Police and Politics in Tanzania

Article/ Feature

09/June/2011

‘Peace and Security’: Policing or Politicking?

By: Clarence KIPOBOTA (Advocate)*

There is a Swahili proverb which says that ‘ukipenda boga, penda na ua lake.’ It literally means that if one loves a pumpkin, then he has to like its flowers too. That is, one has to accept consequences of anything he or she has willfully decided to take.      

The modern democracy is ‘costful’ and it has lots of consequences because of its nature. Then, all countries which accepted it, has to know and prepare for the same.

It requires liberal thinking; freedom of speech; wide range of critics and so on with limits. Of course, some limits are stated by governing laws. The essence is basically not to allow fully enjoy democratic rights to the detriment and inconvenience of others. Hence, the laws put playing rules of engaging in democracy.

When multi-party democracy was allowed in Tanzania in 1992, the presumption was that the State was ready to endure the ‘chaos’ which comes in with democracy.

Simple analysis could inform that a lot has change in between. That is, for just within 20 years, we have new minded Tanzanians. They can speak out very freely, criticize (almost everything), and analyze things into various interpretations. Obviously, this is why each of the current political parties has its thousands and millions of followers.

The politicians have to use extra efforts to ensure that they get as many followers as possible because it is a total number of them which legitimizes and determines its right to rule and control security agencies including the prisons, police force and the military.

Now, because of this situation, the scramble for powers and safeguard of political interests is so intensive. Each one manipulates what he or she has around to ensure dominance. Probably, those with security agencies at hand and control can justify ‘protection of legitimate and sovereign’ governance; and those without, can use the general public to seek ‘sympathy.’

All have good backing, but the former has easy justification under the law which gives security agencies discretions to exercise their statutory powers; naturally, to see and hear what the boss wants and not otherwise.

At this critical juncture, the police force and other security agencies are put at the dilemma. Of course, they have laws, rules, guidelines and code of ethics to guide their decisions before they act. But for sure, they cannot avoid politics in it for reasons explained below.

For those who can think in that way, can understand a real situation the police force is facing. That is, notwithstanding the said rules, they have to balance the interests of their immediate employer (government) and the reason of their existence (the public). Theoretically, they can say that we ‘follow the laws of the country.’

It is this situation which now brings so many allegations on the impartiality of these law enforcers especially on handling cases involving politicians from the two camps. Be a case as it may, it is something that they need to think about. The parameters of this discussion could guide them.  

May be the fraction of the ‘public’ I am talking about is only supporters of the two main opposition parties which could not justify my case. But, the point here leans on the fact that, the politicians are so persuasive. Their one or two or three millions supporters and believers of their allegations of partiality of police force can multiply to ten or twenty or thirty millions.

At that point, we will have a public which is generally antagonistic to their security agencies. The outcome could be civil commotion or uprooting of police stations or hiking of security costs because the government will need to import more and more tear gases, bullets and patrol vans instead of fertilizers and tractors for farmers and economic development.  

To be straight to the point, the police force is increasingly blamed of being political (politicking). It is alleged to have engaged itself in often partisan political actions to deal with opposition politicians. They say, the police force is so swift to act on them than when a politician from ruling party commits same offence.

Probably it is true or wrong. What is certain is that, a nature of policing work exposes them into blames and hatred. The criminologists say that people are ‘criminals’ in nature. Therefore, because the duties of the police they have to deal with ‘criminals.’

The duties and functions of the police are provided for under provisions of the Police Force and Auxiliary Services Act, Cap. 322 and other penal laws.

Section 5 of this law states that the powers and functions of the police force are: preservation of the peace; maintenance of peace of law and order; the prevention and detection of crime; apprehension and guarding of offenders; and the protection of property.

The Criminal Procedures Act, Cap. 20 plus other laws allow them to arrest a suspect or offender at anytime. Arresting of politicians who are like any other people falls within these broad powers and discretion. However, the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 prohibits arbitrary arrest. Article 145 Other laws including the Parliamentary Immunities, Powers and Privileges Act, Cap. 296 put some limitation. But this issue is not subject matter to this discussion at hand.

But a role to maintain ‘peace and order’ is it a policing or politicking one? A response to this is not easy as one would quickly think about. The question of ‘peace and order’ is also political. I mean, it can be used politically and gain justification by politicians who can then command the police to act. It is so tricky because it is justifiable under the law.

Secondly, the ‘peace and order’ is a governance issue. Note that ‘politic’ means ‘governance.’ Therefore, once again it is difficult to separate policing and politics. Thirdly, our political system gives one ruling party mandate to choose the modality of security force under pretext of the government in power which is basically parked by politicians coming from it.

