Why it is so difficult for the government to ensure development
Suzy Wangwe
Tue, Dec 15, 2009
I keep wondering why it is so difficult for the Tanzanian government
to ensure development.
Development is actually very easy, especially in countries with an
enormous financial ability like Tanzania.
It is a matter of ensuring an effective utilization of our Basic
factor endowments , to stimulate the creation of some advanced factor
endowments.
It just as simple as stabilizing the Tanzanian Macro environment, to
make the Micro-environment efficient.
Imagine electricity supply. A basic infrastructure that is meant to be
non-negotiable, in terms of provision. Tens of billions has been
poured into it’s rehabilitation, yet it remains dysfunctional. How
come other countries have constant electric power supply, even when
they are not as rich as Tanzania.
What about Security? Why can’t our police be enviable? What is so
difficult in providing adequate police equipments and adequate
training. Why can’t they be paid well?
The most painful one is the construction of roads. Why can’t the
government bring out money and construct very good and regulated
roads. Since Tanzanians don’t mind paying toll fees, why can’t they
embark on a govt-private sectored initiative to solve the problem?
I don’t understand what is making our government officials so anti-
developmental. Even the ones that claim to be good get carried away
when they get into power. It is a big problem that needs to be
solved.
After all said and done, I am increasingly growing worried about the
disheartening trend.
It’s very challenging to develop because people like yourself and
myself are not doing anything, but complain and use corrupt leaders as an excuse.
It takes the entire village to raise a bright kid; I think it also
takes everyone of us to see a well developed Tanzania.
Many of us are too busy and too focus on only making money; none of us is willing to volunteer to contribute anything toward developing this country.
May be this is the right moment for each and everyone of us to pause and ask ourselves this question:
I’m now 25 yrs old or 30 yrs old or 40 yrs old or 50 yrs old, through
out my life as a Tanzanian, what have I ever done for this country?
If you can not come up with at least 2 things, you’re part of the
problem.
The Problem with Tanzania is the lack of our government’s political
will to develop the country.
The single and most important pre-requisite for a nations development is the investment sector and climate of a country. For a country like Tanzania, many people seem not to understand that being literate (Educationally) does not really count anymore. The huge number of graduates in Tanzania vindicates my assertion. What matters more now is economic empowerment, which will serve as a catalyst for the growth of every other sector. To provide this economic empowerment several things needs to be on ground, ranging from right governmental policies
to the availability of infrastructures. These are what the government should put in place before things will start adjusting naturally.
A friend of mine that is a medical doctor once thought about
introducing mobile medical clinics in Tanzania, after spending several years in Germany. He looked at the pros- and cons-, then quietly gave up the idea. I asked him why. He told me straight up that his cost of offering the service will outweigh the profit he intends to make. He mentioned the erratic nature of availability of fuel during industrial crisis in the oil sector , Lack of protection from armed robbers when moving around cities, the high cost of repairs of his mobile hospital trucks and vans will gulp alot of money due to bad roads etc. This is exactly what I am saying. Government does not need to embark on the provision of everything. They can just make the environment suitable
and make some effort to encourage investments, and things will
naturally take their places. Like my Dr Friend, I have seen more than 30 Tanzanian born doctors with similar Ideas and adequate funds to do same. Of course all of you know that people don’t make money to throw it around.
Entrepreneurial Investment covers every sector of the economy,
Education, security, health, etc. The adequacy of These things can easily be achieved if the Tanzanian government is sincere and ready to allow them to come.
