WINNERS AND LOSERS

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THE CCM
Over 40 former CCM MP’s including Education Minister Dr. Philemon Sarungi and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office and five Regional Commissioners failed at the first hurdle and were not selected as candidates for the election. Most former cabinet ministers and CCM leaders won their seats easily.

Former Prime Ministers John Malecela and Cleopa Msuya had no difficulty in winning their seats – Malecela at Mtera by 27,368 against CUF’s 1,052 and Msuya at Mwanga, Kilimanjaro by 23,134 against NCCR’s 3,352. Mr George Kahama head of the Investment Promotion Centre had no difficulty in winning in Karaqwe, Bukoba by 24,290 to NCCR’s 15,591 and UDP’s 5,433 votes.

NCCR-MAGEUZI
NCCR did very well in Moshi region and comfortably won seats in Moshi Urban and Rural, Vunjo, Hai and Siha; it also won in Iringa Urban, Arusha Urban, Rorya, Mbeya Urban, Muleba North, Urambo East, Musoma Rural and Bunda.

Mwalimu Nyerere’s son Charles Makongoro Nyerere sprang a surprise by winning a closely fought battle in Arusha for NCCR; he got 27,977 votes against C M Felix,

Deputy Attorney General (26,813) and a disappointing 9,085 for the respected one-time Finance Minister and CHADEMA leader Edwin Mtei. Makongoro’s father, Mwalimu Nyerere had earlier joked “My household is really in the forefront of reform. I have CCM, CUF and NCCR followers”. Daughter-in-law Leticia Nyerere is the daughter of CUF Chairman Musebi Mageni.

The lawyer Dr Masumbuko Lamwai who took the opposition case to annul the elections to the High Court three times without success and was reprimanded by the judges in the case for ‘turning the court into a political circus,’ won Ubungo in Dar es Salaam, after insisting on standing in spite of his party’s boycott of the second Dar es Salaam election.

Former Justice and Consitutional Affairs Minister Samuel Sitta, who has been MP for the area for 20 years was narrowly beaten (10,788 to 9,497) in Urambo East by NCCR’s Msina Jacob Abraham .

Mr Stephen Wassira, a former Deputy Minister of Agriculture defected to the NCCR after complaining that money changed hands during the CCM candidate selection process at Bunda (Mara). He then won the seat for NCCR with 18,815 votes against former Prime Minister Joseph Warioba’s 17,527. Warioba has appealed to the High Court against the result.

Ndimara Tegamwage, Chairman of the 12-nation Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) won for NCCR in Muleba North.

One of the youngest MP’s, if not the youngest, is Mr James Mbatia, the NCCR party’s election director who swept in with a massive 54,724 votes against CCM’s 6,468 at Vunjo, Moshi.

CHADEMA
CHADEMA’s P S Willbroad got 20,015 votes defeating the veteran politician P S Qorro CCM (16,781) in Karatu, Arusha. Dr. A W Kabourou, who appealed against his defeat in the Kigoma Town seat by-election last year and won his appeal, beat narrowly (15,478 to 15,205) the same opponent, CCM businessman A S Premji who is appealing against the new result. And former Minster Basil Mramba lost in Rombo, Moshi to CHADEMA’s J A Salakana by 35,132 (CHADEMA), 23,610 (NCCR) and 11,388 (CCM).

UDP
UDP won Bariadi West, Bariadi East and Kisesa all in Shinyanga region.

SMALLER PARTIES
There were 13 parties in the election but the eight smaller parties did badly.

What the opposition parties did do was to wreck the chances of NCCR-Mageuzi gaining a number of seats where the combined opposition vote was greater than that of CCM. Examples of this were Morogoro Town, Buyungu, Bukoba town, Kigoma South, Kigoma North, Ukerewe (where speaker of the House Pius Msekwa stood) and Nzega; in Tabora South TADEA’s C Tumbo would have won if the other opposition candidates had made way for him.

ASIAN CANDIDATES
Tanzania’s continuing racial tolerance was illustrated by the success of a number of Asian CCM candidates: businessman Abbas Gulamali Mohamedali won in Kilombero; M M Mudhikur in Mchinga, Lindi, R Aziz in Igunga, Tabora and Bohoran leader, Adamjee Zainuddin Tayabali at Kawe in Dar es Salaam.

WHY DIDN'T THE OPPOSITION DO BETTER?

