The British Government’s Overseas Development Administration (ODA) makes an annual grant to the British Council specifically aimed at assisting the development of higher education in the Third World. One of the most important means currently used to achieve this aim is support for academic links with British institutions. In 1987/88 Tanzania benefitted from the largest ODA link budget in Africa.

Academic visits represent the core of the activity. This year it is planned that 47 Tanzanian staff members will be attached to departments in British universities or polytechnics for an average duration of 13 weeks. The purpose of these visits varies according to the needs of the Tanzanian department but are typically designed to exploit the facilities of the host university to advance the visitor’s research, but sometimes will also include attendance at short courses. This year it is also planned that 36 British academics will visit their link departments in Tanzania for an average duration of four weeks.

Typically they will help to advance joint research with Tanzanian colleagues, advise on curriculum development or, sometimes, teach.

The British Council provides an annual grant for most linked departments to acquire equipment in Britain. This year it averaged £3,180 per link. Books have been provided – to the value of £8,900 for the University of Dar es Salaam and £3,600 for the Sokoine University.

Links with the University of Dar es Salaam include :
University Administration – University of Bath;
Geography – University of Glasgow;
Sociology – University of Hull;
Foreign Languages and Linguistics – University of Lancaster;
Epidemiology and Biostatistics – University of Manchester;
Chemistry – University of Salford;
Commerce and Management – University of Sheffield,
Education – University of Southampton;
Statistics – University of Southampton.

There are also three academic links with Sokoine University of Agriculture:
Development Studies – University of East Anglia;
Veterinary Medicine – University of Glasgow;
Rural Economy – University of London, Wye College.

Britain’s Minister for Overseas Development, Mr, Chris Patten, has visited forty countries but considers Tanzania to be one of the ‘nicest and happiest’. He said this at a ceremony at the Ranfurly Library Service in London on December 7th 1988 to mark the 200,000th book to be sent under the ‘Textbooks for Africa Project’. This project is supported also by Rotary International, the British Council and ODA. To mark the occasion Mr, Patten handed over a copy of ‘Abbotts Physics’ to Mr, Ulli Mwambulukutu, the Minister Counsellor for Tanzania in the High Commission in London. The ceremony was held in a spacious 8,000 square-foot warehouse stacked with tea chests containing thousands more books destined for Tanzania, Malawi, Gambia, Botswana and other countries.

Mr, David Membrey, Assistant Director of the Ranfurly Library Service, explained to the Bulletin that Tanzania had been receiving books from Ranfurly ever since 1960. Some 725,000 had been sent altogether, including almost half a million within the last three years. He said that the Ranfurly Library Service was now supplying some three quarters of the books obtained by the Tanzania Library Service and large numbers were also going to schools and other institutions throughout the country.

Some personal experiences:

On my first day in China – before the arrival of colleagues – I was free. The rest of our time in China was very thoroughly programmed.

I glanced at the telephone directory. Tanzania was mentioned only once (apart from the Embassy). The entry read ‘China – Tanzania Joint Shipping Company’. It was to be found, apparently, at Juanjiehu Beili, Building No. 7 in Chaoyangpu. I asked the hotel receptionist to write this for me in Chinese and he produced without hesitation this:

I went outside for a taxi. The driver was friendly but we had no way of communicating and soon got lost. We were in the right area of the city but, as in much of Beijing, were dwarfed by row upon row of massive apartment blocks (obtaining accommodation in such blocks, I learnt later, is the dream of most of the inhabitants of the city). All these complexes had their No 7 building. About a dozen conversations and 30 minutes later we found a much smaller building which was also No 7. But this one, to my relief and delight, had a notice on the gate in English – ‘The China – Tanzania Joint Shipping Company.’

I climbed up one flight of stairs – having made sure that the taxi driver understood that he should wait – and wondered what my reception would be. Parastatal bureaucrats are never at their most welcoming when they come face to face with a journalist wanting to ask questions, regardless of whether the journalist is an amateur or a professional. And Chinese bureaucrats do have an ‘image’ problem.

