large buildings had recently been painted, gave the city a relatively prosperous appearance. But what had changed were the prices: 8/- for buses from the university to town; 120/- for a tube of toothpaste, 4/- to 10/- for a mango; 31- to 4/- for an orange, 30/- for a bar of soap, 500/- for a bedsheet, and 1/- for ten roast groundnuts in a tiny polythene bag. The minimum wage is 800/- a month, this is insufficient to house and bring up a family. But meanwhile the value of foreign exchange has not changed. The pound still exchanges for about 20/-. This is almost the same as its colonial period value.”

Another contributor, Michael Stocking suffered another kind of shock. He was robbed on the mountain road near Amani in Tanga Region losing all his belongings, two months data from work done for the FAO in Zimbabwe, and the manuscript for part of a book he is writing. Getting out of Tanzania without money, passport or an air ticket, he describes as an “interesting experience”. He told me that thanks must go to the border guards at Namanga for taking pity on him and letting him cross into Kenya without so much as a single piece of paper, the Regional Representative of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Nairobi for his care and concern and Belgian World Airlines for taking home an unticketed, very dirty and poor passenger with no luggage!.
David Brewin.

The whole thing started in 1962. In the spring of that year, John (J.V) Shaw, whom many will remember as a senior member of the Provincial Administration in what was then Tanganyika, was appointed General Secretary of the Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship which was then based at 38 Chesham Place, London, SV1. John’s appointment was very shortly followed by the election of the late Lord Twining to be Chairman of the League.

These appointments were being made only shortly after Tanganyika had achieved her independence in December 1961. The months immediately following this event were marked by the return to Britain of a considerable number of people who had previously been in Government service in that country.

Now, no-one who remembers the ebullient personality of Lord Twining who had been Governer from 1949-1958 will be the least bit surprised to learn that he gave encouragement to the view that it would be a splendid thing if, from time to time during the year, informal gatherings should take place so as to reunite those of us who had lived or worked (and, as I am fond of pointing out, some of us actually did both) in Tanganyika. And what better place to hold these meetings than the Victoria League with John Shaw by then firmly in the saddle?

According to John’s own memory, which must surely be the best authority available, this first “get-together” was in late 1962 or just possibly, early 1963. In any event, we are assuming it was in 1962, and so we shall, this year, treat the 1986 party as our Silver Jubilee. There may be some raised eyebrows at the need for such an assumption. Surely our records should put the matter beyond doubt? Certainly, but as far as I or anyone else can discover, there just ain’t no records. I did say the gatherings were informal!

Obviously, however, they were successful for by 1971 no less than three sundowners were being held each year. They were always held at the Victoria League under John Shaw’s genial management and John was ably assisted on the clerical side by Nora Young.

My records go back to 1971, the last year in which the Victoria League was host to these gatherings. The charge was then 10/- each. Some time in early 1972 at just about the same time that John Shaw retired from the General Secretaryship, the Victoria League decided upon a major change of policy which involved the future usage of 38 Chesham Place.

I was asked by two former Provincial Commissioners, Mike Molohan and “Fanny” Waldron if I would be prepared to take over the running of the reunions and find a venue. They had already recruited Vicky Young who had recently retired from the East Africa Office in Trafalgar Square, to assist me with the administration and paperwork of these gatherings. I gulped and said “yes” and little did I imagine at the time that 14 years later the parties would still be happening. Vicky has been a tower of strength aver all these years.

The first decision that we came to was to reduce the number of parties to two each year. The second, after a good deal of shopping around, was that we would hold them at the Royal Overseas League. On this basis we continued until 1986. All the time great care had to be taken to balance the budget, for we had (and have) virtually no reserves to fall back on to cover any possible losses.

In 1977 after considering the numbers then attending in relationship to the cost, we decided to reduce the frequency to one party each year. At about that time also we decided to change the venue to the Royal Commonwealth Society. I discovered also that if the date could be arranged to coincide with the Test Match at Lords, there was an added incentive for those living in, for example, Scotland or the West country to come up to London.

