Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Gender Equality and Politics in Tanzania
Article/ Feature
27/July/2011
Gender equality in Tanzania: beyond political struggles
By: Clarence KIPOBOTA (Advocate)*
The sunrays could not allow me see her eyes in order connect facial expression and what she told me about her begging routine business. “We are no longer trusted as poor people who can live without others’ support. We are increasingly regarded as lazy and worthless people. Therefore we manage to get only few cents during the day. But that is all what I have to do for my continued existence,” said Mama Salumu when we interact recently.
Mama Salum’s tale holds a lot of meaning and can be analyzed in different ways which could be true or false. Being a case as it may, what is certain at least from various reports is that, Tanzanians face myriads of socio-economic and political challenges.
Of certain is also a fact that, women do suffer hundreds times than men. As it has already been stated, harmful traditional practices are root causes of all these troubles. But again, a lot has been done so far by government and civil society organizations (CSOs). It is not easy to allocate credits to one side without appreciating efforts of the other.
However, a level of support to each part is not certain. Sometimes, one side blames the other of being unenthusiastic and nagging for impossibilities just for purposes of pleasing the donors; while at the same time, the other side complains of dilatory in making positive changes. It is therefore still a partnership in discourse. There is no clear agenda of what do we want to do for and with these poor Tanzanian women.
It is also unfortunate that the current policy and legal frameworks put more weight on political emancipation than ensuring economic survival. What is echoed in louder voice is how many women are positioned and entrusted to take political positions, but not how many rural and urban women are able to make their independent untamed husbands’ orders and living out of begging like Mama Salum.
Then, it is time for economic struggle. A hungry person cares much about his or her next meal and not to vote or be voted.
A hungry woman lacks confidence and ability to pursue her rights. We have heard of several cases of gender based violence which end up at family level for a fear of incriminating a bread-winner, who once jailed, the family life is also jailed into more troubles. A hungry woman cannot also have surplus saving to board a bus or Chinese motorcycle to search for justice which is ‘located’ hundred miles away from her locality. What is best option for her is not a search for imprisonment of her stubborn husband, but to opt for survival of her starving children.
The political struggles brought notable achievements. Today, several rural women can claim equal access to land and other natural resources. Records of legal aid providers such as Legal and Human Rights Centre and Tanzania Women Lawyers Association show that more women are going for legal aid. Obviously the awareness of their legal rights is on increase. Moreover, numbers of those who are elected directly from the constituencies are on increase to trigger increase of special seats as well in the parliament.
The laws including the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 give them good backing. But it is only for small fraction of women, mostly the elite in urban centres who know relatively little about their colleagues in the streets like Mama Salum or others in the draught villages.
A simple analysis tells that very few could cherish having their fellow women in the parliament because they hardly heard of speaking and fighting for the rights of their colleagues. In fact, some of them remain mute throughout parliamentary tenure. Probably, we have increased numbers and not voices of the voiceless women.
At this critical situation then, collective emancipation of women becomes vital. Apart from guarantee them equal enrolment rates and all other good stuff to fight gender disparity, it is time to think of the aftermath of all those initiatives.
Even if we train millions of them without a guarantee of employment, the efforts become fruitless.
Article 23(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 states that, everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. Same right is provided for under the constitution of Tanzania.
The current situation in most of our district and municipal councils portray a contrary picture of what ought to have been a support to women’s economic life.
Instead of supporting them with soft loans, the city militias ‘support’ them with claps on their backs. Instead of pouring some ideas and skills for Mama Ntilie initiative, the authorities order pouring out of their beans and rice from the pots.
Instead of supporting them to construct decent sites for selling their stuff to the customers, the city authorities destroyed the khanga and rust iron shits used as walls for their ‘hotel.’ Instead of giving them capital, they collect massive levies and bribes from their two thousands full-day earning.
Those who are working for gain in bars; hotels and residential places do suffer same challenges. The penal laws prohibit trafficking in human for any purpose, but because of same challenge of economic reliance, small girls from Iringa, Mbeya, Dodoma and all over Tanzania are brought in the cities.
