Since the departure of Mwalimu Nyerere from power in 1985, it has become customary for Tanzanians to denounce their political leaders as being ‘arrogant’ and ‘corrupt’. Strangely enough though, this has coincided with the increased role of the international financial institutions – the World Bank and IMF in particular, in the country’s development agenda, especially through the various economic reforms that are being instituted and implemented in the country under the supervision of these two sister institutions.
Since the inception of economic reforms in the country in the mid 1980s, it seems to a section of Tanzanians that the country has lost ownership of its development agenda as all matters pertaining to development policies are no longer dictated by the Tanzanian government, and instead they are prescribed and closely monitored by the World Bank and the IMF. This is clearly demonstrated in the AID industry whereby Foreign AID has become a major tool that ensures that rich countries have a ‘net gain’ when it comes to flows of resources between Tanzanians and citizens in the donor countries. In this context, the country’s leadership is left with two options: to either implement the economic reforms that come with strict conditionality, or to receive no Aid. Throughout most of the post – independence period, the option has been the former, and a large portion of the country’s budget has continued to rely heavily on AID funds.
There is no evidence that donors systematically apportion AID to governments that are less corrupt (see a study by Sevensson, 2000). Instead, some studies (see Alesina and Weder, 1999), indicate that there is a tendency for “more corrupt governments” to receive “more foreign Aid”. Tanzania appears to fit in well with this formula. From having being the continent’s ‘darling’ of integrity under Nyerere’s leadership, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, Tanzania is slowly evolving into becoming a criminalized state. Her legal system is in shambles and court rulings are for the most eminent bidders; the country has become heaven for money laundering and a drugs fortress for international drug lords; and has also become a major transit centre for drugs, whereby allegedly, some senior officials from the ruling party and the government are largely involved.
Regardless, donors’ support to Tanzania highly correlates with an increased criminalization by the state. It was only recently when the World Bank released its infamous policy brief entitled “Tanzania Economic Update: Stairways to Heaven”. This is disturbing especially since what donors appear to do is to reward what they perceive as good performance with or without knowledge that, they encourage corruption and arrogant leadership that continues for instance to take the electorate at ransom, by capturing the state as if it is a property for the elected.
Given such appalling assessments by the World Bank, it appears as though donors and the majority of Tanzanians see the country in two contrary perspectives. The verdict about corruption and development in Tanzania seems to be divided between these two camps as follows: On the one hand is the donor community. It is common practice for donors to cite Tanzania as a major success story and use its performance to justify increased AID to the continent, based on the notion that policy and institutional reforms spearheaded by the International Financial Institutions have sparked rapid development in Tanzania. Over the last twelve years, on average, the country’s GDP growth rate has been impressive, over 6%. Given such statistics, economists from the International Financial Institutions have consistently praised Tanzania as a living example for Sub – Saharan African economies throughout the period.
But on the other hand, it is the majority of Tanzanians who, so far, the declared success by the international financial institutions (which is also admired by the ruling elite), have hardly brought them some tangible results. For example, rising unemployment, especially among the youths, and extreme levels of poverty are giving rise to adverse social effects such as hiking crime levels. Average Tanzanians have yet to witness any real changes in their livelihoods despite the International Financial Institutions’ affirmation. Although the economy is supposedly growing speedily, the concentration of growth is only in the capital (Dar-es-salaam) and mineral – energy dominions, and it doesn’t trickle down to the common man.
It is in this context that arrogant leaders arise and there has been an amazing exhibit of arrogance of power among them. It is as if Foreign Aid has produced a predatory elite class in Tanzania because AID has made the ruling elite become extremely powerful, wealthy and more distant from the ruled class. The predatory elite are very skillful at providing the donor community with what they want and need – “the implementation of market friendly economic policies and reforms”, at the expense of a weakening democracy and underdevelopment. The elites are fully aware that as long they spend AID funds transparently and don’t breach the spending limits, even if it means scaling down funds set aside for poverty alleviation projects, they can rob tax payers money and kill with impunity. Why would they care especially if in the end the donor community that provides the country with development funds is already praising them as good leaders in the verge of taking their citizens to the Promised Land?
No wonder most comments made in public by the ruling elite about the state of affairs in the country leave many agape and in dismay, wondering whether these leaders are ‘heaven sent’, or ‘electorate sent’. It is common for the ruling elite to indulge in politics of mudslinging, accusing and labeling all those questioning or challenging the current state of affairs in the country as ‘enemies of the state’. However, the real intention behind such behavior by these predatory elite has been to deflect the public’s focus from larger and important societal issues that have real and immediate effects in their daily livelihoods. Otherwise, it is only the ‘corrupt’, not the ‘democrats’, who would feel imperiled by the ongoing social movements that demand change. The ruling elite fail to understand that democracy is People, not the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania. At most, the latter is the product of the former, hence its servant, not the master.
There is a consistent display of insensitive arrogance from the ruling elite. For example, it is common to hear them lecturing the opposition that they are still too immature to lead the country and instead, they should first learn from the best, implying the ruling party – CCM, especially on matters pertaining to economic and political leadership. To the ruling elite, the pace of the country’s economic progress is satisfactory, and it is not the duty of Tanzanians to challenge or question such pace, but instead to conform to it. This argument becomes more justified when donors come up with positive assessments of the country’s state of affairs which literally is an approval of the leadership conduct of the elite in power. However, this self-assessment style of leadership among the elites (shared by the donor community) bears little similarity to what is happening on the ground, especially in the socio – economic and political contexts. Also the attitude among the elite that CCM is here to stay negates the very notion of democracy that is being promoted by the donor community, particularly on the importance of electoral cycles whereby election results are not pre-determined by self-fulfilling elections but instead, are determined by the choice made by the people at the polls.
Many Tanzanians continue to wonder – when will the donor community wake up and smell the coffee? The state continues to kill people with impunity and the elites continue to enrich themselves via tax payers’ money while majority of Tanzanians continue to live in hopelessness and despair in a country which is blessed with almost all kinds of natural wealth. Glooming rankings of Tanzania practically in every Human Development Index prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), should have been a clear denunciation of the position of the ruling elite by the donor community about the state of affairs in the country. Otherwise, as long as the donor community continues to sideline with the ruling elite about the state of affairs in the country, the ruling elite (not the people) will continue to be both the judge and the jurors in all counts concerning their performance in office.
It is a bitter truth to swallow that the ruling elite and donor community are satisfied with the pace and levels of progress in the country, and this hardly leaves Tanzanians with much options when it comes to changing the current order of affairs for their betterment. Unless Tanzanians decided to pursue an extreme option that is left before them and that is – taking a revolutionary stance to root out the predatory elite before it sucks them and the future generations to their bones. God Bless Tanzania, God Bless Africa.
Author: Mtanzania Mzalendo