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Firstly, there was a return of some ethnic feeling as the NCCR came to be regarded more and more as a Chagga party. Secondly, there were fears – many will consider them irrational – about how far the unpredictable populist Augustine Mrema might go if he became president. Could he become another Idi Amin? Would Tanzania become another Rwanda? Was he prepared to accept advice or would he rule alone? Thirdly (Mr. Mrema considered this to be the main cause of his defeat) there was the powerful intervention of Mwalimu Nyerere who was indefatigable in making his point (which was broadcast on national radio) that Mkapa was the only person fit to be president and Mrema was particularly unfit. Fourthly, the opposition was fragmented. The NCCR-Mageuzi insisted on putting up candidates in every seat and Mrema’s failure to establish an alliance with CUF, as a result of his abortive attempt to appoint veteran politician A M Babu a his Vicepresidential running mate, damaged his chances further.

Fifthly, the CCM gained a substantial advantage from the decision to pay subsidies to all candidates standing in the election thus encouraging small parties to stay in the race even where they had no hope of winning. Sixthly, the opposition failed to concentrate on registering its Supporters at the crucial time. Many of those in the vast throngs who attended Mrema rallies around the country could not vote for him when the time came. Finally, Mrema’s performance in the TV and Radio debate compared poorly with that of other presidential candidates.

PRESIDENT MKAPA DECLARES WAR ON CORRUPTION

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The new president’s first action on taking up office was to declare his assets. He owns two houses – one in Dar es Salaam and one in his home town Masasi – an undeveloped farm, and four cars.

As he entered the new National Assembly for its first meeting, opposition MP’s joined in the applause. In his first message to parliament he warned that stern measures were in the offing for tax defaulters and irresponsible tax collectors. He was willing to enlist the support of the opposition in supervision of his government to ensure that it stuck to the CCM manifesto on which its election campaign had been based.

On tax evasion he said that anybody in arrears should pay immediately and action would be taken against those who did not. The government would also not entertain irresponsibility amongst tax collectors. With immediate effect all ministries and departments would have to spend only within their allocations. undisciplined government accounting officers would be fired.

The name of anyone taking a bribe would be made public and such persons would be fired. Properties of persons proved to have taken bribes would be confiscated.

PRIVATISATION
President Mkapa said that the privatisation programme started by the Mwinyi administration would be continued. Small time miners, farmers, fishermen and herdsmen would be assisted through the provision of modern equipment.

NOT ‘MTUKUFU’
The President has also made it known that he does not wish to be addressed as ‘Mtukufu’ which could be taken as implying that he was divine. He said he would rather be called ‘Ndugu’ (Brother) or ‘Mheshimiwa’ (Honourable) as these were the titles he was qualified for.

BRIBERY CASES
Coinciding with the President’s words two bribery cases were concluded. Police Officer Juma Nassoro was Sentenced to ten years in jail after having solicited Shs 5,000 in exchange for not taking a man to court for an alleged crime.
A Customs Officer was found guilty of soliciting a shs 50,000 bribe as a pre-condition for reducing tax of shs 140,000 on imported video equipment. Both reeived ten year jail sentences at a court in Mtwara.

NEW HIGH COMMISSIONER

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ta53_part1-7

COURT CIRCULAR
BUCKINGHAM PALACE
November 23:
His Excellency Mr Abdul-Kader Shareef was received in audience by Her Majesty and presented the Letters of Recall of his predecessor and his own Letters of Commission as High Commissioner for the United Republic of Tanzania in London. Mrs Shareef was also received by The Queen.

THE NEW PARLIAMENT – FIRST ACTIONS

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New Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye was chosen by president Mkapa but then had to obtain the approval of Parliament. He did so by 232 votes to 34. The opposition first had to qualify for official status as an opposition by having at least 30 members. This was rapidly achieved when the four UDP members united with the 28 CUF MP’s (the parties share an ideology which could be described as to the right of the other parties) to form the official opposition. They elected Mrs Fatima Magimbi, a self-made woman from Zanzibar, who rose from Secretary at the University of Dar es Salaam to full lecturer status through diligent part time study, as leader. She lost no time in telling the prime Minister that his first priority Was to Correct the ‘irregularities’ in Zanzibar and ensure that Mr Seif Shariff Hamad could take up ‘his rightful place as president’. Mr Mabere Marando MP whose self-sacrifice in giving up his position as leader of the NCCR-Mageuzi party early this year to Augustine Mrema, which enabled the latter to invigorate the opposition and give the CCM a real challenge, also lost no time in making his presence felt in parliament. He challenged the Attorney General on the issue of the form of the oath of allegiance of MP’s and, not only won his case, but also caused three MP’s to go through the process of swearing in a second time in order to regularise the situation.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT
The ‘Business Times’ has described the profile of Tanzania’s new government. It has 23 new faces and comprises 23 Ministers and 10 Deputy Ministers. Twenty-eight have university degrees including two Professors, six with Ph~ls, seven Masters degrees and 14 have first degrees. There are six agriculturalists (including the Prime Minister) and eight economists.
There are 13 Muslims and 20 Christians who have been drawn from a total of 18 regions. Thirty were elected and three were nominated.