Their poor parents who failed to take them to further studies if not primary schools easily accept once the urban ‘job agent’ comes with just few cents and millions of promises.
At the cities, the girls are raped, overworked, killed and so on. Few ‘lucky’ ones escape the ordeals and save as barmaids and beggars like Mama Salum. The world still remains unkind for them. They remain prey for unscrupulous guys who take their poverty into granted. Hence, fall victims of HIV, mothers of homeless children and so on.
Most of the CSOs in Tanzania have failed to address these challenges. They bang doors of the government for advocacy of political and civil rights only. Just few of them understand that real women’s emancipation begins from ensuring decent income generating works in order to give them confidence and ability as said above.
Some which addresses women health rights, fail to address how health issues in particular reproductive rights constrains women ability to earn income. Few which talk about women economic rights do not address how failure of public services such as water and current unreliable electricity impact on women. They do not also make good account of the intensity of labor force which these women face without recognition or payment.
On the other hand, the employment policies of Tanzania do not give good and viable strategies on those challenges and others. For instance, as ILO Report of 2002 indicates, women are concentrated in informal economy which does not guarantee them sufficient future survival. What viable strategies do we have in place to address this situation?
The business of financial processes is booming. Several Financial Institutions are operating on pretext of implementing and supporting the Micro-Economy and SMEs Policies. It is out of context here to question where do they get money in order to trade money. Of relevance is the fact that lots of people including women go to them for loan. They mortgage their domestic utensils, TV sets and furniture.
It is quite easy to access loan from these institutions after all securities are deposited to them. Now, an unskilled woman takes a half million loan to start her Mama Ntilie business. Just within a week or so, the city militia comes with all kinds of violence. The loan capital disappeared and, her utensils and small futures she collected for a decade are sold. She runs off to zero start.
There is no one is interested to ensure that, these women are safeguarded against harsh loan facilities. There are government facilities such as Small Entrepreneurship Loan Facility (SELF) under Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. But, it is not known to majority. Probably one has to wait Sabasaba Fair Trade to get to know all these because it is when they come to display their services.
As for the legal framework, we have laws such as Employment and Labour Relations Act of 2004 and Land Act of 1999 which blankly state that women have equal rights to men to work and own land. But the policies in support to those laws are mute of strategies as stated above.
I am of settled opinion that, it is not enough to mention gender issues and give intrinsic links to poverty without bringing practical solution and mechanisms of achieving the results areas. Obviously, this is why MKUKUTA, MKURABITA, MKUMBITA, KILIMO KWANZA and all those similar stuff remain to be giant sleeping documents.
I think government and CSOs needs to refocus their strategies and gender dimensions. The truth is that, these rural and poor women whom you targeted for so long time actually know most of their rights. They actually know the courts are for adjudication of legal problems. But they do not know how to access it. They now understand that, overdependence to their husbands is a root cause of their mistreatment, but they do not know how to get rid of this situation.
This is why feminists and other rights groups including the Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children need to move a step forward of advocacy.
There are good policies and laws to work on. For instance, the Tanzania Economic Empowerment Policy of 2004 talks about capital as driving force for national and individual economic empowerment. The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Policy of 2002 recognizes SMEs as tools for employment, income generation and poverty alleviation. The National Microfinance Policy of 2002 talks about strategies that serves the low-income segment of the society.
We can make use of opportunities provided in those policies to change chorus of our “civil-political-rights” song.
The district and municipal council should stop to be mechanical and blind of real situation. It time to allocate budget for offering soft loans using existing micro-structures instead of investing in city militia to harass our mothers.
It is also a ripe time to sell the City Director’s or DED’s posh VX 8 Toyota and increase development budget for SMEs. We can also stop buying office furniture every year and save for our toiling mothers.
Mama Salum and others depend on just few well-functioning and patriotic heads to have their daily bread and survival without such humiliations they experience. Why can’t we think of others the way we love ourselves? Who is there for our mothers and poor girls?