Most of the offices were empty – it was Saturday morning – but I found two gentlemen at their desks. To my surprise they were friendly. Their contacts with Tanzania must have had a good effect. “How interesting” they more or less said “can we see a copy of the Bulletin of Tanzanian Affairs?” and what would I like to know?

Mr. Lei Zhen Ya, the Manager, explained that the company started in June 1967. It is run jointly by the two governments, each with a 50% share and was designed to serve trade between the two countries. The company began with four second-hand vessels but these have all since been replaced by new ones – the Ruvu, the Ruaha, the Pingku and the Shuniji with a total tonnage of some 60,000.

Originally the ships served the needs of the Tanzania-Zambia (TANZAM) railway and transported workers to Tanzania from China (I can remember the arrival one Sunday morning in Dar es Salaam of 1,000 of these workers all dressed identically in Mao suits and all issued with the same standard suitcase – how things have changed in China in recent years!) The ships also carried railway construction material.

It was at this stage in the conversation that I decided to make sure to interview, before leaving China, one or two of the early workers on the railway (there had been some 20,000 Chinese involved altogether) and hear how they looked back on their Tanzanian experience.

With the completion of the railway and a fall in the export from Tanzania of groundnuts and sisal, trade with Tanzania had gone down considerably. Nowadays cargo was sought wherever it could be found. Out of a total volume of 190,000 tons of goods transported by the company from China last year only about 7,000 tons went to Tanzania and no imports from Tanzania to China were carried. Furthermore, 1986 was the first year since the founding of the company that it had not made a profit. But relations with Tanzania remained warm and friendly. During the Cultural Revolution (a bitter memory to almost everyone to whom we spoke later) staff of the China-Tanzania Shipping Company had been left strictly alone and not persecuted in any way. Because of the link with a foreign friendly nation.

The 33 crew members of the two Chinese ships were all Chinese I learnt. The two Tanzanian ships had some 25 Tanzanian crew members and 7 Chinese including the captain.

Mr Lei said that the company was facing many problems but that the biggest by far was in obtaining sufficient cargo in a highly competitive market. But he was optimistic about the future: “With the recovery in Tanzania’s economy, trade will increase” he said.

My own job in China was in the Ministry of Agriculture. “Do you know of anyone who used to work on the TANZAM railway” I asked. Yes, said one of our counterparts, his own father was still working in the Ministry of Railways and had many friends who had worked in Tanzania.

Mrs Tang, who works as a Swahili interpreter in the Ministry of Agriculture told me how she had spent five years in Tanzania from 1973 on a State Farm growing rice at Mbarali in Mbeya region. “I was the one woman amongst 100 men” she said “and they could only communicate with Tanzanians through me”. It was hard work but she had enjoyed it very much. The Tanzanian people were very honest, (something which cannot be said for speakers at Chinese banquets whatever their nationality), very patient and easy to work with. And Swahili was so much easier to learn than English. She had been working only ten miles away from the railway and she knew many of those who had worked on it. She would get in touch with the Ministry of Railways and arrange for me to meet some of them.

I asked whether it had been easy to get people to volunteer to work in Tanzania in view of the harsh conditions at that time. “Yes indeed” Mrs . Tang said. “Only those with the best work records were allowed to go. Everyone wanted the chance. It wasn’t only the pay (50% higher than in China); it was a unique opportunity to see another part of the world.” But Mrs. Tang had had some second thoughts herself on her sixteenth day of sea-sickness on the way to Dar es Salaam.

