tanzania natural resources
Tanzania: Country Isn't Poor; It 
Lacks
Political 'Think Tank' and Action
By Eugene Jasson and Deogratias
Kishombo for The
Citizen (Dar es Salaam) found at allafrica.com
28 November 2007
For a long time now we have been in a slumber and we need
to be awakened before it is too late.
People are being brainwashed by politicians to believe
that Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. May be this is part
of a hidden agenda!
After intense observation we have came to realise that
so-called Tanzania's poverty is neither a phenomenon nor a noumenon but rather
the people's strategy to attain what they need.
Should we define poverty on the basis of basic needs, that
is the lack of basic needs, or as a shortage of money and resources for
propelling economic advancement? Or is it just a situation in which one is weak
economically and politically?
Ironically, we are told by the politicians that we are
poor economically, socially and even culturally.
It seems we worship so-called aid or assistance from our
ex-colonial masters. Most of our leaders believe that without foreign capitalist
nations, we can not step forward on our own.
It is obvious that poverty has its own roots. Tanzanian's
poverty has its roots too. Our ex-colonial masters and the political system
(leaders) in this country are the snags of development and must be the first to
blame. For our leaders to raise glasses and cheer with the former colonialists
in cocktails, hoping that these former colonialists would stop the poverty in
Africa it is a dream and myopia!
But should we agree that we are poor and therefore wait
for those from the West to help us, or rather conduct our own research and find
out why we are poor so that we can redress the situation?
It is a fact that many Tanzanians live in abject poverty,
that they fail to afford 'panadol,'to take a child to school, live with
inaccessibility to clean water, have poor shelters, poor clothing and
insufficient food.
But Tanzania as a country is not poor since it has a lot
of resources compared to the rest of the world, but it lacks the political
'think tank'and action .
We say 'think tank'in the sense that we need leaders who
can read history -ours and that of the world -and predict the future, of what
needs to be done for the betterment of this country.
The negative impact of indoctrinating the youth with this
kind of belief (that we are poor) by the politicians has created a habit of
intellectual laziness. This outlook is not only seen in private activity but
also in public duties or offices.
It is surprising to find that even some of our leaders are
part of that situation.
For the sake of example, let us take one event which
happened recently in Iringa region. We know that many people didn't notice it
but it was reported by an official of the regional office, that some activities
were suspended and others postponed at the office in order to pave the way for
preparations of receiving the president's son.
While we are not sure how much the tour boosted the
welfare of Iringa's residents, we equally believe that it cost the region some
money.
It also does not make sense for our leaders to go around
the world begging for money and other types of assistance while the country has
a lot of resources.
There is evidence that in Tanzania there is poor
distribution of the national income and faulty utilization of our domestic
resources. While a few work all night long, most Tanzanians remain idle and
spend most of their time resting instead of engaging in productive activity.
If one goes to a village and asks the villagers as to when
they last saw their member of Parliament, he will be astonished to hear that
he/she was seen during the campaign period.
Worse, the preparation of the national budget does not
involve people at the grassroots, as the process always involves government
officials and a few individuals from the private sector.
Such omission deepens the level of poverty in the country
as the budget fails to benefit the majority, the needy.
It is high time our leaders started to change; we are not
that poor but we misdirect resources to cater for the interests of the few. From
these few instances, one can remember the words of Oriale Nyarwatha, a lecturer
at the University of Nairobi that,"unless African leaders start thinking,
development will remain a reality yet be reached."
Eugene Jasson is a third year student at the Apostles
of Jesus Institute of Philosophy in Nairobi.
Deogratias Kishombo is a graduate of the Institute of
Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Dar es Salaam.
The writers were o-level classmates at Maruku
secondary school, Bukoba -Kagera
Related:
tanzanite
loose diamonds gemstones ...Tanzania is a country rich in folklore and
legend. At the time of tanzanite's discovery, local Maasai communities wove bold
and colorful stories around the creation of this exceptional stone. They told
that the land was set ablaze by a bolt of lightning, and that the heat from this
magic 'fire from the sky' transformed crystals on the ground into shimmering
blue-violet gems....
