Mkuu, na vipi hotuba ya Rais kutaja vijembe na maneno ya kwenye kanga kama ile hotuba ya Mwezi uliopita ya JK?????
TALKING NOTES FOR HON. KABWE ZUBERI ZITTO (MP) DURING A PUBLIC PANEL DISCUSSION ON THE GERMAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S POLICY ON AFRICA – PROSPECTS AFTER THE ELECTIONS.
BERLIN, 26TH AUGUST 2009.
When I was asked by BPB staff to appear to this panel and discuss this topic I was not sure what would be able to contribute. I am not an expert on international politics, though I closely follow events and read widely on policies of various countries towards Africa in general and my country Tanzania in particular. However, I will try to share my thoughts on the subject and propose improvements where needed, from my own perspective.
Reading from the guidelines on Germany's Africa Policy, the following features are clearly stipulated;
That Germany wants peace and security in Africa . This includes principles of democracy, rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights. We have observed Germany getting involved in Peace keeping missions in the D R of Congo (with the largest contingent ever – The BundesWehr) and recently support to Darfur. We have witnessed the role played by German Political Foundations in African countries in democratisation work (I for one am a product of one foundation i.e. FES through the now famous Youth Leadership Training Programme – YLTP). In Tanzania, the German government spends almost 4 million Euros a year on the work of political foundations.
That Germany wants Africa as an economic partner. Germany exports 9% of the total world exports coming third after EU and the USA at 16% and 12% respectively. This is for export of goods, services and income. Germany is the world's biggest exporter of goods. It exports more than 1.2 trillion Euros worth of goods to the world and thus it is constantly in search of new markets. Germans argue that they need large numbers of discerning customers with money to spend on their high-quality products. Realising that Germany helps African countries to reduce poverty and build strong sustainable economies through support to private sector.
Working with the European Union as an influential member, Germany is involved in trade negotiations (like EPAs) in order to create the conditions for Africa to be integrated into the global economy and for all people in Africa to be able to share in their country's economic prosperity. However trade between Germany and Africa is very minimal and its major trade partners are fellow European countries, US and China. Trade relations with African countries tend to favour Germany and one struggles to see any sign of real German Investment in most African Countries apart from South Africa. Taking an example of my country Tanzania, the facts explain themselves.
In 2008, Germany exported to Tanzania goods worth EUR 155 million and imported from there goods worth EUR 71 million, thus recording an export surplus of EUR 84 million. While Tanzania like any other African Country imports machineries, it exports raw materials like Coffee, Tea and minerals (Tanzania is the third largest producer of Gold in Africa after South Africa and Ghana). This trade relation is clearly unbalanced as lack of direct investments causes Africa to export raw goods and hence limit the growth of the economy due to a minimum multiplier effect.
Statistics show that Germany's Foreign Direct Investments outflows (Investment in companies in a foreign country) values EUR 80 billion. Less than 1% of this goes to Africa. There are hardly any German direct investments in Tanzania as I exemplified before.
That Germany wants to secure supply of energy and raw materials. The Africa policy states that only if Germany has access to adequate, accessible and affordable energy sources will it be able to survive as a developed industrial country. This is the high level of honesty shown by Germans. Few developed countries are as open about their interests in Africa's natural resources. Germany's net energy imports as a percentage of total energy use stands at 61%. It is true that Africa has a wealth of energy resources and raw materials. Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe and Chad, to mention a few, are some Sub Saharan African countries who produces Oil and Gas. Newcomers are Uganda, Ghana and Tanzania (which exploits gas and has used it for electricity since 2004). Germany offers a ready and secured market for Africa's Oil and Gas. However Africa is suffering from Natural resources trap as written by Paul Collier in his Book ‘The Bottom Billion'. Several African countries rich in resources have suffered the ‘resource curse' whereby abundance in natural resources is a cause for conflicts and bad governance. Nigeria, Angola, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea are some very good examples of how abundance of resources has fuelled conflicts. It is Africa's hope that German companies would play a role that supports African growth and does not plunge it into resources conflicts and corruption. Germany must work with democratic and non corrupt Africa regimes to enable its need for energy to be used as a stepping stone towards ending the resource curse.
Development cooperation one of Germany's main foreign policy instruments. Germany is the 5th largest bilateral and multi lateral donor in monetary terms. It donated a total of EUR 10 billion in 2006. However Germany ranking drops to 14th in terms of percentage of GDP. In 2006 its donations made up 0.36% of GDP compared to countries like Sweden, Norway, Netherlands and Denmark which gave more than 0.8% of their GDP. In the same year, an African country, Nigeria, was the number one receiver of the Bilateral and Multilateral Aid overtaking Iraq and Afghanistan. Out of 10 largest recipients of aid, 6 are African countries ie Nigeria, Sudan, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Cameroon. I will use, as expected, my country's example to explain.