You have the right passion ,but the wrong premise. . .the
Government ,or any Government anywhere in the world cannot bring about development
Here is a simple example that you are familiar with by now. . .TTCL and the GSM companies. TTCL with the market to itself, a behemoth that should have been able to make millions, providing basic phone services to the populace, could barely maintain 2million landlines and a pathetic amount of cellphone lines. . .it was corrupt and inept. .slow to adopt new technologies
now contrast the change. since GSM operators were licensed, we now have achieved a compound growth rate of over 2000% in the first couple of yrs in terms of mobile and voice growth. . .it has now slowed to a rate of 54% as at last yr, but it is still the fastest growth rate anywhere on earth. telecoms and communication now account for 3.4% of GDP, up from virtually 0% in 2001.
the reason i tell you all these is that, the Government doesn’t have the money to do all that is needed to be done. if u bring in $1trillion dollars today and pour it into developmental needs of the country, it will swallow it and ask for more. .so knowing all these, it means that we have to attract capital from outside our shows, since we dont have enough of it internally
how does capital come?. . .BY making sure u have rules and regulation clearly spelt out, then keeping the govt out of it. .or at the barest minimum. . .
Government now controls TANESCO .any surprise that its not working?
look at TPDC . BP is valued at over$300bln dollars. . .while our own govt controlled TPDC does not even own a functioning refinery. meanwhile if u float TPDC today on the stock exchange, get govt out. . .it will now attract private capital that will help it build refineries. invest in what needs to be done, at the same time cut corruption out of it, and u can begin to see its valuation rise to
rival even Petrobras or Bp
multiply this template throughout the Tanzanian economy and u will get rapid growth and development to the tune of 12%per annum or more. . . but how many of us really understand this?
some people even argue for more government control or socialist policies like fuel subsidy and the like. the developed countries which u cite, all they do is have strong laws, and attract capital. . .thats it. . .it dont matter from uk to japan. thats how they do it, because any economic system dominated by the govt is bound to fail. so lets hope they de-regulate and privatize this TPDC soon.
govt should get out of the business of importing or subsidizing fuel, power production and distribution should be liberalized. especially this issue of govt setting the price of power roads and road construction should be concession for the most part. in agriculture, there should be emphasis on direct loans to commercial farmers and improved skills.
again a policy exert should be done in conjunction with banks and govt should then tighten its tax collection abilities, because once the economy starts growing rapidly, govt major source of income should be from taxation. so it should be able to collect taxes from all businesses in the country, from small to the corporation.
You contradict yourself Kaisi when you say the government can not bring about development, and you go along to show how it could put up systems to bring about development.
The problem is, our government is not doing that and therefore it is blocking development. Why for example they are not allowing competition in the energy sector, especially distribution of electric power?
Our government is busy traveling and attending seminars, and not doing what it is supposed to do.
No investor will put his/her money when there is no power, no water, no security and people are lazy (talk too much and do too little), everybody is corrupt, the system is slow, everything is politicized (politicians have absolute power over everything), everybody can do everything with impunity, etc.
Good governance attracts investment.
Wanabidii,
Development, like civilization is a very complex matter. It surely is more than economic growth, good medical facilities and schools, and economic infrastructures, though it encompasses those and a lot more.
Development must be of people to master their environment for better life. First and foremost, education is a must, then good policies to facilitate peoples’ efforts, and finally economic empowerment.
I wonder how many of the leaders we choose have our development in mind, let alone ideas as to how to bring it without resorting to outsiders.
We must know our problems and find ways of solving them OURSELVES
Mr Kaisi,
If the foreign investors were interested in sharing their ideas and technological know-hows with the countries they exploit, Africa and Tanzania would been well developed country.
Africa’s and Tanzania’s natural resources have built castles, mansions and villas since the white man set foot on the African soil.
If these foreign free marketers were interested inthe development of countries in which they operate, the horrific war in your next door neighbor, Democratic Republic of Congo, which has taken about 5.4 million African lives while foreign free marketers are exploiting the resources would have stopped.
If government subsidies is socialism, then the World Food Program, obtained through subsidies, given to farmers in countries ruled by powerful western governments, to feed the world’s population, displaced by proxy warriors, financed by their free marketer friends, is one colossal example of socialism. A GOVERNMENT MUST BE ABLE TO PROTECT ITS CITIZENS FROM both LOCAL AND FOREIGN EXPLOITERS!