* Clarence KIPOBOTA holds Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B (Hons)), Masters of Community Economic Development (Msc. CED) and Certificates in Human Rights and UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania, currently working as Legal Consultant with LEGAL AND DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS LIMITED (LEDECO). He is also Human Rights Activist. Email: kipobota@yahoo.com Tel: +255 762776281/ +255 222700695.
Situation of Persons with Disabilities in Tanzania
Article/ Feature
02/December/2011
International day of PWDs 2011: Call for inclusion of persons with disabilities in development
By: Clarence KIPOBOTA (Advocate)*
“There are long-term benefits in having a work place free from discrimination and one which promotes diversity. These enhance the profitability of the company and of the individual employees;” Says His Excellence Tim Clarke, European Union Ambassador as quoted by an advertisement in this newspaper on 2 December 2011 at page 12.
The magnitude of discrimination and other forms of mistreatment against persons with disabilities (PWDs) is apparently decreasing at least in some of the places. Obviously, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the government through good support of funding partners are doing a good job to reform the ill-mindset of the people, which is rooted in some of the harmful traditional practices.
There is in place the Parsons With Disabilities Act of 2010 of Tanzania, which incriminates all forms of discrimination and mistreatments against persons with disabilities, while at the same time provides for the rights and duties of the same. It is a law of its kind, probably, the whole of East African Region. It came after long sufferings of these people, after hundreds of assaults and deaths caused by the said ill-mindset.
Despite this notable positive progress reached so far, more is desirable to make this world and in particular Tanzania a safe and convenient place for everyone regardless of deformity or any other reason. We are equal but different in terms of sex, gender, morphology and so many other reasons. Disability is one of them.
The global statistics show that, there are approximately 650 million people in the world who are living with disabilities. Therefore, about 10 per cent of the world’s populations are PWDs. Out of the said number, 80 percent of PWDs live in developing countries.
As for Tanzania in particular, the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Labour Organization (ILO)’s reports of 2007 estimated that there were more than 3 million people in Tanzania who have disability. Probably the number is still the same. The number includes both physical and mental disabilities.
Therefore, a number is big enough to justify earnest attention and protection. Note that, even if could have been 0.1 percent, still the justification could have been the same because human rights protection is blind of numbers.
Reports and experience show that people with disabilities often face mistreatments in a number of ways and because of various reasons. For instance, according to Legal and Human Rights Centre’s Report (Tanzania Human Rights Report of 2008), the World Bank has estimated that, 20% of the most impoverished individuals are disabled because they lack education and employment opportunities to earn their living.
Evidently, women and children with disabilities are more susceptible to abuse, including physical and sexual violence as they may not receive sexual education and may be less able to defend themselves against sexual abuse and rape. Other reports indicate that, the mortality rates for people with disabilities are higher than children without disabilities because of same reasons.
According to CCBRT Vision 2008-2012, Guiding Tanzania Document of 2008, persons with disabilities are three times more likely to contact HIV/AIDS as they are often excluded from receiving information about HIV/AIDS and they are less likely to receive HIV/AIDS related services.
Because of combination of those factors, it is also on records that, in most of developed countries (Tanzania inclusive), about 90 percent of children with disabilities do not attend school and that, because of lack of education, these people find themselves in marginalized position as they could not be employed or self-sustaining. As a result, they form a poor family which will in return raise a poor child and access poor education which prepare him to live poor life. The vicious cycle of poverty rolls around in that way.
Therefore, the message of this year of the International Day of Person with Disabilities 2011 (which is celebrated on third of December each year), is very relevant. The message states that “together for a better world for all, including persons with disabilities in development.” I think the first step towards inclusion of PWDs in development is to give them education because they lag behind.
Tanzania Human Rights Report of 2010 which quotes the Disability Survey Report of the Government of Tanzania of 2008 confirms that, the current illiteracy rate for disabled persons in Tanzania is 47.6% compared to 25.3% of the people without a disability. That means almost half of the PWDs are not educated.