Mr. Said Salim from Tanzania has been working in China longer than any other Tanzanian. 21 years. “They call me the Mayor of Beijing” he said. Originally he went there under the auspices of the organisation set up after the Bandung Conference as a journalist. Nowadays he works on the Swahili edition of a Chinese monthly magazine. He and his Zanzibari wife have four children, all taking university studies in Beijing. “They are more Chinese than the Chinese” he said. I asked him if he happened to know anyone who had worked on building the railway all those years ago. No, he said, but he dug into his archives and produced an article he had written in the ‘Afro-Asian Journalist’ (No. 1, Volume 9) in March 1972:

“Two events different from, though closely related to each other and antagonistic in character yet very commonly known in Tanzania and Zambia, came to pass in Africa on November 11th. It was on this day in 1965 when the Rhodesian white settlers unilaterally declared their independence …… and it was on this same day, in 1971, that the track laying on the 502 kilometre Dar es Salaam-Murimba section of the now world-shaking Tanzania-Zambia Railway (the biggest donor aided project in Africa) was completed … the two events seem like a ‘historical accident’; …. because of the existence of profound mutual trust among the three committed countries and the exigency China understands for both Tanzania and Zambia to have the railway built as soon as possible, preparation had commenced in March 1970 before the Protocol was even signed …. following immediately the tortuous surveys conducted from 1966 to 1970”.

One of our young interpreters said one day that he had found somebody who had worked on the railway. It seemed that nearly everyone we met knew somebody who knew somebody who knew something about Tanzania. But unfortunately this person lived at the other side of Beijing (a massive city) and he did not think it would be possible for us to meet.

As I learnt each day more about the history, the politics, the economy, the agriculture (most people are remarkably outspoken and the English language ‘Daily News’ explores every issue with astonishing freedom of expression) the similarity of experiences and, in particular, the ‘political language’ in China and Tanzania became more and more apparent.

China had its ‘Great Leap Forward’, its nationalisation of private businesses, collectivisation of agriculture; Tanzania had its ‘Arusha Declaration’ and its villagisation.

And now, many years later, Tanzania has its ‘Economic Recovery Programme’ and its ‘Structural Adjustment’. China has its ‘Economic Reconstruction and Structural Reform’.

The decisive 13th Party Congress attended by 1,926 Chinese delegates in October 1987 found some echo in the ‘Third National Party Conference’ attended by 1,931 delegates in Dodoma in the same month of the same year. The Chinese Party Congress made what was described as ‘a refined and systematic exposition on the theory of the primary stage (ie. the present stage) of socialism in China.’ It reaffirmed ‘the Party’s pledge to build socialism with Chinese characteristics’. But it noted that a small number of Party members were engaging in tax evasion, smuggling, bribery, moral turpitude, breach of discipline …. ‘ And in Dodoma. Mwalimu Nyerere had spoken of ‘some dishonest public servants and unscrupulous individuals who were taking advantage of the severe economic difficulties to enrich themselves.’ (Bulletin No. 29)

The 13th Congress clearly stated that the private economic sector in China should be allowed to develop to a certain extent. ‘With the objective of common prosperity in mind, we should encourage some people to become well-off first through honest work and lawful business operations’. A sentiment surely widely understood in today’s Tanzania.

And in both countries the reforms are showing results. Chinese officials speak of a new vitality in the country’s economy – a 103% increase in GNP, a 118% increase in industrial and agricultural output, 130% improvement in per capita income and, most spectacular of all (it is necessary to queue to climb the Great Wall or see the Terracotta Warriors) a 480% increase in income from tourism since the reforms began. And in Tanzania too, important gains can be seen, Growth up significantly for two successive years, substantially increased production of crops and so on.

But China has been making changes much more rapidly than Tanzania. The new ‘Responsibility System’ has decentralised decision making and the foreign investment code has brought about massive foreign investment all over the country. Factories are springing up everywhere.

And, just as the rate of inflation, especially in urban areas, dominates conversation in Tanzania, in China I learnt that, whereas reform in the rural areas brought almost immediate benefits for farmers, urban residents felt that the most noticeable feature of reform was inflation.

Tanzania has just devalued its currency. And, according to the December 3 issue of the Economist, China seems likely soon to do the same.