Practically then, the police force cannot stop or reject an order from the District or Regional Commissioner (DC and RC) who is also cadre of a political party in power. The DCs and RCs are also termed as heads of peace and security committees of their districts and regions.

Experience shows that they have been issuing orders and the police have been acting accordingly. Therefore, even if they instruct for safeguard of their party’s interests, police have to comply. They are district and regional ‘commanding in chiefs.’

This is why instead of talking theories of ‘separation of powers,’ or ‘working as the law requires,’ and the like, we need to see things and situation in a more viable and sincere ways in order to get good solutions.

The June 2011 Tanzania’s Country Governance Self-Assessment Report on African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) states that, the legal framework and institutional arrangement in Tanzania as a whole (may be including policing) still considered too restrictive to allow a well-functioning multi-party system. Apparently, this is why the current hauls between security forces and the political parties is a challenge.

One of the main solutions that I would propose (but with lots of hesitations because it is also theoretical) is adherence of professionalism in policing work. Article 147(3) of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 prohibits all members of the defence and security forces to join politics.

A wider interpretation of this clause can also mean to think and act partiality in favor of one political party. I am yet to settle my views on a question of police’s partiality as I do not have any evidence to prove; rather, could suggest reflection and changes if the problem really exists. That is, to accept critics and take them positively.  

I am very much aware of the current reforms to turn this force into professional life. The move is encouraging as most of the police officers are doing quite well. Probably, this is why the polisi jamii programme is now perfectly implemented. But as I have said, policing work is very challenging especially when their work is intruded with political directives, which steadily mitigates the current public confidence in them and the level of professionalism they have achieved so far.    

The international rules of administration of justice such as Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 require judges, prosecutors, police, lawyers and every professional to abide with essential role of ensuring protection of persons against any form of discrimination. Their task is to see to it that existing laws and regulations prohibiting ‘discrimination’ are respected in legal practice.

Sometimes in a process of controlling political situation, law enforcers are ordered or compelled by situation to use all necessary means as I have said above. But ethical guidelines as we have said above restrict discriminative decisions and acts.

‘Discrimination’ as defined under the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights of 1966 means any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference which is based on any ground such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion and which have purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or excise by all persons, on an equal footing, of all rights and freedoms.  

It is time that the police force of Tanzania sits down to revisit the current perception of course, without compromising their statutory duties. The situation is sufficient to alert and act accordingly.

Secondly, since it is sometime difficult for them to reject orders from the senior politicians, it is really prudent for these people (politicians) to spare time and powers for the police to do their professional work. They act for you politicians to the detriment of their professional guidelines.

The police force still needs the confidence of the public to pursue a good programme of polisi jamii because they cannot cover all places and vicinities with a ratio of 1 police officer for more than 1,500 people in Tanzania. The force also still needs to have same reputation and existence should the political leadership changes to the other side of the coin.

It is also not appropriate to take things into granted or be overconfidence of the ability to ‘manage the crisis.’ My settled view is that, if this tension continues, it will outburst one day and we would have unsettled situation.

Moreover, sometimes political orders (if any) will make the life of individual police officers at a risk side. They would even fail to mingle around with civilians even for social life like renting a house or burial ceremonies.

It is a situation which needs more analytical thinking and responses because the democracy practice has awakened the people. It is also important for politicians to stop manipulating the public and the law enforcers for their political gains. It is all for the cost of our own nation. Laws have to be respected by everyone.

Policing should be separated from politicking work for it to gain respect it deserves. Political activism and emotions based by swing of political tensions should be put aside by all means and allow professional policing to take its due course. Insubordination could not stand in cases like this.

Finally, more analysis can be done to establish the reality on the ground. The current tension is so vivid than we hear responses from the police force itself. As I have said, it might be illusions but certainly persuading ‘propaganda.’

We should always be alert of even ‘minor’ or ‘false’ or ‘political’ things like those which these opposition leaders are claiming about against the police force. You may think of consultative meeting with those who criticize your work. Sometimes enemies are best allies as they have nothing to hide.

---

* Clarence KIPOBOTA holds Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B (Hons)), Masters of Community Economic Development (Msc. CED) and Certificates in Human Rights and UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania, currently working as Legal Consultant with LEGAL AND DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS LIMITED (LEDECO). He is also Human Rights Activist. Email: kipobota@yahoo.com Tel: +255 762776281/ +255 222700695. 