In seemingly disregard of this fact, our education system is not affirmative. Hundreds of government education reports and figures I have reviewed throughout the week do not contain good segregation of information on disabilities. They show quite impressive progress of enrolment rates in Primary Schools of boys and girls but not children with disabilities.
The figures talk about the increased ratio of books and teachers but not special learning tools and teachers for children with disabilities. The figures show increased in number of schools under Primary Education Development Programme (PEDEP) and Secondary Education Development Programme (SEDP) but I could not get vivid explanations of how may out of those are special schools for children with disabilities and how many are renovated to make them universal accessible.
So many practical factors do restrain and draw back the progress toward inclusive (with PWDs) universal primary education. As a result, only few children with disabilities are attending schools as it is stated above.
For instance, recent statistic information of 2008 and 2009 by HakiElimu and MKUKUTA Annual Implementation Report 2008/2009 shows that only 1 percent of children with disabilities were enrolled for primary school level of education and that in 2009. The enrolment decreased compared to 2008. That is, dropped from 34,661 in 2008 to 27,422 in 2009. More recent statistic would bring same figures as no any known progress is on record.
According to those and other reports, this situation is attributed by more other factors including the negative attitude of the members of the communities that, people with disabilities cannot sustain studies.
Moreover, the learning environments of most of the schools are very harsh to children with disabilities. The HakiElimu’s research of April 2009 revealed that, 95 percent of the school buildings, even those built during the implementation of PEDP have not taken into account the needs of pupils with disabilities.
Rule 6 of the UN Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities of 1994 puts obligation to every State to ensure that it make documentation readable and accessible to different groups of PWDs.
Thus, Braille and tape services for blind people, large prints for albino and persons with low vision impairments, sign language interpretation services for deaf people and other appropriate technologies should be used to provide access to written information and documentation. Other provisions of this instrument require recruitment of specialized instructors for PWDs. All these are issues which our education system needs to accommodate.
The current Education Act of 1978 as amended in 1995 and 2009 should be refocused and remove some of its provisions which, instead of safeguarding the interests of these children in schools, they actually perpetuate the violations.
For instance, Regulation 7 of the Education (Expulsion and Exclusion of Pupils from Schools) Regulations of 2002 which is made under provisions of the Education Act of 1978 permits heads of the schools to refuse to admit or readmit pupils with undesirable physical health in their schools if it appears that a pupil’s physical condition attracts undesirability for the pupil to be admitted to the school.
As DOLASED has argued, this rule is discriminatory because disabled children can be denied of access to school by being considered to fall under this broad category of having undesirable physical conditions.
The challenges, in which the children with disabilities are facing at primary school level, have direct bearing into their levels of performance and continuity to the secondary level of education.
The available statistics indicate that the level of passing the examination of pupils with disabilities is dropping. For instance, in year 2009 only 65 percent of pupils with disabilities were selected to join secondary schools comparing to 70.43 percent of 2008. Therefore, for one year only the number has dropped down for about 16 percent.
How can we make this world a better space for for all and include the PWDs in development process while we really sideline this group out of education system? The long-term benefits in having a work place free from discrimination as Ambassador Tim Clarke says, need to be designed from the level of ensuring equal access to education.
Indeed, just a trivial support of one or few others of persons with disability means million supports of others who depend on him. Now we have this good law, next step should be effectively implementing the same. The coming constitutional reforms should make explicit provision of this group to help safeguard their vulnerabilities. We can if we decide from our hearts.
* Clarence KIPOBOTA holds Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B (Hons)), Masters of Community Economic Development (Msc. CED) and Certificates in Human Rights and UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania, currently working as Legal Consultant with LEGAL AND DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS LIMITED (LEDECO). He is also Human Rights Activist. Email: kipobota@yahoo.com Tel: +255 762776281/ +255 222700695.
Rights of Indigenous Population in Tanzania
Article/ Feature
13/January/2012
Time to recognize specific rights of indigenous population in Tanzania
By: Clarence KIPOBOTA (Advocate)*
Probably, most of Tanzanians are indigenous as they find their roots here comparing with colonialists who invaded our boarders and remained to be aliens in our land. But, there are some tribal people here in Tanzania like Maasai, Hadzabe, Barbaig, Akie, and Taturu who have voluntarily decided to perpetuate their cultural distinctiveness from other groups.