A FISHY STORY. THIRTY YEARS ON AT NYUMBA YA MUNGU RESERVOIR

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With the closure in December 1965 of an impressive rockfill dam on the upper Pangani River some 50 km south of Moshi, the filling of Nyumba ya Mungu (NYM) reservoir began. As part of the Pangani Basin Development Plan, its primary purpose was to provide hydro electric power, store water and, at the same time, opportunity for irrigation and fisheries development. Taking about two and a half Years to fill and with an area of 180km2 at top water level, in the late 1960,s NYM was East Africa’s largest man-made river lake. Notwithstanding the significant role it has played in other areas, it was the fisheries function for which the reservoir was to become internationally renowned. NYM became a spectacularly good example of the positive fishery potential presented by a new tropical river lake.

Initially very fertile and with high inputs of solar energy, NYM exhibited a prolific production of microscopic life offering rich supplies of primary foods for any fishes able to take advantage of them, and the extensive shallows of the new lake environment. Now, whereas the Pangani basin has a rather restricted fish fauna overall, it contains four types of endemic tilapias and NUM was fortunate in harbouring at least one and probably two of them since its inception. Essentially small particle feeders, tilapias graze on algae, bacteria and fine detritus. In rivers tilapias spawn in sheltered backwaters before releasing swarms of young to grow on floodplain shallows. They are thus well suited to habitats offered by river lakes and, and, as familiar and widely accepted food fishes, can provide an ideal fishery resource. By the end of the 1960s a flourishing Tilapia fishery was established at NYM. News of profitable fishing spread rapidly, and fishermen were drawn to the lake from many parts of East Africa, bringing their skills, gear and boats. At its peak an estimated 3,500 fishermen were active on the reservoir amongst a population of 25,000 who settled in 26 ‘fish-rush1 villages around its perimeter. Computed yields for 1970 reached an incredible 28,500 tonnes, about 1,900 kg/ha, an order of magnitude elsewhere to be expected only from managed fish ponds. Gill nets were the primary gear since drowned scrub and woodland prevented a widespread use of beach seines. Catches of large fish were sold either to outside traders in fresh and iced fish or to locals who processed them before resale to fishmongers.

During a detailed study at NYM in 1974, it was clear to me that the boom was over. In part this was due to a natural ecological phenomenon, namely the exhaustion of sequential production peaks amongst the biological components of the sunny-side or grazing pathways of energy flow, which are initiated when a river is converted to a lake and accompanied by nutrient releases from hitherto unflooded land. At the same time there were other contributory factors – the extraordinarily high fishing pressure exerted by man and the birds roosting among emergent branches of drowned trees; a massive encroachment of the shallow end by bulrush swamp; and fully-operational drawdowns superimposed on the seasonal drydowns, to produce an overall drop in lake levels. Tilapias are resilient fishes however which, when confronted by environmental pressures, respond by breeding earlier in life and at smaller sizes, thereby maintaining population numbers. In 1974, although large tilapias up to 2kg and 50cm were still caught, 64 per cent of fishermen’s landings were less than 20cm in length. Interestingly two non-indigenous tilapias, a legacy of previous stocking in the Pangani basin, had also made an appearance. The commonest, originally from Lake Victoria, inhabits open water, feeding on plankton, a life style complimentary to that of the inshore dwelling endemic species which browse the algal films on the submerged surfaces of grasses, drowned scrub and trees.

Between 1974 and 1983 annual yields of 2,000 to 5,000 tonnes had been estimated, and during field work at NYM in 1984 Dr. L Nhwani of the Tanzanian Fisheries Research Institute confirmed the remarkable observation that the catch had been dominated by the ‘Victoria’ species. This remained the situation when I visited the reservoir in late 1994. Both experimental and fishermen’s catches comprised mostly very small fish. 10-14cm long, many sexually mature; 80 per cent belonged to the ‘lake1 species. This switch from ‘Pangani’ to the ‘Victoria’ tilapia is difficult to account for, although I had noticed similar events much earlier, in small Tanzanian dams. At NYM it could be that, as drowned woodland rotted and stumps were removed, protected feeding grounds for the endemic tilapia were removed. Moreover, with the obstructions cleared, seines had become a major fishing gear since they could now be shot way out in open water and then pulled safely ashore. The latest statistics indicate that up to 1,000 fishermen remove about 3,000 tonnes per year, more than twice the preimpoundment prediction I made in 1965; this may be an underestimate, judged by the baskets of fish seen daily in Moshi Market. Larger surviving riparian villages now have a permanent air – with schools, dispensaries, shops, bars, netball pitches. Water birds abound and crocodiles are rare. The endemic tilapias of Lake Victoria, as a result of overfishing and the spread of Nile-perch, are now rare. Earlier consignments of at least one of them were established in Government ponds at Malya, Iringa and Korogwe and introduced into reservoirs during the 1950s and 60s. It occurs to me that if or when the Nile-perch population and fishery eventual crashes, a ‘many-generations-on’ reservoir stock could provide the source for re-introduction into the Great Lake.
Roland Bailey

POPOBAWA IS DEAD!