Article/ Feature

09/June/2011

Education for all: disability in our inability to provide

By: Clarence KIPOBOTA (Advocate)*

“The community is now receptive of our condition, yet one has to do more than normal ways could provide in order to reach where I am now,” said one of my good friends, a visually impaired lawyer. He is one of few persons with disabilities who have managed to make it up to the university level.

The magnitude of discrimination and other forms of mistreatment against persons with disabilities (PWDs) is apparently decreasing at least in some of the places. Obviously, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the government are doing a good job to reform the ill-mindset of the people, which is rooted in some of the harmful traditional practices.

In the past some of the members of my community used to spit saliva on their stomachs inside their shirts or gowns when they intersected an albino along the way in order to ‘avoid bearing an albino.’ Some of the communities threw away children who born lame because they were ‘outcast.’ The myth did not spare other forms of ‘abnormalities.’ For instance, twins were also ‘jinx’ according to some members of other societies.

Despite this notable positive progress reached so far, more is desirable to make this world and in particular Tanzania a safe and convenient place for everyone regardless of deformity or any other reason. We are equal but different in terms of sex, gender, morphology and so many other reasons. Disability is one of them.       

The global statistics show that, there are approximately 650 million people in the world who are living with disabilities. Therefore, about 10 per cent of the world’s populations are PWDs. Out of the said number, 80 percent of PWDs live in developing countries.

As for Tanzania in particular, the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Labour Organization (ILO)’s reports of 2007 estimated that there were more than 3 million people in Tanzania who have disability. Probably the number is still the same. The number includes both physical and mental disabilities.

Therefore, a number is big enough to justify earnest attention and protection. Note that, even if could have been 0.1 percent, still the justification could have been the same because human rights protection is blind of numbers. 

Reports and experience show that people with disabilities often face mistreatments in a number of ways and because of various reasons. For instance, according to Legal and Human Rights Centre’s Report (Tanzania Human Rights Report of 2008), the World Bank has estimated that, 20% of the most impoverished individuals are disabled.

Evidently, women and children with disabilities are more susceptible to abuse, including physical and sexual violence as they may not receive sexual education and may be less able to defend themselves against sexual abuse and rape. Other reports indicate that, the mortality rates for people with disabilities are higher than children without disabilities.

According to CCBRT Vision 2008-2012, Guiding Tanzania Document of 2008, persons with disabilities are three times more likely to contact HIV/AIDS as they are often excluded from receiving information about HIV/AIDS and they are less likely to receive HIV/AIDS related services. 

Because of combination of those factors, it is also on records that, in most of developed countries (Tanzania inclusive), about 90 percent of children with disabilities do not attend school and that, because of lack of education, these people find themselves in marginalized position as they could not be employed or self-sustaining. As a result, they form a poor family which will in return raise a poor child and access poor education which prepare him to live poor life. The vicious cycle of poverty rolls around in that way.

Tanzania Human Rights Report of 2010 which quotes the Disability Survey Report of the Government of Tanzania of 2008 confirms that, the current illiteracy rate for disabled persons in Tanzania is 47.6% compared to 25.3% of the people without a disability. That means almost half of the PWDs are not educated.

Few luck ones who are educated, could also not get good jobs. Their impairment is regarded as misfortune and unfit by most of employers, who are of course, raised from societies which practices harmful traditional practices against the PWDs. It is terrible situation.  

After a long struggle of rights groups, the United Nations (UN) adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities of 2006 and its Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities of 2006. Tanzania has already ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities of 2006.

At domestic level, the legal framework on rights of PWDs is there. At the moment, the main legislation governing the rights, welfare and duties in relation to PWDs is the Person with Disabilities Act of 2010. There are also other laws which contain some provisions on disabilities. But the current Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 does not accord this group special attention it deserves.

Be the case as it may, a strong and reliable protection of the rights of the PWDs is education because ‘elimu ni ufunguo wa maisha.’ Education is one of the main opportunities for the people with disabilities to demand for their rights. It is a tool of awareness of their rights and a key of their wellbeing. Therefore, failure to facilitate them to acquire their rights to education means repulse of other rights as well.

In seemingly disregard of this fact, our education system is not affirmative. Hundreds of government education reports and figures I have reviewed throughout the week do not contain good segregation of information on disabilities. They show quite impressive progress of enrolment rates in Primary Schools of boys and girls but not children with disabilities.

