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On Tanzania’s donor dependence syndrome

MAKWAIAWA KUHENGA
Daily News; Thursday,February 21, 2008 @19:02

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BEFORE me is a descriptive piece published by one of the leading dailies in the course of US President George W. Bush’s visit to this country which tells in a simple language the shameful donor dependence levels this country has sunk thus far. Open text: The scene at Amana Hospital yesterday was reminiscent of a hectic household 15 minutes before a wedding dinner party.

Whereas some were busy (at the hospital compound) planting grass, painting walls and cleaning up the hospital’s outdoor walkways, others were the hospital compound’s pavements and pathways or affixing decorations in the halls. In-patients were hastily given new garments, and the usually overcrowded wards, suddenly, had a bed for its patients -- no sharing. End text.

What does one make out of this item? More than 40 years of independence today, Tanzania has patients sharing beds if not sleeping literally on the floor! The most shameful episodes of all is that it takes the visit of an American president for our authorities to produce beds for each patient and new hospital bed garments!

The questions to ask are: What is the expense involved in putting up beds in hospitals? Doesn’t this country possess immense timber resources some of which are being logged off the country? Do we have to have necessarily metal-made beds that would oblige us to use foreign exchange to import? Another set of questions: Do we need the president of the United States to visit us to tide up our hospitals? Before responding to these questions, let me report on what I heard from ordinary people as they were being interviewed on the Bush visit:

“Nimefulai sana ujio wa Bush. Ana ela nyingi sana yule, yaani nchi yake Malekani. Ataisevu sana nchi hii..” (I am very happy with the Bush visit. He has lots of money. He will save this country). This is what one of them had to say to the television news reporter in colloquial Swahili. So this is where we are sunk -- from the led to the leaders, it is dependence through and through! Nobody is talking the language of KUJITEGEMEA -- self-reliance-- even as a declaration of intent!

If one listens to most speeches by our leaders, there is no repugnance on the country’s continued donor dependence -- in fact nobody feels ashamed that 40 per cent of the budget of this country is donor funded. Donor support has been taken almost for granted or automatically by our successive governments with the exception of only the first post independence government of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere which had self-reliance as a cornerstone of its economic policies, albeit as a declaration of intent.

And what is even worse, nobody is worried of the consequences of continued dependence on the so-called donor community. How does a country safeguard its sovereignty and independence of thought and action when it has to move bowl in hand begging for donations? As a matter of fact, invariably all speeches by most of our leaders are geared to please “donors” and in fact if there is a voice of “public opinion” that is singularly effective and taken seriously by the powers that be in this country is the donor community!

It does not really matter what the people feel on the ground, it is the feel and sentiments of the donor community that counts -- it is they who did put pressure to bear to initiate investigations into the EPA scandal at the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) and we have had an investigation! I may be wrong in this opinion, but at any level, is dependence a sign of more or less freedom anywhere? Now, let us revisit our monumental shame of failing to provide beds for our patients in hospital.

What could be the excuse for this really? At community level, are we unable to institute a self-help programme under which local governments can mobilize carpenters to make beds using our abundant timber resource? Who said vitanda vya chuma (metal-made beds) are necessarily suited for hospitals? Do we need the Americans to buy beds for us apart from mosquito nets?

I was looking at the ranks in terms of support Tanzania has received from the “donor community” and someone has told me that the Americans actually rank number seven from the list of donors to this country as compared to the British who rank number one in terms of support to this country. Perhaps the Americans will now overtake the British with their 700 million-dollar grant which most of us seem so excited and overjoyed about.

But I would advise the Americans and all others who want to support us to deploy a SELF-RELIANCE benchmark as qualification number one to deserve future grants rather than “democracy and good governance”. This will help jolt us -- all of us Tanzanians -- to our senses if we are to be cured of this crippling donor dependence virus inimical to the very independence and sovereignty of our country.

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COMMENTS ON THE STORY

Name:

Deus, Ruga

Comment:

Tanzania is a country blessed with lots of resources but has remained poorest of the poorest countries of this planet for one main reason-apart from Mwl Nyerere there has been no other leader who can be seen as patriotic! Well! I am black and proud to be black but let us agree on one point, 'black' Africans never plan for the next day-we believe in tomorrow will take care of itself.I think we ought to plan beyond *today*Aren't you people out there astonished at the rate our resources are being given away for free? Is the life in the biosphere coming to an end soon? Long term plan is a must!!!

Name:

Flavio, kosmas

Comment:

The depence syndrome has cripled the whole society from the top to the bottom of the society, This disease has even made our leadership to sign the contracts that give foreign companies more rights to own our gold mines and our other preious minerals for the period of 25 years and pay just 3% of the total revenue to the government and they part with the 97% to their respective countries. I am forced to remeber the statement given by Our late mwalim Nyerere when he remarked that" let our precious minerals remain in the soil untill my people will become well equipped with the knowledge to extract them" We have to integrate our experts in those mines in order to facilitate the tranfer o technology to our society>

Name:

Gwa, Nyeya

Comment:

Ndugu Kuhenga, I like the idea of self-reliance benchmark as a qualification for further assistance by donor agencies. However, in my view, no donor nation will dare mention it. You know why? One reason is that a poor nation's change from dependence to independence can be perceived as a threat to a donor country. Look at the emerging powers--China and India, for example. The west does not feel comfortable with this emergence.

You know, to be independent means that you are also influential and therefore, powerful, which also means that you can challenge the world's leading club--the western nations. Of course, no one in the western world is likely to accept this argument, but one holds it unconsciously. You just watch the diplomatic behavior and you will note it.

Therefore, the self-reliance benchmark should primarily be enforced by the wananchi and their government.

Otherwise, thank you for your brilliant idea!

Name:

anthony, katoke

Comment:

Name:

Peter, Roots

Comment:

I thank God whole heartedly that there are people who are willing to stand up and say we want to stand on our own feet!
I along, with many other expats, have been working with Tanzanians, in Tanzania, to support and encourage self reliance. It is a long steep road but one we need to travel. Unfortunately so many ordinary people we met wanted us to either do the work for them or give them money.
This is popular with many in the west as it is an easy way to salve their conciseness and is seen as giving the 'poor' what they want so is 'politically correct'.
Dependably only breeds more dependancy, it will never solve anything for anyone!

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