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by Henriette Jansen
APRIL 4, 1995
This morning, when I arrived at the Ministry of Health, here in Zanzibar where I work, I saw hundreds of people on the road outside the hospital. There were also policemen from the field force unit with weapons and loudspeakers. When I asked Fatma, my secretary, what was going on, she said “Popobawa is dead”. The crowd was gathered around the mortuary; everybody wanted to see the body of Popobawa, the cause of public hysteria for the past couple of weeks.

Popobawa formed part of a group of allegedly seven ‘persons’, who for several weeks have been terrorizing the islands and giving everybody sleepless nights. ‘A Popobawa’ wanders around at night , practically naked, with a cow’s tail and a jar containing magic medicine. The approach of one of them is always preceded by an intolerable stench. With the tail covered with magic medicine, Popobawa can split walls and doors open in such a way that it can not be noticed afterwards. Men and women inside their houses are raped from behind while they sleep. It seems that in the act, Popobawars sexual organ enlarges enormously , and the next morning when the victim awakes, the pain is unbearable. If you wake up at night, you can not see Popobawa, because he is not human. Whole neighbourhoods are shaken in terror; most people do not dare to sleep in their houses any more. Instead, they stay outside, sitting in groups around fires for security. Among them there are usually people acquainted with witchcraft and able to communicate with devils. Whenever a Popobawa comes near, the people with special powers start screaming loudly. The whole group then chases the Popobawa, until he disappears. If you have been the victim of Popobawa you should talk about it with other people. If you don’t, he will attack you again. One man, living on the island of Pemba, did not say anything to others, and so was repeatedly taken by Popobawa. Finally, his aggressor asked him why he kept quiet. The victim relied that he liked it and usually had to pay for it; now he could get it for free!

Last night, on the street corner, Popobawa undressed himself. One of the men with magic powers saw the Popobawa, covered with stinking medicine. The man chased him, and in a struggle, took away Popobawa’s jar and cow’s tail. At that moment Popobawa turned into a human. A raging mob with pangas and sticks plunged upon Popobawa.

The body of the man the mob had attacked was taken to the mortuary. By the morning, the story of the death of Popobawa had spread throughout the town, drawing the large crowd I saw when I arrived at work. My secretary, who was in the crowd this morning, told me that “he looked like a normal man”.

APRIL 5 1995 POPOBAWA – THE STORY OF A MENTAL PATIENT AND OTHER POOR DEVILS
Last night, on the Day that the whole of Zanzibar was under the spell of the recently murdered Popobawa, a long programme on Popobawa was shown on local television. There were eyewitness accounts of the murder, shots of the crowd at the hospital, and of the corpse in the mortuary. The body of a young man was lying face down on the autopsy table. He was naked, except for a piece of rope around his waste. His back and head were covered in gashes, and stained with blood. The people interviewed in the crowd were relieved and happy that Popobawa was dead.

Yet this morning at the office, the word ‘Popobawa’ was buzzing again. My colleague, Habiba, was moody because she had been awake the whole night. Her neighbourhood had been visited by Popobawa that night. She also upset, as it had just been announced that the man who had been killed last night was Popobawa, but was a mental patient, originating from the mainland, who had come to Zanzibar for treatment. Suleiman, a colleague and a respectable old man, had been visited by Popobawa that night. In the office, he told the story again and again. He was at home and heard his wife yelling in the next room, “Toka, toka” (“Go away, go away”). He rushed to help her, and saw a strong and handsome young man, almost naked, squatting next to the bicycle that was parked in the room. Suleiman also started shouting, “Toka, Toka”. All the neighbours came running but by the time they arrived, Popobawa had gone up onto the roof and had disappeared.
One day after ‘the death of Popobawa’, nothing has changed; the mass-hysteria continues.