Inflation and the increasing costs which resulted also persuaded us that we must budget so as to be on the safe side of danger. As a result we have been able, since then, to make each year a modest donation to the Overseas Pensioners’ Benevolent Fund from the usually equally modest surpluses.

So now the reunions continue. It is remarkable how each year we seem to attract new “recruits” who have only recently heard of the function for the first time.

The parties are open to everyone with Tanganyika connections, their spouses and children of drinking years. For several years now we have been delighted and honoured to entertain H. E. the High Commissioner and his wife as our guests. People really seem to enjoy themselves; certainly so if noise is to be the criterion.

Long may they continue! Vicky and my wife (who helps a lot) and I are determined that they shall do so as long as people show that they like coming and as long as we can keep them financially viable.
Gerry Finch

In a debate on his Ministry’s estimates in the last session of the National Assembly the Minister of Justice, Ndugu Joseph Warioba (who has now become Prime Minister) stated that the Government does not intend to abolish private legal practice but will look into better ways of providing the service to the majority of the people. Ndugu Warioba, said that the Government had always considered defence counselling a service that should be made available to everybody. However, private legal service was now a “business” and it was only the rich and urban people who could get the service; the poor and rural people did not get it.

The Minister who was answering points raised by MPs during the debate in which the law-makers opposed Government plans to abolish private practice, recalled that the Msekwa Commission on Defence Counselling formed some years back had also upheld the need to maintain private legal practice. He said the Government had agreed with the proposal but had rejected one which had suggested the establishment of some kind of institution to assist people in legal defence as this would have looked like a Government department.

He said that a new defence counselling system that would extend its services to people in the rural areas was essential.

On the congestion in prisons the Minister said his ministry would strive to clear pile ups of cases and strengthen procedures for investigating and prosecuting. He suggested, however, that one way of easing the problem was to grant bail to people facing petty cases. He said, for example, that it served no purpose to remand people charged for not
paying development levy.

Mr Peter Bruinvels, Conservative Member of Parliament for Leicester East recently raised the matter of the future status of two of the Tanzanian hijackers still in Britain. The hijack of a Tanzanian Boeing 737 took place on an internal flight to Dar es Salaam on February 26 1982.

The plane eventually landed at Stansted, where the hijack ended without bloodshed. Five Tanzanians were later sentenced to a total of 27 years in prison.

Mr Bruinvels addressed Mrs Thatcher as “the Prime Minister of a country which abhors terrorism and all it stands for.” He asked “why have the Tanzanian terrorists who came to Stansted been given an amnesty and allowed to stay here for a year after serving term of imprisonment?”

Mrs Thatcher replied that those who carried out the Tanzanian hijack in 1982, and had been caught, had been sentenced to considerable prison sentences; some were now out of prison. Because of an undertaking given at the time which has been interpreted as saying they would not be returned to Tanzania, they have been refused asylum here but allowed to stay for another 12 months.

Buildings nationalised under the 1971 Buildings Acquisitions Act will remain public property despite amendments to the law, which were passed by the National Assembly in Dar es Salaam recently. The amendments withdrew the Presidential powers to acquire certain buildings under the 1971 Act.

The Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Ndugu Kingunge Ngombale-Mwiru, said that the proposed changes were in line with President Nyerere’s announcement authorising private individuals to undertake real estate development. The Minister explained, however, that the changes take effect from May 1985, which meant that buildings already acquired under the Act would remain public property.

Pointing out that the government move would result in a rush for plots by land developers, Ndugu Ngombale-Mwiru directed urban and district councils to observe their respective town plans while allocating new plots. The Minister told MPs that the circumstances which led to the enactment of the Buildings Acquisition Act were no longer relevant. He explained, for example, that when the law was enacted, residential areas in urban areas were distinguished on the basis of the colour of residents. Each town had an area for the Waswahili, the Wahindi and the Wazungu. Ndugu Ngombale-Mwiru said this discrimination made the urban areas potentially explosive politically. He told the House that the situation had since been transformed and settlement in towns was no longer based on race.