DAR ES SALAAM: POLITICIANS, pundits and residents are considering how the country has changed as it celebrates its 63-year independence from Great Britain on Monday 9th. Many also contemplate what the next 63 years will bring, having achieved what the country could attain in the years we are celebrating today.
At any level, Tanzania’s determined vision and objective for the future reinforce the festivities of the country’s anniversary of independence. What has changed since 1961 and what is in store for the future all falls on my today’s bedside view, assessing how much more our country has in store.
On December 9, 1961, Tanzania gained independence from the United Kingdom, which had ruled the country since the Treaty of Versailles in the late 19th century. This year’s theme will be significant for the next phase of our journey as a united nation to prosperity after the 62nd Tanzania Independence Day anniversary commemorated under the subject Keep Walking Tanzania, a shared pledge to move forward together.
We must remember that on December 9, 1961, the late Julius Nyerere, the founding president of Tanganyika, announced, to the delight of the men, women and children present, “At long last, Tanganyika, your beloved country, is free forever.” According to history, joy immediately spread across Tanganyika.
Many of you will recall that Mwalimu Julius Nyerere later stated that Tanzania and the other colonised nations required what he referred to as economic independence since political independence alone was insufficient. Hence, as we celebrate our freedom today, have Tanzania and most African nations achieved the nation’s father’s goal after more than sixty-three years?
Of course, as we commemorate the anniversary of our independence, we can celebrate the fact that no African country remains a colony politically. The subject of political independence has changed over the years, lending the nation’s independence a more comprehensive meaning and warranting our celebration.
Achieving economic independence in a globalised world is a challenge facing Tanzania and all African nations today. It is one of Tanzania’s biggest challenges, as it is for many other countries worldwide. Therefore, my focus is economic independence, which I seek to connect to political autonomy, democracy and national unity.
We can lessen our reliance on the outside world, even if complete economic independence is unfeasible. How can we accomplish this meaningfully without causing needless conflicts that could eventually become our island?
From an economic point of view, the answer primarily depends on our pragmatism and the extent to which we decide to increase our outputs, production capacities and productivity while reducing imports and boosting exports.
After participating in the conversation last year about how the country could find a long-term solution to the dollar shortage in the economy and reading the many articles in this August edition of the Daily News, I realised that Tanzania’s import-export imbalance is massive and needs to be corrected. There is a solid need to turn the populace into a more productive resource, identify ways to increase our country’s output and develop local talent.
Among other things, we must invest more freely in the productive sectors, generate as much of what we need and consume more domestically produced goods to break free from economic reliance. Similarly, we must support and grow local companies while fostering, promoting and utilising local talent.
Organising our communities to form cooperative enterprises, participate in more fruitful endeavours and maximise our natural resources has the potential to boost national income generation. More technology and contemporary production methods must replace outdated and inefficient processes.
Increasing industrialisation would allow us as a nation to create opportunities and generate revenue to support the delivery of public goods, making it undoubtedly one of the most critical areas to develop and encourage. To reduce our reliance on imported items, particularly food commodities, we should endeavour to mechanise and diversify agriculture smartly, preserve and prepare our produce and alter our lifestyles.
Regarding economic independence, I envision Tanzania with first-rate infrastructure, enough energy to cover the entire country and a technologically advanced society that keeps up with the digital world. These elements promote social cohesion, economic growth and economic development through a well-equipped human resource base.
We must urgently add and extract value from everything we do to progress economically. We should insist on creating value-driven initiatives and programmes that improve people’s lives and means of subsistence and ensure that our efforts produce lasting, noticeable outcomes.
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Considering how far we have come, the years to come will offer us the chance to work even harder and more passionately towards these admirable objectives. We now have the opportunity to be more proactive and organised to use our resources more effectively and strategically. We must continue to move as quickly as the world moves.
Since our country is nearing the end of its journey to provide the Tanzanian public with the national vision 2050 road map, I urge the pertinent Ministries and institutions to turn these principles into practical tactics and incorporate them into our upcoming development plan and national policies with mechanisms to allow monitoring progress attained.
It is necessary to keep an open-door policy to listen to and accommodate opinions, suggestions and people who sincerely want to work with us, the party in power, to further the common goal of this country since it belongs to us for the benefit of all of us. This is supported by Dr Samia’s 4R and the contributions of several other political parties.
Democracy will remain our political system as we commemorate this year’s anniversary, but it is not just a system defined by-elections. I support democracy as a political system that promotes progress, growth, self-determination and social cohesiveness.
Democracy, in my opinion, gives us a framework for organising the populace for freedom, self-reliance, peace, stability and respect for the rule of law.
Given Tanzania’s circumstances, our democracy ought to uphold freedom, honour communal values, consider African perspectives and acknowledge subgroups as components of a single, heterogeneous country. This idea of democracy reflects the people’s wishes, aspirations and will.
According to this perspective, political and economic independence must be connected in a social setting. This would enable us as a unified nation to implement democratic values in a way compatible with our social and economic environments.
As we commemorate Independence Day, I will reiterate that peace, security and stability are the fundamental elements for economic independence, growth, and advancement in the years after 1961. Despite their associated tasks and assignments, the Security Services are only partially responsible for upholding these ideals.
Based on how we coexist, uphold the law, carry out our responsibilities and refrain from wrongdoing, it is a shared duty on all of us. If we don’t choose to be civil enough, no amount of outside assistance or regulations can firmly establish peace and stability in our communities and our nation.
On this auspicious day, I congratulate the entire country and express my gratitude to everyone who continues to support our efforts to make Tanzania the prosperous, democratic country we aspire to be and the one we want to leave for our children. I also thank the education sector staff, their stakeholders and Tanzanian partners for their outstanding contributions to our development process.
Since the development and advancement of human capital depend on an educated populace, our country must continue to prioritise the education sector as we advance.
By re-establishing collaborations with development partners, Tanzania could build on its progress over the years and achieve high-quality education at all stages of the educational cycle.
Having the chance to work in education, I urge all students to benefit from the government’s initiatives to establish the necessary favourable conditions for learning and teaching, as well as the qualified instructors and ongoing educational resources offered to improve the performance of both teachers and students. In the end, this would provide this country with ready human capital.
In retrospect, young people are guaranteed a better future because the playing field is level enough for them to thrive.
Employment and other revenue-generating opportunities will be accessible to assist young people in becoming contributing members of society, provided that the proper policies and intents are in place. Since the future is in their hands, I shall encourage young people to approach their education at all levels with the highest seriousness and dedication. Recall that our ancestors once claimed that those who prepare for tomorrow will own it.
As we commemorate National Day, let’s define our political independence and connect it to national cohesion. However, we must acknowledge that national unity is the cornerstone of nation-building and political, economic and national unity influence one another.
As law-abiding, peace-loving citizens, we must respect one another and give each other the space they need to live in harmony to strengthen this foundation. The future is bright and we can accomplish our development goals if we come together and work as a cohesive nation, as I often say when I reflect on the past, the leadership transitions throughout the years and, most importantly, how we conduct our political business.
Before we commemorate another milestone, the National Assembly Elections will occur next year. Learning from the LGAs held last month this year, let’s aim to conduct the election process calmly and orderly to help choose the best representatives regardless of their political memberships.
- Dr Shayo is an economist-cum-investment banker and Daily News columnist.