The figures talk about the increased ratio of books and teachers but not special learning tools and teachers for children with disabilities. The figure shows increased in number of schools under Primary Education Development Programme (PEDEP) and Secondary Education Development Programme (SEDP) but I could not get vivid explanations of how may out of those are special schools for children with disabilities and how many are renovated to make them universal accessible.

So many practical factors do restrain and draw back the progress toward inclusive (with PWDs) universal primary education. As a result, only few children with disabilities are attending schools as it is stated above. For instance, recent statistic information of 2008 and 2009 by HakiElimu and MKUKUTA Annual Implementation Report 2008/2009 shows that only 1 percent of children with disabilities were enrolled for primary school level of education and that in 2009. The enrolment decreased compared to 2008. That is, dropped from 34,661 in 2008 to 27,422 in 2009.

According to those and other reports, this situation is attributed by more other factors including the negative attitude of the members of the communities that, people with disabilities cannot sustain studies.

Moreover, the learning environments of most of the schools are very harsh to children with disabilities. The HakiElimu’s research of April 2009 revealed that, 95 percent of the school buildings, even those built during the implementation of PEDP have not taken into account the needs of pupils with disabilities.

Apart from the challenge of accessibility, the The LHRC 2010 survey revealed that, there are very few special schools and teachers in Tanzania. For instance, in Kagera region, there are only two special schools.

In Rukwa Region, there is only one special school. The schools do not have adequate facilities and teachers. At Nachingwea Primary School, there was a class of 22 disable pupils with only one teacher. Therefore, if the teacher falls sick it means that there would be no classes until when he or she gets well.  

Rule 6 of the UN Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities of 1994 puts obligation to every State to ensure that it make documentation readable and accessible to different groups of PWDs.

Thus, Braille and tape services for blind people, large prints for albino and persons with low vision impairments, sign language interpretation services for deaf people and other appropriate technologies should be used to provide access to written information and documentation. Other provisions of this instrument require recruitment of specialized instructors for PWDs. All these are issues which our education system needs to accommodate.

The current Education Act of 1978 as amended in 1995 and 2009 should be refocused and remove some of its provisions which, instead of safeguarding the interests of these children in schools, they actually perpetuate the violations.

For instance, Regulation 7 of the Education (Expulsion and Exclusion of Pupils from Schools) Regulations of 2002 which is made under provisions of the Education Act of 1978 permits heads of the schools to refuse to admit or readmit pupils with undesirable physical health in their schools if it appears that a pupil’s physical condition attracts undesirability for the pupil to be admitted to the school.

As DOLASED has argued, this rule is discriminatory because disabled children can be denied of access to school by being considered to fall under this broad category of having undesirable physical conditions.

The challenges, in which the children with disabilities are facing at primary school level, have direct bearing into their levels of performance and continuity to the secondary level of education.

The available statistics indicate that the level of passing the examination of pupils with disabilities is dropping. For instance, in year 2009 only 65 percent of pupils with disabilities were selected to join secondary schools comparing to 70.43 percent of 2008. Therefore, for one year only the number has dropped down for about 16 percent.

More recent statistics could not be easily obtained. Probably, the status is the same because nothing much is vividly seen in terms of improving the facilities and resources. Besides, the discriminative cultural norms are still stringent despite the said improvement. 

As we prepare to celebrate another African Child Day this week (16 June, 2011), it is important to take into account all these issues into account in order to give children with disability a reason to recognize their dignity just like other children without disabilities. 

To make a more practical proposal may be, local government authorities at any level can actually formulate and ensure implementation of bylaws as part of redressing the current situation basing on its local context.

The first step could be identification of these children in their villages and streets. The local leaders can inform and assist. Again, one or two schools within a district can be designated as special school and that, a little bit of a budget could be allocated for employing five to ten special teachers.

How much does this simple opinion cost a district or municipal council to educate less than 150 children with disabilities? Can’t we reduce annual budgets for furniture and posh cars for our children? We can if we decide to love our children in a more sincere sense. Everyone owe the children the best.  

---

* Clarence KIPOBOTA holds Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B (Hons)), Masters of Community Economic Development (Msc. CED) and Certificates in Human Rights and UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania, currently working as Legal Consultant with LEGAL AND DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS LIMITED (LEDECO). He is also Human Rights Activist. Email: kipobota@yahoo.com Tel: +255 762776281/ +255 222700695. 

Street Children in Tanzania

Article/ Feature

31/May/2011

Street children: a price of being homeless child in Tanzania

By: Clarence KIPOBOTA (Advocate)*

There is nothing more in this world than loving our children. They come in the world through their parents. Because of their nature, they cannot support themselves. Their future belongs to adults. Their survival has a direct link to what the family, community and national or international would provide for them.

