Socialist Experiment in Tanzania Julius Kambarage Nyerere The high rate of population growth was to frustrate economic development in Tanzania and other places. Tanzania had become independent in 1961 and was led by Julius Nyerere, a man dedicated to the well being of his fellow countrymen, a man who believed in frugality and lived that way. Nyerere was against corruption. Under his leadership, government officials and officials in his political party were obliged not to have more than one salary, own rental property or own shares in or be directors of private companies. Nyerere inspired a good press coverage, and his idealism encouraged young volunteers from places such as the United States, Britain and Sweden to come to Tanzania to help develop the country. From the industrialized West came assistance in the form of loans. But Nyerere wished to develop Tanzania without depending heavily on Western assistance. Tanzania had intelligent leadership, but it had problems. It had little mineral or other natural resources and it was divided among dozens of ethnicities scattered about the nation, most of them involved in small-scale subsistence farming. Nyerere believed that western-style economic policies were unsuited for Tanzania. He drew from the ancient African tradition of sharing in an effort to create what he saw as a special African socialism. He was not interested in Marxism-Leninism but in socialism rooted in traditional African village life. Nyerere focused on improving the standard of living in rural areas. He made Swahili the national language. Literacy in Tanzania increased from 20 percent in 1961 to 90 percent by 1983. With good rural health services, life expectancy (at birth) in this period rose from 35 years to 52. But food production was not keeping up with population growth. In 1976, Nyerere abolished his countrys 2,500 independent farming cooperatives, in part because they were politically uncontrollable. The organization that he put in their place ran deficits and soaked up most of Tanzanias investment capital. Exports of products such as tea and coffee were not enough to buy an abundance of new tools for agriculture, such as tractors, in addition to paying for the importation of oil. And fifty percent of the earnings from exports went to paying back money borrowed from abroad. Tanzanias tourist industry failed to develop, foreign vacationers preferring to go to Kenya because transportation to Kenya cost about half that of traveling to Tanzanias game parks. After ten years in office, Nyerere admitted failure. Inequality among its cities, a life of poverty is the experience of the majority of our citizens, he said. The country was experiencing shortages of cooking oil and gasoline. Hotels in his capital, Dar es Salaam, were falling into disrepair. There had been a movement of people to the big city and in the capital street gangs were coming into existence. Nyerere deplored his countrys continued dependence on foreign assistance and its deficit financing. It was Nyereres socialism that had failed. The nation suffered from a bloated government bureaucracy. Farmers had resisted government policies and the government-created communal villages and farming. In 1983, Nyerere gave up on his socialist dream and declared that the government would again permit private enterprise in farming, including companies investing in private commercial farms. Nyerere agreed to cut government subsidies and to cut state run organizations. Faced with famines and mass starvations, Nyerere resigned in 1985, after twenty-four years as his nations president. And the new regime that took office began dismantling government controls over the economy. Socialist Experiment in Tanzania Julius Kambarage Nyerere The high rate of population growth was to frustrate economic development in Tanzania and other places. Tanzania had become independent in 1961 and was led by Julius Nyerere, a man dedicated to the well being of his fellow countrymen, a man who believed in frugality and lived that way. Nyerere was against corruption. Under his leadership, government officials and officials in his political party were obliged not to have more than one salary, own rental property or own shares in or be directors of private companies. Nyerere inspired a good press coverage, and his idealism encouraged young volunteers from places such as the United States, Britain and Sweden to come to Tanzania to help develop the country. From the industrialized West came assistance in the form of loans. But Nyerere wished to develop Tanzania without depending heavily on Western assistance. Tanzania had intelligent leadership, but it had problems. It had little mineral or other natural resources and it was divided among dozens of ethnicities scattered about the nation, most of them involved in small-scale subsistence farming. Nyerere believed that western-style economic policies were unsuited for Tanzania. He drew from the ancient African tradition of sharing in an effort to create what he saw as a special African socialism. He was not interested in Marxism-Leninism but in socialism rooted in traditional African village life. Nyerere focused on improving the standard of living in rural areas. He made Swahili the national language. Literacy in Tanzania increased from 20 percent in 1961 to 90 percent by 1983. With good rural health services, life expectancy (at birth) in this period rose from 35 years to 52. But food production was not keeping up with population growth. In 1976, Nyerere abolished his countrys 2,500 independent farming cooperatives, in part because they were politically uncontrollable. The organization that he put in their place ran deficits and soaked up most of Tanzanias investment capital. Exports of products such as tea and coffee were not enough to buy an abundance of new tools for agriculture, such as tractors, in addition to paying for the importation of oil. And fifty percent of the earnings from exports went to paying back money borrowed from abroad. Tanzanias tourist industry failed to develop, foreign vacationers preferring to go to Kenya because transportation to Kenya cost about half that of traveling to Tanzanias game parks. After ten years in office, Nyerere admitted failure. Inequality among its cities, a life of poverty is the experience of the majority of our citizens, he said. The country was experiencing shortages of cooking oil and gasoline. Hotels in his capital, Dar es Salaam, were falling into disrepair. There had been a movement of people to the big city and in the capital street gangs were coming into existence. Nyerere deplored his countrys continued dependence on foreign assistance and its deficit financing. It was Nyereres socialism that had failed. The nation suffered from a bloated government bureaucracy. Farmers had resisted government policies and the government-created communal villages and farming. In 1983, Nyerere gave up on his socialist dream and declared that the government would again permit private enterprise in farming, including companies investing in private commercial farms. Nyerere agreed to cut government subsidies and to cut state run organizations. Faced with famines and mass starvations, Nyerere resigned in 1985, after twenty-four years as his nations president. And the new regime that took office began dismantling government controls over the economy.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 23:40:16 +0000
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