As Mr. I.B. Chialo, Acting Ambassador for Tanzania when I was in China, explained to me, the ideologies of the two countries have for long had their similarities and historically Tanzania has followed China in many ways. He felt that there was much to be learnt from China even today and pointed out that, at the time we were speaking, President Mwinyi was welcoming to Tanzania a delegation (later I learnt that it was the first visit to Africa of delegates of the organisation of such a high level of representation) from the China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) which can claim credit for the remarkable development of foreign joint enterprise and other investment now to be seen in China. The Daily News in Tanzania later quoted President Mwinyi as having asked the delegation to share with Tanzania some of China’s experience in dealing with foreign investors in a socialist state. And just as in Tanzania there are those in China who are saying that the changes must be halted as they are endangering the national policy of socialism and its objective of achieving equality amongst people. Mr Chialo also told me that, although. because of the warmth of the relations between the two countries, Tanzania still received favours, the ‘era of mutual admiration is over’. “We are learning to be tough in negotiation from them” he said. He quoted several potential joint projects in Tanzania being held up because of the severe conditions on which the Chinese were now insisting.

After a busy month my visit came to an end. The Ministry of Railways let it be known that it would not be possible for me to talk to any of the persons who had contributed to the great railway project. The Chinese bureaucracy is still there.
David Brewin

Tanzanian law owes much to the colonial legacy of English law, which overlaid the traditional customary laws of Tanzania’s African communities, but some current developments and proposed reforms in English law reflect basic concepts familiar in Tanzanian legal experience. Some reforms already adopted in Tanzania are now under contemplation in England. These points emerged at a London meeting of the Britain Tanzania Society to welcome a party of senior members of the Tanzanian Judiciary.

Five Tanzanian judges made a study tour of Britain from 5th to 16th September 1988 following a request by the Chief Justice to the Commonwealth Magistrates’ Association; the main purpose of the visit was to allow the judges to acquaint themselves with recent developments in the English legal and judicial system as part of a current comprehensive programme of judicial development and training being undertaken by the Tanzanian Judiciary. The visitors took part in a seminar for British judges and then visited courts, judges and other relevant officials.

The three guests who addressed a keenly interested audience on “Justice in Tanzania” were Mr. Justice Mfalila (a High Court judge since 1972), Mr. January Ksoffe (Senior Deputy Registrar of the Court of Appeal), and Mr Exuper Mtui (Senior Resident Magistrate). They had all graduated from the University of Dar es Salaam and Mr. Justice Mfalila was greeted at the meeting by three of his former British teachers and one of his examiners, in the form of three University of London Law professors and a senior solicitor from a big City firm. The visitors themselves personified the ways in which the development of legal education in Tanzania, although it started only on the eve of independence in 1961, has enabled the country to help sister African states: Mr. Justice Mfalila has served with distinction as a judge of the High Court of Zimbabwe from 1984 to 1987 and Mr. Msoffe has been a resident magistrate in the Seychelles.

The judges outlined the legal history of Tanzania. Colonial policies of indirect rule had protected indigenous local laws by maintaining a dual judicial system. After independence Government policies had sought to promote unification, introducing a unified system of magistrates’ courts (1963) and systematic, statutory “Declarations of Local Customary Laws” relating to the family and succession. A notable and mainly successful and pioneering experiment in unification had given Tanzania a unique lead as the only Commonwealth African state to have introduced a unified system of family law in the Law of Marriage Act 1971: this applies a single set of procedures and standards for the contracting of marriages and the settlement of matrimonial disputes including divorce, while recognising the validity of all the existing diverse types of marriage (customary, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, civil etc.).

In some ways Tanzanian law has always differed from English law. Thus, trial by jury was never adopted and serious criminal charges are tried by a judge “with the aid of assessors”, whose individual opinions are advisory only; however, Mr . Justice Mfalila said that it was very rare far a judge to disagree with the Assessors and he had to state and record his reasons for doing so. By contrast, in the Primary (Magistrates’) Courts, where the majority of cases are dealt with, the magistrate sits with local assessors and decisions are made by majority vote. It is interesting to note that a recent official enquiry in England recommended a trial with assessors instead of a jury for certain difficult trials such as serious fraud offences.