MAY 4 1995 POPOBAWA – THE ELECTION GENIE?
A couple of days after the first Popobawa-murder, I was driving to work, when I saw that the whole primary school around the corner from where I live, was turned out onto the street. There were children everywhere, in their blue and white uniforms and, for the girls, white headscarves. Somebody waved at me. It was Seif, the cook of friends of ours. I slowed down and stopped next to him.
“What’s going on?”
“Popobawa was in the school. An old woman saw him and ran after him. They say she caught him.”
Fifty metres down the road, I could see a crowd gathered at the police station.
“They say the woman was taken there”, Seif told me. It was unclear whether she was with or without the Popobawa she was supposed to have captured. Later some people said that the woman herself was the Popobawa! The accusations get more ridiculous.

Is the hysteria purposely created and now feeding on itself? Who started all the chaos and why? Some point towards important people in the Government, eager to distract attention from mounting political uncertainties in the run-up to the impending multi-party elections, planned for October of this year. How could it otherwise be explained that the Government was not taking any action?

In the nineteen sixties, shortly after the revolution there was another Popobawa affair, on the Island of Pemba. Zanzibar’s first president Sheikh Abeid A. Karume, challenged Popobawa: “Don’t harass these people any longer. Come to me if you dare”. Popobawa dared not, peace returned, and Karume took the credit.

The English language newspaper of Tanzania remains remarkably silent on this subject, except for one letter to the editor, in which the writer states that ‘a respectable newspaper should not pay any attention to this Popobawa nonsense!’ On the other hand, I heard that BBC radio recently broadcast an item on the Popobawa scare in Zanzibar, in which Popobawa was referred to as ‘the election genie’; another clue towards a possible political connection. But nobody knows for sure, and the phantom leads his own life, supported by a culture in which a world full of spirits and magic cuts right across our ‘sober reality’.

Now, one month after the first murder, in the town, the Popobawa scare has calmed down somewhat. Popobawa has moved to the shamba (rural areas). Though it may seem quieter, the day before yesterday, yet another unfortunate person was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and a second Popobawa was murdered.
Henriette Jansen

TANZANIA AND THE DONORS

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In ‘Habari’ the journal of our Society’s sister organisation in Sweden (No.3 of 1995) there is an article entitled “Nordens adoptivland gar kraftgang” (Scandinavia’s adopted country goes backwards). The article notes that Tanzania has received 16 milliard dollars of aid during the past thirty years, but that nevertheless it appears to be as far away as ever from becoming economically self-supporting. The special relationship with the countries of Scandinavia began when Julius Nyerere and Olof Palme together hammered out a programme of growth towards a goal of self-reliance. All the Scandinavian countries contributed generously to this end and there are many evidences of their open-handed treatment of the needs of Tanzania, one of the poorest countries in Africa. In the sixties and seventies, in spite of setbacks, the donor community continued its support, having in mind not only the external nature of many of the adverse influences that had dogged the Tanzanian economy- the two oil price rises, the break-up of the East African Community and the war with Idi Amin – but also the severe drought of the middle seventies and the adverse terms of trade in some of Tanzania’s traditional exports.

During the first twenty years of independence there were certain aspects of the economic situation that at the time ere not clearly understood. First, in spite of strenuous efforts to extend the educational system, a shortage of manpower trained and experienced in certain fields persisted and became more acute as development projects multiplied. Secondly, the critical importance of the maintenance of equipment and infrastructure went largely unrecognised. Thirdly, economic planning often failed to take account of the recurrent cost consequences of investment. The result in many cases was a rapid deterioration of plant and communications, poor economic performance and, in an economy characterised by state enterprise, growing burdens on the budget. The notion that the pace of development depended on the rate at which human and financial resources could be made available did not appear to enter into the calculations of the Government, or, for that matter, of the donors, who tended at that time to compete with one another for scare resources.

The consequences of planning failure can be seen in the educational system itself. In the Five Year Plan for 1969-74 it was envisaged that primary education would be expanded year by year, reaching the goal of Universal Primary Education (UPE) in 1989. The target date was set in accordance with estimates of the rate of growth of the economy, in other words, what could be afforded. In 1975, however, it was decided, in response to the policy of villagisation, apparently without the benefit of cost calculations, to bring forward the date of UPE from 1989 to 1977. The result was an attempted leap forward for which neither adequate funds, nor the necessary trained teachers, could be made available. External shocks, the growing rigidity of the economy and rising inflation put economic growth into reverse i the late seventies. Donors took the view that widespread structural adjustment was needed and sought compliance with a programme of reform mapped out by the International Monetary Fund. The rigid conditionality associated with IMF funding, however, proved unrealistic in a number of countries, sometimes provoking riots, and for a while the proposals of the IMF were resisted. In 1985 amid conditions of continuing economic decline and some softening of the IMF8 s requirements, the Tanzanian Government agreed to follow the prescriptions of the Fund. There followed a resurgence of donor support and growing coordination between donors.

