On Tanzania’s donor dependence syndrome

[BAK]

On Tanzania’s donor dependence syndrome
MAKWAIAWA KUHENGA
Daily News; Thursday,February 21, 2008 @19:02

BEFORE me is a descriptive piece published by one of the leading dailies in the course of US President George W. Bush’s visit to this country which tells in a simple language the shameful donor dependence levels this country has sunk thus far. The scene at Amana Hospital yesterday was reminiscent of a hectic household 15 minutes before a wedding dinner party.

Whereas some were busy (at the hospital compound) planting grass, painting walls and cleaning up the hospital’s outdoor walkways, others were the hospital compound’s pavements and pathways or affixing decorations in the halls. In-patients were hastily given new garments, and the usually overcrowded wards, suddenly, had a bed for its patients -- no sharing.

What does one make out of this item? More than 40 years of independence today, Tanzania has patients sharing beds if not sleeping literally on the floor! The most shameful episodes of all is that it takes the visit of an American president for our authorities to produce beds for each patient and new hospital bed garments!

The questions to ask are: What is the expense involved in putting up beds in hospitals? Doesn’t this country possess immense timber resources some of which are being logged off the country? Do we have to have necessarily metal-made beds that would oblige us to use foreign exchange to import? Another set of questions: Do we need the president of the United States to visit us to tide up our hospitals? Before responding to these questions, let me report on what I heard from ordinary people as they were being interviewed on the Bush visit:

“Nimefulai sana ujio wa Bush. Ana ela nyingi sana yule, yaani nchi yake Malekani. Ataisevu sana nchi hii..” (I am very happy with the Bush visit. He has lots of money. He will save this country). This is what one of them had to say to the television news reporter in colloquial Swahili. So this is where we are sunk -- from the led to the leaders, it is dependence through and through! Nobody is talking the language of KUJITEGEMEA -- self-reliance-- even as a declaration of intent!

If one listens to most speeches by our leaders, there is no repugnance on the country’s continued donor dependence -- in fact nobody feels ashamed that 40 per cent of the budget of this country is donor funded. Donor support has been taken almost for granted or automatically by our successive governments with the exception of only the first post independence government of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere which had self-reliance as a cornerstone of its economic policies, albeit as a declaration of intent.

And what is even worse, nobody is worried of the consequences of continued dependence on the so-called donor community. How does a country safeguard its sovereignty and independence of thought and action when it has to move bowl in hand begging for donations? As a matter of fact, invariably all speeches by most of our leaders are geared to please “donors” and in fact if there is a voice of “public opinion” that is singularly effective and taken seriously by the powers that be in this country is the donor community!

It does not really matter what the people feel on the ground, it is the feel and sentiments of the donor community that counts -- it is they who did put pressure to bear to initiate investigations into the EPA scandal at the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) and we have had an investigation! I may be wrong in this opinion, but at any level, is dependence a sign of more or less freedom anywhere? Now, let us revisit our monumental shame of failing to provide beds for our patients in hospital.

What could be the excuse for this really? At community level, are we unable to institute a self-help programme under which local governments can mobilize carpenters to make beds using our abundant timber resource? Who said vitanda vya chuma (metal-made beds) are necessarily suited for hospitals? Do we need the Americans to buy beds for us apart from mosquito nets?

I was looking at the ranks in terms of support Tanzania has received from the “donor community” and someone has told me that the Americans actually rank number seven from the list of donors to this country as compared to the British who rank number one in terms of support to this country. Perhaps the Americans will now overtake the British with their 700 million-dollar grant which most of us seem so excited and overjoyed about.

But I would advise the Americans and all others who want to support us to deploy a SELF-RELIANCE benchmark as qualification number one to deserve future grants rather than “democracy and good governance”. This will help jolt us -- all of us Tanzanians -- to our senses if we are to be cured of this crippling donor dependence virus inimical to the very independence and sovereignty of our country.

 

[MzalendoHalisi]

Siku zote nasema siku Tz serikali ikisema misaada kwetu sisi basi! Ndo tutaanza kuendelea!

I am so ashamed to be a Tanzanian ya Umatonya na ombamba omba..wakati tuna utajiri wa kila aina!