According to United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations; the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights and findings of reputable international organizations including International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) there are indigenous people in Africa and Tanzania in particular.
The literatures from those institutions show that, because of the nature of the life style of people like Maasai and Hadzabe, they become completely attached to and use of their traditional land, where their ancestral land and cultural survival has a fundamental importance for their collective and cultural survival as peoples.
This is just one of the many factors which make them distinct and therefore indigenous to their land, culture and ways of survival.
It is very unfortunate that Tanzania, like several other governments of African states have refused to recognize use of the ‘indigenous’ term to refer to certain or particular group within their states. However, the Working Group of Experts on Indigenous Populations/Communities of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, observes that, ignoring to address this issue because of any reason means failure to address internal structural relationships of inequality that have persisted after liberation from colonial dominance.
In other words, the equality of rights amongst different groups within the communities need to accord special attention of certain groups with distinctive characteristics from the main streams. Failure of this means violation of their right to choose ways of livelihood.
According to IWGIA, because of the failure to grasp this important focus, the indigenous people, especially the Maasai and Hadzabe, have been subjected to a myriad of rights denials, as they are regularly face land alienation, denial of justice, violation of cultural rights and lack of constitutional and legislative recognition.
Speaking before the UN Working Group on Indigenous Population in 2006, Mr. Moringe Parkipuny, a Maasai from Ngorongoro District who is former Member of Parliament of that District, said the following statement regarding the complexity of issue concerning minority (and indigenous) rights in Tanzania:
‘Preoccupation with the promotion of the rights of the minority and the vital needs to consolidate national identity and unity are beyond doubt necessary undertakings. But, these concerns should never be persuaded to the exclusion of the protection of the legitimate rights of vulnerable minorities. To do that undermines the very objective of national unity and places a primary component of human rights to cultural diversity outside the agenda of national ethics, integrity and freedom to development options.’
That is, most fundamental rights for the indigenous minorities is to maintain their specific cultural identity and the land that constitutes the foundation of our existence as people are not respected by the state and fellow citizens who belong to the mainstream population.
The provisions of the ILO Convention Number 169 Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries of 1989 state the same. The said convention calls for recognition of specific rights of these communities especially the intrinsic link between their survival and their traditional land.
Article 26 of the ILO Convention Number 169 state that, indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories· and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired and that, States should give legal recognition and protection to the same. Sub-article three elaborates further that, such recognition shall be conducted with due respect to the customs, traditions and land tenure systems of the indigenous peoples concerned.
There are several countries around the world which have already enacted specific law to give legal recognition of indigenous peoples in their countries. One of those countries is Congo Brazzaville. Tanzania can do the same rather than continuing using a general defense to deny the reality.
My recent survey to twelve districts including Ngorongoro and Mbulu districts where Maasai and Hadzabe are respectively and predominantly living shows that, non-recognition of specific rights of these groups has actually been to the detriment of their culture and aspirations.
Because of their poor education background (among other factors), their conventional land, which the ILO Convention Number 169 talks about, have been taken by ‘invaders’ and push them out of their ways of life.
Then, having lost their only asset and means of survival as traditionalists, the Maasai men and women are forced to go to the cities to secure their survivals. They guard rich people and paid trivial remunerations. The Hadzabe try their luck in Yaeda Chini and Mono-wa-Mongo villages (Mbulu District) to wear traditional garments so that tourists can tip them. They display themselves in that way for a pay. It is unfair and inhuman for whatever justification one can advance.
The civil society organizations such as Hakiardhi, Pingo’s Forum, Cords, Taphgo, Ngonet, Alapa, Paicodeo, TNRF and Ujamaa CRT have spoken a lot about all these. On 27 March, 2007 the United Nations Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) required the government of Tanzania to adopt legislative measure to recognize the specific rights of indigenous population living in Tanzania. On 29 July, 2009 the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) did the same.