The Swahili adage says that, ‘Mtoto umleavyo, ndivyo akuavyo.’ Literally, it means people among whom children live, largely determine how they grow. It is from this setting that the ‘street children’ issue becomes family, community or national challenge.

   

A recently launched Tanzania Human Rights Report 2010 written by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) in collaboration with Zanzibar Legal Services Centre (ZLSC) states that children still face many problems that threaten their lives in Tanzania.

Despite the fact that the report states that this situation is more vivid in rural areas, experience shows that the magnitude and trend of the problems are the same in both rural and urban areas. What is different is a nature of cruelty.

For instance, while in rural areas children are not taken to schools, in urban areas such as Dar es Salaam, they have no means of going to school. Again, while in rural areas children die because of lack of health services, in urban areas they die because of inability to pay for medical expenses. In rural areas, children are subjected to harmful child labour, while in urban they are prone to prostitution and begging along the streets. The torture and cruelty to children in Tanzania has no rural-urban barriers and exceptions.

The Tanzanian legal framework have been redefined to take in account what international human rights instruments such as the United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC) of 1989; and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) of 1990 require.   

In 2009, Tanzania enacted the Law of the Child Act to try to address confusions caused by multi-application of laws on the rights and welfare of the child. It now puts clear a child means a person below eighteen. However, the law does not curb other gaps on protection of the child such as those under the customary, family laws and labour related laws.

Some of the challenges which a child of Tanzania face such as harmful child labour are declared as criminal offences under this law and the Labour and Employment Relations Act of 2004. The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 provides for the rights to life and legal protection. However, does not give special protection to children despite their vulnerability.

There are laws to provide for maintenance of children, custodian of the same and others. Taking a child to primary school is mandatory under the Education Regulations of 2002 but, of course, no legal protection of school dropouts caused by pregnancies. The Penal Code, Cap. 16 requires a parent or guardian to ensure that he or she provides a child under his or her custody with all necessities. However, the ceiling of such requirement is only for a child of 16 years.

Therefore, there are progress and gaps under Tanzanian legal system. Probably the other main challenge is enforceability of those laws. The prosecutors, parents and judiciary do not take active role to ensure best protection of the children through legal channels. We have heard several times the police telling the parent or informer of the rape or defilement cases to ‘go back at home and negotiate the case at family level.’ This and other factors give the criminal confidence to continue mistreating the children.

Looking at all kinds of mistreatments to children, you will find that they are originating and come from our families and communities. Some of the factors include domestic violence, death or parents and poverty. These problems or rather, challenges injure children in many ways. Millions of them are injured, die or enter into streets to become ‘street children.’

Once they get into the street, the harsh environment and orientations become their ‘parents’ and ‘guardians’ and ‘community’ to take care of them. The LHRC report of 2009 estimated that, as of 2009 there were more than 2.5 orphans who are street children in Tanzania. This report quoted 2006 figures. Owing to the increased numbers of people and problems, the figure could be around 5 millions street children. 

It is also stated in different reports that about 6 to 8 percent of children in Tanzania are most vulnerable children (MVC) to mean that, they do not have proper control or support from parents or guardians.

This situation implies that, any intervention, be it legal or policy, should address community or family problems. That is, even if the law puts very severe punishment against child abuses, the possibility of continuing is obvious because the legal sanctions are blind of real community problems facing parents and children.    

The legal protection is also confusing and sightless of community or family problems because it does not give firm and clear safeguards of the children rights. Therefore, even the judicial interpretation of some of the laws affecting children, is completely blind of what goes on in the community. A case by Mkombozi Centre for Street Children (MCSC) of Arusha would confirm this point.

In 2000s the MCSC, LHRC and East African Law Society (ELS) lodged a petition in the High Court of Tanzania at Arusha arguing that, some of the sections of the Townships (Removal of Undesirable Persons) Act, 1958; Destitute Persons Act, Cap. 389; Penal Code, Cap. 16 are unconstitutional.

The trio argued that, those laws give the District Commissioner and other authorities powers to order removal (arbitrary arrest, harassment and detention/ deprived of their liberty) of children from the streets without considering factors that sent them there. Their basis of argument was Articles 15 and 17 of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 which generally guarantee protection against arbitrary arrest and freedom of movement respectively.

After a long wait of the judgment, on 27 of November 2009 the High Court dismissed the trio’s arguments. The court stated that, ‘there is no doubt that the problem of street children is a product of socio-economic instability, which we are to date fruitlessly striving to balance. In our opinion stated clearly and correctly that it is a result of family problems, poverty, movement of persons from one place to another and insufficient rains in some regions.’