The Government’s structural adjustment programme has brought a number of benefits, notably a resumption of economic growth. But in 1994 it became evident that revenues were flagging and that a growing budget deficit financed by borrowing from the Bank was causing inflation to rise. Serious concern about this trend among the donor community was compounded by the announcement by President Mwinyi on 9th. November 1994 that Shs 70 billion of revenues from import taxes has been lost on account of tax evasion and corruption. Tanzania had earlier been widely regarded hitherto as a country mercifully free from corruption and in President Nyerere’s day strenuous measures were taken against corrupt practices. It was therefore with alarm and shock that the donor countries learned of the extent of corrupt dealings. The consequence has been a suspension of significant parts of the donor programme.

Donor import support was allowed to expire without renewal, creating a critical shortage of foreign exchange. But the most serious consequence lay in shortfall in counterpart funds offered by traders in payment for foreign exchange. For this shortfall has led to a widening of the budget deficit, increased resort to Bank lending and in consequence a rise in inflation. Sweden, once the most generous of the aid donors, was also coming to realise that much project aid had been misdirected, for example for example, in the case of the Mufindi Paper Mill and the imaginative but unsuccessful sister industry programme. Something was going wrong and the Swedish government to put in hand a detailed review of the aid programme. Similar studies were instituted by the Netherlands and Finland.

The Scandinavian reaction reflected not only concern about corruption, but also a recognition that the conditions making for successful aid were most complex. What one writer has called the ‘aid bombardment’ could have negative effects by weakening local effort and encouraging the growth of a dependency culture. It can be argued that Tanzania’s sovereignty has already been impaired by aid amounting to almost half of the GNP and financing and financing a substantial part of the budget deficit and the import bill. Nobody was suggesting that aid should be abolished overnight, but greater care was needed to ensure that the effect was to promote self reliance and, in the long run to publish the necessity for aid. It is unlikely that the donors will resume exactly where they left off.

The approach of elections in October, inevitably led to a pause in new economic initiatives, but it was greatly hoped in donor circles that a strong government, armed with a renewed mandate would reactivate the reform programme. Recent events had set back progress towards a more self-sustaining and balanced economy, which only last February had seemed possible. Inflation, one of the most potent causes of poverty, remained at unacceptably high levels and must be brought under control as a matter of urgency.

With the reform programme again on track, donor aid, including that of the UK, is likely to follow, though not perhaps on the scale reached in recent years. For the donors, a commitment to the reform programme and to resolute measures to contain and wherever possible eradicate corruption will decisively influence their support. The donors for their part will need to understand the severe practical difficulties faced by the Tanzanian authorities – the shortage of trained personnel, the effects of population growth, the complexity of necessary changes, such as those in the banking system, and the political repercussions of civil service reform, not to mention the extreme sensitivity of a small economy to external influences and the vagaries of climate. It is also necessary to remember that corruption feeds on inflation and that the control of corruption is likely to be frustrated unless inflation is brought under control.

Above all the situation calls for a renewal of mutual confidence, which has been damaged by recent events. At the time of writing the signs were encouraging. The Netherlands renewed its contribution to import support in November and it is likely that other donors will do likewise following the election of the new President and evidence of a stern and consistent stand against corruption. Import tax evasion has been investigated by the Controller and Auditor General on the instructions of the former President Mwinyi. Prosecutions and dismissals have followed, many of the bonded warehoused have been closed and substantial unpaid taxes have been recovered. In February it was calculated that aid in the sum of $1.13 million would be needed for the remainder of 1994-95 and the financial year 1995-96. It no remains to be seen whether the new administration in Dar es Salaam can justify a renewal o support of this order.
Roger Carter

TANZANIA IN THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

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THE ELECTIONS

Tanzania’s elections did not have a good press internationally. ‘Tanzania Polls in Chaos’ trumpeted the London TIMES (October 31). ‘An organised botch’, ‘a complete farce’ were amongst the words used by AFRICA ANALYSIS (November 3) which stated that the UN observers suffered from an impossible mandate. They had been told by the UN in New York that ‘no statements should be made by any staff in the name of the United Nations’.

The German newspaper ZEIT (November 3) described the Zanzibar election as a bizarre prelude to the mainland elections …. Mrema did not have a chance against criminal manipulations …’ Africa had looked with high expectations towards Tanzania …. everyone hoped for a victory for democracy (but) those in power knew how to prevent this. Once again’. Under the heading ‘Chaos Spreads in Tanzania’s First Election’ the FINANCIAL TIMES (October 31) wrote ‘Tanzania’s first attempt at multi-party democracy teetered on the verge of collapse yesterday undermined by administrative incompetence and the logistics of organising a poll in East Africa’s largest country ….. the latest confusion has added to a growing mood of cynicism in Dar es Salaam’. The DAILY TELEGRAPH headline read ‘Tanzania Poll Ends in Chaos Amid Rigging Claims’.