Therefore, local and international pressures need to be adhered to. There is a point that they convey for the betterment of these minority and indigenous people.
The first and immediate avenue that could give a government of Tanzania a reason to move to a the second stage is to accept the recommendations from paragraphs number 86.45 to 86.52 which were put on-hold by the Human Rights Council (HRC) sat on 3-14 October, 2011 under Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.
The said paragraphs hold lots of meaning to indigenous population. They advise the government to commit itself that it will take action against alleged perpetrators of forced eviction and pollution of drinking water; align the policies to ensure access to land and water for pastoralists; and recognize the notion of indigenous people with a view to effectively protecting their rights.
Moreover, adopt measures to preserve cultural heritage and traditional ways of life of indigenous people; launch a credible investigation of forced evictions and land conflicts and use the results of this investigation to help draft new legislation, which fully takes the rights of indigenous peoples into account; and to set up statutory consultative mechanism with organizations working on the rights of indigenous peoples to help avoid further conflicts.
It is also important for the constitutional review process to consider including specific provision on the rights of these groups. Their vulnerability, as stated above, is quite vivid and justifies special and specific attention under the provisions of the constitution and other laws. Kenya and South Africa have done this.
The minority and marginalized people should be part of the large population which enjoys the fruits of being independent nation.
* Clarence KIPOBOTA holds Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B (Hons)), Masters of Community Economic Development (Msc. CED) and Certificates in Human Rights and UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania, currently working as Legal Consultant with LEGAL AND DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS LIMITED (LEDECO Advocates). He is also Human Rights Activist. Email: kipobota@yahoo.com Tel: +255 762776281/ +255 222761730.
50 of Indepence, Real Freedom?
50 years of Independence: Are we still prisoners of our freedom?
By Clarence Kipobota
Our fathers and mothers fought vigorously for the independence of this country. They fought as individuals, political party and civil societies (mainly trade unions during the time). Ultimately, in December 1961, the country attained its independence; its freedom from the yoke of the colonialists.
From then on, we started to plan, implement and evaluate our programs as an independent nation. Everyone was optimistic that with everything at our very disposal and in our control, we would have the mandate of deciding and creating priorities, of course, within the context of our socio-economic and political capabilities.
Indeed, everything was in our control but certainly not our intellect. By this I mean the independence of our minds. As the time went on, the patriotism shown during the independence struggles, started to evaporate. Today only a few people can boldly step forward to affirm what they consider to be the benefits of being independent – 50 years after the fact.
It was the way in which post-colonialism governments conducted their businesses that necessitated the mushrooming of civil society organisations (CSOs), mainly to try and fill the gap (in service provision) left by government. And while it is something that probably needs some research to explain, one can hazard that the reason we re still prisoners despite our independence and in spite of government and CSOs efforts is found in the nature of life that we experienced prior to the independence.
Our masters conditioned us to believe that whatever they did or directed us to do was the right thing. They had the power to convince us.
After independence, the hangover still persists. Therefore, from this perspective, true independence of the mind is still to be attained.
It is the rich countries that set our democracy standard; the modality of economic development and even what our CSOs advocate for. Only a handful of programs by the government, private sector and CSOs are homegrown. The rich countries can boldly command us to legalise homosexuality as a condition for funding because they know that a hungry person has no choice.
In 1981, the World Bank issued the Berg Report on the social and economic crisis in Africa. Some economic reforms were suggested for Africa (not by Africans). And from then, aid started to flow onto the continent – albeit with tough strings attached like opening up of borders, allowing soft investment terms and moving towards multiparty democracy.
Later, we started to fight ourselves in the name of democracy. Our mothers and fathers in the villages started to fight to defend their small pieces of arable land against more powerful financial interests as they were threatened with displacement in favour of investors. And yet one has to wonder; if all these monies are being brought in by the beloved investors, how come our hospitals and schools are still lagging behind? Why are we still poor amidst plenty even after these 50 years of independence?