 

[The Invincible]

Mambo ya hospitali ya Amana yanaonyesha hasa nidhamu ya woga, na kutojiamini na unafiki wa kupindukia wa watanzania kwa watawala (inferiority complex). Mapungufu haya yana mizizi ya kihistoria. Toka mimi nikiwa mdogo huko vijijini, miaka ya mwanzo ya sabini, tuliona ziara za akina JKN na Kawawa zikiwa na upungufu huo huo. Kiongozi akitembelea kwetu huko Matimila(Songea), basi barabara hutengenezwa haraka haraka, mazingira ya shule na zahanati huwa safi. Matatizo ya kila siku ya kijijini hapo hufunikwa ili kumpendeza mkubwa. Ni fikra za kutawaliwa hizo.

Hivi kiongozi anayejali ustawi wa taifa lake, hawezi kuona kama unafiki wa aina hii ni janga kwa taifa huko mbeleni? Maana tunajenga taifa la watu wasiojiamini.

Kutokana na hali ya kutojiamini huko kwa watanzania, siwezi kushangaa kuona wadanganyika wanafurahia misaada. Misaada inalemaza. Lakini kwa kuwa tushalemaa basi athari/hatari za misaada haziwezi kuonekana kama jambo kubwa.

Tutaendelea kukemea taifa kutegemea misaada, kwani ni hatari kwa uhuru na usalama wetu huko mbeleni. Hatutakuwa na nguvu ya kukataa jambo lisilo na maslahi kwetu, au linalohatarisha usalama wa taifa letu. Baya zaidi ni kwamba misaada ni addictive. The more you get, the more you want. Ni kama cocaine/heroin vile. Ah! Tumekwisha.

 

[zomba]

Hii inaonyesha uozo tuliokuwa nao ndani ya serikali yetu, mpaka leo tunaomba-omba, hata haya hatuna, nchi yenye utajiri kama hii, hao hao wanaokuja kuchota dhahabu zetu hao hao tunawa-omba omba hata sijui akili zetu ziko wapi?, mimi nashindwa kupata majibu katika mambo kama haya.

Ukija upande wa kusafisha hospitali na kuweka vitanda na kadhalika. Hii mfano wake ni sawa kabisa na mwanamke anaejiuza, utamuona wakati anatarajia mteja basi atajipamba na kujiremba lakini ni mchafu wa tabia. Na hawa viongozi wetu hawana tofauti na wanawake wanaojiuza au mnaona kuna tofauti? Anakuja mgeni wao ndio wanajidai kusafisha na kutengeneza na wanajidai kuwa ndio pesa wanazo-omba omba zinafanya kazi vizuri, kumbe hakuna lolote ni mbinu tu za kuweza ku-omba omba zaidi, ama kweli tunaufinyu wa akili.

Mimi nadhani kujitawala wenyewe ilikuwa bado wakati wake, tungewaacha hao hao tunaowa-omba omba waendelee kuisimamia hii nchi. Kuna tofauti gani ya kuwa huru na omba-omba? na kutawaliwa? mimi naona yote ni sawa, ni kama kuruka mko.. ukakanyaga ma..

Siku ambayo mimi ntaihesabu kuwa Tanzania ipo huru kweli, ni siku ambayo nikiiona bajeti yetu inajikamilisha kwa fedha zetu wenyewe. Na hiyo haitotokana na kingine bali ni kuamua tu. Hata bajeti ijayo ikiamuliwa kuanzia sasa hakuna ku-omba omba na hicho hicho tulichonacho ndio kitumike ipasavyo, basi hapo ndipo itakuwa tulipoamua kuwa huru kweli kweli. Na hapo ndipo tutapojua kulinda rasilimali zetu, na hapo ndipo tutakuwa na uchungu wa mali zetu, lakini hizi za kuomba-omba uchungu tutautoa wapi?

Eeeh Mwenyeezi Mungu niweke hai niione siku hiyo. Siku ambayo ndio Uhuru wa kweli wa Tanzania utakuwa umepatikana, kwa sasa na kwa namna hii, bado hatupo huru.