While making analysis of the problem and solution, the court continued stating that, ‘this, in our view, suggests that the solution to the problem of street children lies in trying to address the root causes and not in the laws which are there to afford a balance between the interests of these groups and the rest of the members of the public on the other. In The circumstances, we hold that it will not be done away with because to do so will definitely remove the balancing mechanisms between individual rights on the one hand as against those of the other members of the society as a whole on the other.’

It is clear that the court understood the main driving forces which cause these children to flock in the streets for survival. Yet, it failed to consider the fact that children need special legal protection as the CRC requires.

The statement of the court also implies that, the current laws do not address root causes and effects of the socio-economic problems which cause street children in Tanzania. Despite this awareness, it did not go further to direct amendment or enactment of the law to address those problems.

Because of all these problems, most of the street children find themselves in conflict with laws which are blind of their tenderness. They have to roam around and beg. Others become prostitutes and drug dealers. Few luck ones are engaged in labour, which is extremely harmful. They lack psycho-social protection because streets could not provide one.

Gone are those old days when each member of the community had responsibility to take care of every child in the community. The Tanzanin First Lady’s campaign of ‘mtoto wa mwenzako ni wako’ could not work nowadays. People are unscrupulous. If you left your child under friend’s custody, you would find her or him defiled or sodomized or sold. It is a wild world we are living in.    

At this critical juncture of child rights protection, we need to think louder. Definitely we cannot rely on legal or social protections or a combination of the two. We need to revisit our strategies by going back to the root of the problems to research our lost souls.

Probably social protection and a public will can do something than mere legal sanctions which contain lots of loop holes.

In the past, the responsibility to protect and take care of children was the duty of the community. There were a humour and fond to all be all. One’s problem was yet more another’s problem. But as the community grows and intrusion of foreign cultures, the then social tie becomes elastic.

The companionship is now formulated in terms of level of education, financial or social status or other personalities including religion believes. Therefore, those who can take care of poor children are actually people who do not have sufficient means to support ruined children. This is why, once a child gets into the street, he or she would remain there until affirmative measure is adopted to revert the situation.

This brings in another important point of who should then take care of these children? In other countries including Botswana and Namibia, the government has active role to ensure that street children are taken care. It is very unfortunate that in Tanzania, this role is left to civil society and other charitable organizations such as Mkombozi and Dododogo Centres. Certainly, there is no even a place to keep these children and no budget for that.

The government has to take care of these children and support the charitable organizations because the community support is no longer in place.

It is also high time to amend these bad laws which do not support ensure best interests of the child. Some of these laws are already mentioned above.

Others include the Affiliation Act of 1949 which still provides that a punitive father of the child born out of wedlock can pay only Tanzania shillings one hundred per a month for up keeping of his child. The Law of Marriage Act of 1971 should also be amended to restrict marriage of children below eighteen years. Section 176 of the Penal Code, Cap. 16 restricts anyone (including children) to remain idle and placing himself in any public places in disorderly manner and procure charitable contributions.

These are kinds of laws which instead of protecting children, the actually perpetuate infringement of their rights.    

Providing children with safe and caring settlings guarantees children a sound future and development. Any country in the world develops through developed minds of its people who are capable of making sound decisions.

Ruined people can never sit down to think and plan. If the country ignores these children who form about 50 percent of the current population, it actually ignores its future as well. The most effective solution to the problem is certainly a combination of different stakeholders.

The government has to formulate and implement practical policies and strategies which mainstream traditional programmes such as ‘Mama Mkubwa’ programme of Makete district; Community Justice Facilitation on Most Vulenarable Children of UNICEF Tanzania; and others.

It can do that by using local governance structures such as village, ward and districts or municipal councils. They can spear some monies for taking good care of these children in their localities instead of allocating billions of funds for directors’ posh cars and renovation of offices every year. It is something which needs just a little push from the responsible ministries.

It should also use the private-public-partnership (PPP) strategy to mobilize resources from the public. The justification is easy. That is, if these prominent business companies can sponsor football and miss Tanzania, why not schools and dormitories for these helpless children on the streets. A little bit discussion of their corporate social responsibility could make all these possible.   

Businessmen and everyone has to see that this is a responsibility of everyone. Most of these children on the streets turn to be cruel criminals because of their early childhood orientation. A prove to this is quite simple. The statistics show that most of those who are in prisons are actually coming from poor background.