It is important to note that, quite impressive progress has been made so far through the work of government and CSOs. The advocacy work of CSOs has enabled government to enact pro-poor laws and policies and amend those that needed amendment. Many initiatives in terms of laws, policies and strategies have been adopted to improve the situation. And indeed today, almost all patterns of human rights and duties are documented and guaranteed in the country’s Constitution and laws.
However, the socio-economic challenges and other factors mentioned above bring more problems than solutions. Thus, the same core problems of poverty, disease and illiteracy, which were identified in the 1960s as enemies of the nation, still persist, and in newer forms and magnitudes.
For instance, the battle to reduce the maternal mortality rate is still to make its mark. At least 578 women die out of every 100,000 live births each year (equivalent to more than one maternal death per hour). In some regions or districts like Iringa, the prevalence of HIV/Aids still stands at an alarming14 percent. Adult education has come to a standstill for unknown reasons. The majority of urban, peri-urban and rural poor are able to make only one meal per a day. Educated youth continue to face the serious problem of unemployment.
All of this shows that we need to get back to the drawing board as government and CSOs in the interest of the poor Tanzanians. The first solution is to make a commitment to fight corruption with our hearts and not through papers and proclamations. We also need to give local communities and our citizens first priority when it comes to investments and this calls for empowering them in whatever way possible. Who can safeguard the interests of poor people if not the leaders and CSOs?
Secondly, we need to develop some confidence in our abilities and capacities. It is time, for instance, to draft legislation basing on the interests of our people and the context of our nation rather than the donors and a few elites.
Thirdly, it is time for CSOs to reorganise their agenda. Currently, many seem more inclined to winning the international donors’ recognition rather to listening to the real needs of the people whom they set out to serve. These donors’ agendas can be very complex and confusing. While others speak for the rights of poor women and children in the villages to access health and education facilities, others come campaigning for homosexuals’ rights and demand for the inclusion of same-sex marriages in our constitution.
Fourthly, there is a need for localising international, regional and national development programmes so that people down to the village levels can effectively participate in them in order to make these programmes more sustainable. It is time that we stopped thinking for the people. We have to think with them. It is time for rich countries to stop thinking for us. We need, as an independent nation, to think for ourselves.
Lastly, it is time that we fought the imperialist culture by favouring what we have. It is very strange, for instance, to see that while 98 percent of Tanzanians are typical Swahili speakers, laws, policies and development strategies are written in English. Some call this the ‘expert language.’ But the Swahili speaker can as well be an expert if we give him or her chance to demonstrate his capacities.
True independence that Tanzania can proudly commemorate is that which ought to have made peoples’ minds (the ordinary and the leaders) and government decisions free from the dependence syndrome.
Every process of sustainable development is attached to a mind that is productive and free to decide from available alternatives. Otherwise, we will be celebrating another 1,000 years of independence with empty hands and granaries. Let us wake up and deepen the efforts to attain that kind of independence.
Fuel Shortage and Economy
Article/ Feature
11/August/2011
Fuel vendors’ boycott: economic sabotage to be handled seriously
By: Clarence KIPOBOTA (Advocate)*
It was a week of terror and hysteria with lots of levity In Tanzania. Very few petro-stations continued to sell fuel. Then, people failed to work. Shuttling of commuter buses in the city of Dar es Salaam became a challenge. Logically, fare and price of some of the commodities immediately hiked. Ambulances stunted and stumped on the way to hospitals. Pregnant women also cried hysterically.
The fuel vendors could not hear or care. They just needed increased profit. They could not even look back to see how much have they benefited from tax evasions and avoidance because of our weak tax collection systems. They could not even think of ‘giving back to the community’ whom they drain all the monies they earn in billions as profit from their business. Being in Holly Ramadhan Month could not influence them to ‘sacrifice’ their wishes for the interests of majority poor. They are very selfish.
These people, fuel vendors, tried to show the government and everyone that they are hydra (big snake with many heads living in the ocean). That is, they can have not only a have a say, but also actions in the sovereignty of the country. Their powers could disturb everyone at once. It is like the hydra which can bite several things at the same time.
