What best argument do you have? I don't want to dissuade you from commenting but you should understand that this thread started sometime in March 2006 and there is nothing new which you have said, I can't recall being discussed.
So what if there is nothing new I have said ? I simply logged in to voice my opinion. Whether its been discussed before is irrelevant. Is there a rule against discussing ideas that have been mentioned before ?
The majority of Tanzanians are voicing their intention to stop this nonsense Federation.
I dont care about this. I am here to voice my opinion. If Tanzanians choose not to Federate then thats fine. Believe me I will not loose any sleep. I am here to discuss the merits and demerits of a federation. And I will continue to do so. I am simply saying that people ought to be educated on the merits and demerits. Let them debate it and make a sound judgment. I am not here to force Tanzanians or Rwandese to do anything.
You talk about EU whilst it isn't a political federation. Can you tell me which EU member state want to be in a political Federation?
Go back and look at my posts. I never said the EU was a political federation. I used the EU as a frame of reference. All EU countries have benefited immensely from having a common currency, common passports and the easing of travel restrictions.
(Wherever they voted they refused the constitution) At least in EU they published a constitution for everyone to see. You better recall all political federations i.e. Russia (USSR), Yugoslavia, etc. none of them worked, and right now the governments are diverting resources in this doomed Federation.
This is a lousy comparison and its ill informed. Eastern bloc federations were done by force. Ukrainians never asked to live under Soviet rule. Croatians never asked to live under Serbian rule. I am not advocating this. I am simply saying that East Africans need to be educated on this issue. After that they can all vote and decide what they want to do. ITS CALLED DEMOCRACY. Let the people decide. Let them make a well informed decision.
Whereas the Eastern bloc countries failed, you conveniently forgot to mention the United States which has become the most powerful nation in the world by fusing various regions that were previously under Spanish, French and British control.
Another point which you are missing; if all member countries unite they will have a population equivalent to that of Nigeria, then what? Why Nigeria is not leading in direct investment at the moment? Why are Nigerians poor up to now? They've oil, and other natural resources.
According to the CIA world factbook, Nigerias unemployment rate is 5.8% which is impressive. In East Africa its closer to 40%
And even without Oil , Nigerias FDI inflows dwarf those of all other African countries bar South Africa. Go and check for yourself. The statistics dont lie.
As for the problems Nigeria is having, they are self inflicted and I would hope we have enough common sense not to make the same mistakes.
In any case Nigeria is a lousy example. Just because Nigeria has certain problems does not mean they directly translate to East Africa. East Africans can learn from other countries what works and what does not work. People have brains dont they ?
Look at other larger countries and see the way they have leveraged their size to attract significant amounts of FDI. China has raised 100 million people from poverty over the last 10 years in large part due to FDI inflows. China and India are the worlds most popular FDI destinations. And it has a lot to do with their populations.
You don't have doubts about Western Nations because you do not know how they operate, we know them.
I know perfectly well how western nations operate. Which is why I said that larger countries are less likely to be pushed around by the West. As things stand now, African countries are small and fragmented. As a result, the west can extract as many concessions as they want. Small countries have no leverage.
Can you tell me for example why IMF and World Bank were created? You just see things and think you know, you better recall after second World war the only country to obtain an open check was UK. No any other country in the world will have that prevelege.
What does this have to do with what we are discussing here ?
Your analysis here is wrong. The countries which disagreed on community want a union? Give me a break! You better continue with your friends in other forums rather than wasting your time on things which you do not know. There is no way a Tanzanian with his right mind can allow Kilimanjaro or Serengeti to be part of Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi or Uganda for that matter. WE CAN CONTINUE TO HAVE THE COMMUNITY NOT A FEDERATION.
Oh so thats what you are concerned about. You are worried that other countries will benefit from the Serengeti and such. What you dont see is that Tanzania can get even higher tourism inflows if travel restrictions are lifted. Kenya gets far more tourists than Tanzania. Besides tourism, there are other aspects where Tanzania can benefit. I have enumerated all of them. I am looking at the bigger picture. I am looking at how pooling together the available resources can dramatically raise the standard of living rather than selfishly looking at what Tanzania can hog from other countries. You are stuck in the 19th century. The various countries have learned from past mistakes.
Finally let me say that I am not saying that there needs to be a federation right away. This is something that needs to be discussed and debated. People need to be educated on what it involves. They can then start by doing basic things like easing travel restrictions. Continue to go step by step and gauge peoples reaction at each stage. Let the people experience the merits and demerits of such a federation. If after all this the people decide that they dont want a federation then so be it. At least you let them make an informed decision and did not stifle debate or force anything down their throat. The important thing is not to stifle debate and let people make informed decisions. Africans can show the west that they can do things in an orderly
But all this rigmarole about those who live in Canada versus those who are toiling is utter clap trap.