The WASHINGTON POST (November 4) wrote that ‘Disorganisation and confusion appeared to taint Sunday’s election early on as polling stations around the country opened several hours late. Professor Ibrahim Lipumba was quoted as saying that the elections were a a national shame. WEST AFRICA (November 3-19) under the heading ‘Democratic Stalemate’ quoted observers as wondering whether Tanzania would go the same way as other states in Africa and be a case of endless political instability.

In a more detailed analysis The FINANCIAL TIMES quoted Professor Mukandala, head of a local monitoring group as saying that “in a close contest the CCM will not relinquish power. … I don’t think there is anybody out there who believes these elections were free and fairw. The article went on ‘If CCM was ready to bend the rules, international observers … did little to thwart it. They prematurely ruled the Zanzibar stage free and fair and failed adequately to monitor the count….most observers overran their budget and had to leave, work unfinished. And as what many diplomats privately called a debacle emerged, the UN first kept silent and then issued a bland statement recommending the authorities to correct anomalies’.

AN IRONY OF HISTORY
On a related matter AFRICAN BUSINESS (October) pointed out an extraordinary irony of history. The veteran politician and writer Abdulrahman Babu was originally chosen by Augustine Mrema as his Vice-Presidential running mate in the recent elections but resigned when his candidature was questioned by the National Electoral Commission (NEC). His replacement was Sultan Ahmed Sultan whose grandfather, Sultan Ahmed al Mugheiry, was stabbed to death in the 1950’s for collaborating with the British colonial administration. His assassin, Mohammed Humud, was sentenced to life imprisonment but was released immediately after the Zanzibar revolution on January 12 1964. But later that year he was detained without trial and executed by the then Zanzibar President Karume. On April 7, 1972 Karume was assassinated by Lt. Humud Mohammed Humud, a son of Mohammed Humud. Although it was obviously a case of revenge, the authorities said that it was part of a plot, led by Babu, to oust Karume’s government. Babu was subsequently detained on the mainland in solitary confinement for six years and was also tried in Zanzibar, in absentia, for treason. It was this that led the NEC to say that he was not qualified to run for high office! (Thank you Oliver Stegen, Andrew Gaisford, Paul Marchant, Jim Read and others for the above items – Editor).

IN DEFENCE OF THE WATER HYACINTH
Anne Outwater defended the much-maligned Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) which is spreading alarmingly in Lake Victoria in an article in the EAST AFRICAN (November 13). ‘Who is cleaning the outflow from Lake cities such as Mwanza and Bukoba she asked. Who removed the stench after all those bodies floated down from the Kagera River last year after the Rwanda genocide? Water hyacinths are very good at sucking up nutrients from water. They are strongest when the water has been dirtied with organic waste. After the hyacinths have done their work water runs clear and clean. It would be difficult to find a cheaper way of cleaning up the sewage going into the Lake……

0 J SIMPSON
NEW AFRICAN (December) asked people around the world for their comments on the 0 J Simpson murder trial verdict. From Tanzania, Finnegan Sibeye was quoted as saying that it was a ‘white planned legal trap’. Faranji Dumila said that White Americans are resentful about the rise of blacks.. .it is all about economic disparities ….Gregory Macha said ‘There is a growing tendency to criminalise the blacks especially those who excel in arts, sports or music ….’

BEIJING
Tanzania’s former High Commissioner in India, Gertrude Mongella, who was the Secretary-General of the 12-day UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, has received praise for her efficient management of the conference in many organs of the press. The TIMES (September 5) quoted her as declaring, amidst wild applause and ululation that women were no longer “guests on this planet. This planet belongs to them too. A revolution has begun – there is no going back’.

FLYING FOR LIFE
Under this heading the November issue of MAF (MISSION AVIATION FELLOWSHIP NEWS) described how 735 kgs of bibles, enough to fill three Landrovers, were flown recently by the only aircraft available to take the load (after removal of seats) – their Cessna 402 from Dodoma to Tabora for refuelling and then to Mpanda. From there the bibles were taken to be distributed by bible society workers to Burundi and Rwanda refugees in camps in the area. The bibles are expected to make life more tolerable for many refugees who had fled and lost their bibles in the dash for freedom. (Thank you Christine Lawrence for these two items of news – Editor).