When the people cried for soaring fuel prices, our good government responded by negotiating lowering of just few coins from a letter. The energy and water regulatory authority (EWURA) directed official ceiling price. We are told that they were actually given more than one month notice of the intended adjustments.
Then, when a day came, EWURA decided to enforce its statutory powers. Strangely, these few fuel vendors who monopolize the whole market responded with a scorn tone. The government spoke, but they just hooted and jeered at it. They can probably shake the sovereignty of the country.
One of them went further to instruct the government by giving it ultimatum of 24 hours. Our tolerant government kept quite. This is how love to investment money can do. Apparently, the government fears of expelling other investors by punishing this one. It is shameful indeed. The parliament distorted its business by staging a special hearing. Thanks that we have quite bold parliamentarians who really demonstrated their love to us and not investment money.
There are few things to learn and act on from this situation. Firstly, what these vendors did to us and to the government was purely economic sabotage. That is, the deliberately decided to obstruct everything just because they wanted to be heard. Boycott is a right to everyone, but it has limitation all over the world. Essential services such as security, water, energy and the like are not allowed by law and morality to boycott.
Secondly, the government needs to think of having emergence or survival strategies in situations like this one. It is a lesson that privatization to surrender everything to the hands of few riches is dangerous. The government should retain its economic control. It is time to generally think of alternatives in different essential services such as water, energy, and electricity. Otherwise, it is quite strange to have a government which could not strongly intervene current unstable market.
Thirdly, the situation has shown how the government can be teased and still keeps quite despite of having sufficient laws and powers to back-up its actions. That fuel vendor who gave sovereign government 24 hours obviously knows that our government and its security agencies are swift to act on political protests because that where the law and policy makers are guaranteed their existence in powers. The ‘intelligence barometer’ of security forces can sense ‘chaos’ as a result of constitutional right to demonstrate but not economic sabotage. This is why he is still enjoying his life in Tanzania.
Economic sabotage is not expressly provided for in the laws of Tanzania. But some of the provisions of few laws incriminate some elements of it. For instance, Section 9 of the Fair Competition Act, No. 8 of 2003 states inter alia that, a person shall not make or give effect to an agreement if the object, effect or likely effect of the agreement to price fixing between competitors; a collective boycott by competitors; and output restriction between competitors.
The act or omission of fuel vendors of collectively boycotting to sell fuel is actually a criminal offence under this law. The law defines collective boycott to mean preventing a party to an agreement from supplying goods or services to particular persons; or restricting or controlling the terms and conditions in which a party to an agreement supplies goods or services.
Again, despite having laws which direct incrimination of ‘economic sabotage,’ the culprits are still enjoying life. When they were threatened that army could take over their business, they discretionarily decided to release fuel reserves. No one has apologized.
As some of the parliamentarians said, it is a situation which disheartened and lost confidence of the people to their government. Why is it easy to arrest and prosecute a Machinga who fight for their mingle earning but refrain from doing the same against these people who threatened the security of the country?
Fourthly, there are allegations that these people are untouchable because there are political sponsors. Therefore, they have a stake in the political economy of the country. Those who are sponsored by them automatically loose powers to deal with them because the sponsored them for purposes of safeguarding their business including how and when to do business.
Probably, politicians who are decision makers could take a lesson that, statutory powers vested on their authorities can be compromised by a fear of punishing a sponsor. Ethically then, one has to find ways of getting emancipating him or herself from this slavish politics. Otherwise, they will continue defending interests of the few to the very detriment of their individual reputation, peoples’ life and country sovereignty. It is time to fight this kind of economic sabotage.
* Clarence KIPOBOTA holds Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B (Hons)), Masters of Community Economic Development (Msc. CED) and Certificates in Human Rights and UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania, currently working as Legal Consultant with LEGAL AND DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS LIMITED (LEDECO). He is also Human Rights Activist. Email: kipobota@yahoo.com Tel: +255 762776281/ +255 222761730.
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