Within a few days of the meeting a highly significant development in Tanzanian law took effect: from 1st October 1988 the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution by amendment in 1985 became “Justiciable” – enforceable by the courts, an interval having been allowed for the adjustment of any existing provisions which might have been inconsistent with the Bill of Rights. This development greatly enhances the power of he judiciary to protect individual rights. Needless to say, the United Kingdom has no Bill of Rights except insofar as the European Convention on Human Rights allows the European Court of Human Rights to adjudicate on the validity of British laws and practices: that international Court has given a number of adverse decisions an British law, most recently (November 1988) an the impropriety of special powers against terrorism in Northern Ireland. In Tanzania the much criticised Economic Crime Control Act 1984 might have been challenged if the Bill of Rights had been in force then, especially insofar as it originally denied legal representation to persons accused, a provision which was modified at an early stage. The Act has been further amended to restore jurisdiction to try “economic crimes” to the ordinary courts, applying the Penal Code.

Here is another example of Tanzanian law being ahead of the law of England. Early in 1989 English lawyers will be studying the revised version of the Draft Criminal Code prepared for the official Law Commission. This will be more than a century after an authoritative project to enact a criminal code for England was abandoned in the face of opposition. The Penal Code of Tanzania, continuously in force since its enactment in 1930, had its original source in the draft code rejected in England in 1880, via the model adopted as the Queensland Criminal Code 1899 which was introduced into Nigeria in 1904. There is at least the possibility that, before the end of the twentieth century, English law will have caught up with Tanzanian law by adopting a code of criminal law – which should be a valuable element in making a most important area of the law clearer and more accessible to the people.

The Tanzanian judges were questioned at the meeting about various aspects of Tanzanian law, and they were also asked what they had learnt from British legal institutions. They commented on the training value of judicial seminars and on techniques adopted in English courts to reduce delays in civil cases. They noted that in England it is proposed to simplify certain technical rules of evidence, e.g. those which impose unduly restrictive requirements on evidence given by children as witnesses; such changes have already been adopted in Tanzania (1985)!

Finally, attention turned to an issue of over-riding significance in the common problems of controlling crime and treating offenders. For at the time of the meeting a Government “Green Paper” was imminent in England which emphasised the importance of compensation of the victim of an offence by the offender: English courts may be required to order compensation in future, unless they can record reasons against doing so in particular cases. Yet this is to recognise a truth which was accepted as fundamental in African societies of Tanzania (and other states) long before the advent of colonial rule. Indeed it was the focal point of a conference on Penal Problems in East Africa held at the University College , Dar es Salaam more than two decades ago, when a distinguished criminologist with a lifetime of practical service in Africa declared: “The great Tsonga proverb is: ‘The repair of the damage done is restitution’ .. . . the true corrective of crime has little value if the one who suffered is not compensated.” [H.P. Junod]

Jim Read

THE JUDICIARY AND THE PARTY
The Daily News in its issue of November 3, 1988 reported on a seminar being held in Dar es Salaam on ‘The Role of the Judiciary in the Implementation of the 15-Year Party Programme.’

Party Secretary General Rashidi Kawawa, had told the participating judges that laws played a vital role in social and economic transformation especially in a society where the interests of the toiling masses were being trampled upon by the exploiting class. “The courts must at all times protect and champion the interests of the workers and peasants as a way of implementing the Party programme” he said.

Judge Goodwill Korosso, like many participants, observed that not all colonial laws were irrelevant to the aspirations of a socialist state under formation. British laws inherited at independence had been based on the principles of ‘natural justice’ which were the same for a socialist or capitalist society.

Judge Robert Kisnaga expressed concern over an allusion in the paper presented by party cadre Professor Daimon Mwaga to the effect that the courts of law could not afford to remain neutral in the overall struggle to build a state based on class interests. “I have in all my years in this job believed that the courts are an independent arm of the state” he said. He requested to be informed if the situation had changed.