Tanzania has long been a major focus of German development assistance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Total commitments since 1962 amount to some EUR 1.8 billion[4]. For the period 2009-2011, some EUR 150 million have been pledged. All funds are in the form of non-repayable grants. Bilateral cooperation focuses on health and HIV/Aids prevention, water supply and sanitation and promoting local government reforms.
Practically I would compare Germany's Africa policy with corporate social responsibility in a private sector environment. While meaningful investments are a more effective way to create wealth, more money is dished out as development aid. Whether aid helps to end poverty or not continues to be an issue for debate. People have written books on Aid and Development with the recent one by our African sister from Zambia Dr. Dambisa Moyo (Dead Aid) who argues for ending foreign aid to Africa. I don't want to get involved in that debate. However as a Parliamentarian from an African country I must confess that the issue of excessive reliance on foreign aid comes to parliament during every budget session.
I would like to see a radical change in German policy towards Africa; a change that shifts the balance from development cooperation (Aid driven) towards direct investments. I understand people need water and health services. I understand that peace keeping missions and democratization support is crucial to ensure sustainable development n Africa, but in order for these efforts to be sustainable, they need to be supported by other actions.
I urge the German government to encourage German companies to invest more in African countries. There are countries with stable governments and better investments environment. Ghana and Tanzania are clear examples of African stable countries with a proven democratic track record. The attractions in Tanzania – Kilimanjaro, Serengeti and Zanzibar, attract people from all over the world every year and could easily accommodate more tourists from Germany.
If German companies invest in Tanzanian tourist sector and more and more Germans visit Tanzania, costs of travel and stay would be lower due to economies of scale. After all Tanzania has a special relationship with Germany as a former colony and there exists memories like a railway line, MV Liemba and a Kaiserhof in Kigoma. Tanzania is located strategically and thus an agent for stability in the great lakes region. Germany investments in Tanzania will not only catalyses economic growth but also bring peace to the Great Lakes Region.
Tanzania is in a dire need of electricity. It is currently running in a deficit of 200 MW of electricity while it has enough gas, hydro and coal sources of energy to power its national grid. German companies can as well take an interest in investing in energy sector in Tanzania and the return on this investment is surely good. The economy is growing at an average rate of 6% and it requires energy for further growth. Only 12% of Tanzanians have an access to electricity supplied by national grid system. This creates an investment opportunity for large and medium enterprises in the energy sector.
I would like to see the new government, to be formed after September elections, focusing its efforts towards encouraging companies from Germany to see Africa as a long term strategic investment partner. I invite potential German investors to come to Tanzania and see for themselves the considerable investment opportunities that exist. This approach will benefit both Germany and Africa which can only be a good thing.
Thank you
acha ujinga ww. utamfananishaje mzinifu na baba wa taifa hili?? (rest in peace mwalimu)
all in all, tey are great speeches from great people...haifai, lakini atleast ilifanyika ndani ya nchi, ila kufanya hivyo nje ya nchi ni mbaya zaidi...Unajua ukimwambia mtu mwenye akili kuwa Rais wetu ni mjingamjina, picha atakayoijenga ni kuwa Tanzania ni Taifa la Wapumbavu,kwa sababu kama wangekuwa na akili wasingemchagua Rais mjinga sio mara moja tu bali kwa awamu mbili..., hiki ndicho alichokifanya Dr Slaa, kuidharirisha Tanzania na Watanzania wenyewe ...
This is one of the best speech ever,delivered by Tanzania opposition political leader abroad...........Bravo Dr Slaa,as you said i quote....
"I am not here for foreign AID,and CHADEMA party which i represent DOES NOT BELIEVE ON FOREIGN AID.
This is my party's philosophy, and any sane human being would not want to live off handouts or going around begging,because foreign AID is only NEEDED AS SHORT TERM RELIEF for countries coming out of calamities.
Truly,i like this.
Buy the books off them , stop beging ,shit. Ask them to supply and bring the invoice back.Kuna mtu nilimsikia akisema, ziara yangu ilikuwa ya mafanikio sana. Serikali imekubali kutusaidia vitabu vya sayansi. Jamani!!! Aibu kweli kweli kwa shida gani tulizo nazo.