Living in the limbo and harsh environment is very costful to these children because street life is too harsh and rough for the children. We owe these children the better as we promised them. It is time to replace words and theories with practical terms.  

---

* Clarence KIPOBOTA holds Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B (Hons)), Masters of Community Economic Development (Msc. CED) and Certificates in Human Rights and UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania, currently working as Legal Consultant with LEGAL AND DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS LIMITED (LEDECO). He is also Human Rights Activist. Email: kipobota@yahoo.com Tel: +255 762776281/ +255 222700695. 

Reasons of Poverty Tanzania

Article/ Feature

20/May/2011

We starve in middle of plenty because we are poor

By: Clarence KIPOBOTA (Advocate)*

An evaluation assignment by the Foundation for Civil Society took me to several ‘marginalized’ districts and regions of Tanzania Mainland. The districts included Newala, Mbozi and Bariadi.

I could see plenty of resources along the way including wildlife, water sources, mountains, thick forests, very fertile soil and of course, a good number of health persons; but most of them with vivid misery appearances. A simple psychological test could tell that the dream for their future holds no hope. Evidently, they are wretched by poverty. 

While I was in Masasi, I saw a girl, who was apparently thirteen years. The young land was selling boiled maize to her customers along the Bar at Masasi. She had a child hooked at her back crying for something. The girl was busy attending her customers. One male customer started to touch her buttocks. She could not resist because same person contributes to her petty business.

Certainly, she does not know if that behavior amounts into sexual harassment under the penal laws of Tanzania. All what she needs is money for her wellbeing. The wild justice of most of African countries shows that a poor person ‘has no rights’ and could not enforce dignity.

One piece of her maize is sold at a price of one hundred Tanzanian shillings. Probably at the end of the day, she could collect one thousand shillings for herself, the child and other members of her family.

On my way to Mbozi district from Mbeya urban, I boarded a small car. Beside me sat a young girl with her mother. My interaction with them unfolded what the mother had in her mind. She told me that her daughter aged nine years was raped by the chips seller. The case could not move further from Mloo ward police station of Mbozi because chips seller’s uncle is twisting the case because he has financial muscles. She was trying to go to report it to the higher levels after securing some monies for transport fare.

Millions of Tanzanians and Africans do face lots of problems because of poverty. Poverty denies them of the confidence to defend for their dignity and rights because they are hungry and uneducated with very limited options for alternative livelihood.

It is the same challenge that exposes women, children and other vulnerable groups in a disgraceful situation. The geographical settings, cultural norms and socio-economic backgrounds hard stress them into tomb or problems. Again, because of their vulnerability, the stance of poverty becomes magnified. But why are we poor? Why do we starve in the middle of plenty?

It is obviously that there is nothing which witlessly drives African countries like poverty. It has been very hard to knob to break. In fact, the situation I saw proves that no war against it would fight it in a near future.

As it is shown earlier on, Tanzania is endowed with almost everything which could be driving forces for economic development and poverty eradication. However, from economic point of view, the abundance of resources that we have are not essentially an aspect for or of development.

Development, being one of the economic attributes usually depends on how one makes effort to exploit nature and not what nature can provide for him or her. From this argument then, we are poor because we have poor and unorganized strategies of extracting our needs from the abundance surrounding us. Having plenty in hands does not necessarily guarantee for the better.

A better understanding of why this is a case can be well responded by revisiting the history of our nation.

The Arabs, German and English who dominated us some decades ago, induced us to believe that the little we had in terms of human resource and skills can not suffice our independence on production. Then, they are the one who knew better than everyone of us.

The post independence era has never been a removal of the said hangover. The mental slavery still haunt our ability to think, put priorities for ourselves, extract of minerals for our benefit and believe that local investors can do better than the foreigners. We have hired aliens to think and act for us. This is because we are physically and mentally poor; therefore economically poor as well.

The history of Tanzania shows that the country has been in constant struggles against poverty from first day of our independence. The first strategy was that, the plenty that we have, should be controlled by the government. Clause (h) of the TANU’s Decree of 1967 indicated that, in order to ensure economic justice, the state must have effective control over the major means of production.

In fact, this was a rightful decision for that particular time because it was one step forward towards mental emancipation from colonial hangovers. But as we conceived this, we overlooked the fact that mental slavery was not only connected to dependence of commands from colonialists, but also from any person or authority which inhibits individuals from free thinking and capacity to utilize what he or she has around.