GARDEN OF EDEN
Describing Tanzania as a Garden of Eden Father Peter Smith in the August-September issue of WHITE FATHERS – WHITE SISTERS wrote about Julius Nyerere as follows: ‘For inspiration he drew on the fellowship of the Acts of the Apostles, the brotherhood of the Qur’anic umma as well as the kibbutz of Israel and the communes of China. He provided a vision for Tanzanians and Africans rooted in their culture (so that they could) hold their heads as high as anyone in the family of mankind’.

He recalled that The Holy Ghost fathers came to the coast in 1868 and the White Fathers came ten years later. 99% of the White Fathers have passed through the 130-year old Atinan House (named after a Malian Doctor-Catechist), one of the first six permanent buildings in Dar es Salaam and, in the beginning, the mainland ‘seraglio’ of the Sultan of Zanzibar. One of a number of tables accompanying the article gives the religious adherence of Tanzanians:
Catholics 3,959,000
Total Christians 7,943,000
Muslims 5,866,900
Other faiths 4,178,000

ZANZIBAR BOOM
Michela Wrong writing in the FINANCIAL TIMES (October 20) said that after decades of grinding poverty, prosperity once again beckons for the legendary spice islands … that prospect, as much as the resentment generated by years of suppressed national identity, threatens to sabotage the 31-year Union. Undermining the debate is the islands’ extraordinary transformation since Tanzania turned its back on Julius Nyerere’s disastrous economic policies. … Encouraged by tax incentives, Italian, South African and other investors have poured into the tourism sector, which has now replaced the clove industry as the main source of foreign exchange. Decaying Arab palaces are being turned into five-star lodgings to steal trade from the dreary Soviet-style government hotels. Chic galleries selling designer wear now compete with T-shirt shops for backpackers. Tourist numbers, hardly 30,000 five years ago should touch 100,000 this year. In 1990 economic growth was minus 3%. now it is 4.5%…..

MIGRATION FROM TANZANIA
The corncrake, Britain’s only globally-endangered bird species, is being rescued by a Scottish bird preservation society. A spokesman for the society told the BBC’s RADIO 4 that the corncrake was once fairly common throughout Britain but in recent decades has existed only in declining numbers in Scotland. The bird migrates annually from Tanzania. The society is spending £300,000 annually to persuade Scottish farmers to adapt their methods of silage production so as to encourage the corncrake’s breeding habits (Thank you David Somers for this item – Editor)

83-YEAR OLD CLIMBS KILIMANJARO
“Something happened to me on Kilimanjaro. Something great, something sublime. Something different to anything I had experienced on other high mountains. I stopped 1,000m before the peak, 5,500m above sea level. Should I have tried to press on? The hardships can be overcome. But there are many: altitude sickness, fatigue, nausea, severe headache, diarrhoea, breathlessness, palpitations, vomiting, loss of appetite, severe cold, frostbite and even hallucinations …… (On the mountain) I was quite exhilarated; it seemed as though there were no problems for the old man.. .many others in the group had given up and descended.. .and then, near the top I began to feel uncomfortable; it was far too hot…and then it dawned on me what was wrong. I had too little water. The person who had kindly offered to carry the rest of my supply had gone far ahead. I dared not proceed. I was not going to be carried off the mountain. Never. But still I was overpowered. I experienced that wonderful rare feeling of joy.. “ -Schalk Theron writing in the JOHANNESBURG STAR INTERNATIONAL (August 24-30).

CROWD CONTROL
Tanzania is to limit the number of visitors to its national parks for the first time to reduce pressure on the animals and their ecosystems. According to the SUNDAY TELEGRAPH (October 21) officials are worried that the country’s 12 parks and other conservation areas could become as crowded as those in Kenya.

So far three parks have declared new limits on the number of tourist beds and vehicles allowed. Serengeti will not exceed the 1,200 beds it has now and will allow in only two vehicles for each pride of lions in the park. The smaller Tarangire National Park has a maximum of 287 ‘fixed’’ beds and one vehicle per two kilometres of road. In the Ngorongoro Conservation area the limit has been set at five lodges offering 422 beds.

Prices are rising too. Foreigners are now charged £12.50 to enter any of the national parks and £12.50 per 24 hours thereafter. Vehicles are charged £6.25 a day. Campers pay £12- £25 a night and rooms in lodges cost £30-£90 (Thank you Donald Wright for this item – Editor).

THE CHARGE
‘We had met the beast before. An old bull elephant, the rims of his ears ragged and torn; his left tusk broken off. He trotted towards us, stopped and glared and then charged. It was a massive piece of body language. But, still some distance away, he came to a halt and trumpeted defiantly. He decided that he had made his point. So began an article by Sean Hignett in the WEEKEND TELEGRAPH (August 19) describing a visit to the Serengeti National Park.