Today, we have some of leaders who still think that people living in rural settings should not be consulted because they are not educated. In this way, they even enter into agreement with foreign companies to invest in the village lands without informed consent of the village government. The situation of Loliondo Game Controlled Area could give a good illustration.

The current struggle of economic survival goes so bad. Land grabbing and alienations push local communities away from their lands. The aliens are favored by both legal and policy frameworks.

Any attempt of indigenous occupants to fight for their lands and resources back or at least sharing the profit, is gunned down by ‘almighty’ powers. The laws are there to justice the means and ends. We lost our people by guns to protect the aliens who share nothing significant to local development. Recent scenarios of Tarime could tell. It is a pure struggle of economic survival.

The local communities do not have stronger voices to speak out their hearts and problems. In this way, the killings of their relatives are easily justified. An ‘almighty’ alien has to be protected by all costs even if it is to the detriment our own people. The love of investment money outweighs the interest of the local communities.

Probably the ignorance of technical-knowhow is a reason of our exclusion from direct enjoyment of the right to extract the nature.

But who is to be blamed? What strategies are there to ensure that the resources we have are for Tanzanians and should be utilized by the same? Until when will our country continue hiring foreign ‘experts’ in our mines, plantations, highway constructions, even selling of local coconuts and tomatoes in the foreign supermarkets placed in Tanzania?

Without proper response to all these, we will continue to witness huge flocks of foreigners who comes for resources and not love of Tanzanians.    

Be the case as it would be, this incapacity to exploit the plenty that we have is not caused by the financial status. That is, lack of capital to use good technologies. We could have used limited resources to produce while we forge workable strategies to have technology at our own hand. Other countries have used this strategy.

When the Rural Rapid Appraisal philosophy was introduced in Asia in 1980s, it was seen as a nightmare. It was not easy to believe that a person who has nothing (capital) can give something. That concern is actually justifiable. As Latin proverb says, “Nemo dat qui non abet,” that is, he who has not, cannot give. So the the question of how to raise capital from empty pockets is what estranges the minds of our leaders. This is why small scale miners are not allowed to own mining site.  

A good question here should be what strategies do we have to ensure that the local people have competitive capital in the current market? Many Tanzanians are hard working and good planners, but do not have capital to implement what they have in minds. Saving from their produce is almost impossible. Banks have strings, very difficult for them to adhere to; in fact, they lack entrepreneurship skills to risk their assets if any.

The remaining option, may be, is to fundraise from donors. But it is also cumbersome to them. They have to know English and fill those complicated forms. Their level of literacy is very low. Therefore, they hardly get funds from these people.

A few who are educated, say the civil engineers, are lucky ones. However, when a bid to develop certain place is announced to the bidders, they are incapable of becoming highest bidders. The Chinese, South Africans and Japanese always win. The local engineers become servants who are lowly paid. 

Moreover, there is elites’ betrayal to guide the villagers. All graduate even from Sokoine University of Agriculture are locked themselves in the cities some of them teaching tuitions. There is no one to guide the villagers what to plant and how to manage the farms and livestock.

During the first bunch of the Five-Year Development Plan of 1960s and 1970s of Tanzania, the government proclaimed that hard work was the key to development. The plan emphasized that, we should not lessen efforts to look for money we really need; but, it should be more appropriate for us to spend time in the villages showing people how to bring about development through their efforts, rather than spending most of time searching for money from abroad.

The reality of this has remained. It is very unfortunate that poverty in Tanzania and most of African countries is sought to be eradicated in the full air conditioned rooms in posh hotels of Dar es Salaam, Nairobi or Kampala rather than using same money to sit round the tree with the people to whom these discussions are all about.

This brings feeling of rejection to most of residents in rural areas. As such, the youths quite agriculture and migrate in the cities to try their uncertainties. At the cities, they join criminals to start fishing things from the passerby. Girls join hawkers to sell their bodies to johns. Eventually, a number of so called ‘street children’ increases and, of course, we create a dented future nation.

The most important solution to all these problems should be capacity building to our people plus returning of resources (means of production) to the hands of citizens. The Tanzania’s Community Development Policy of 1996 quotes Mwalimu Julius Nyerere as saying that, true development is development of the people, not things.

There is no easy way that we can employ to free ourselves from starving, apart from building faith on ourselves, that we can exploit our nature ourselves. Above all, we need to emancipate ourselves from poor mentality which eventually makes us poor. We are capable of enriching ourselves from the plenty that we have.

Otherwise, the plenty that we have shall always be the garden of flowers for bees’ honey ingredients which benefit the aliens while of people watching and dying. Let us cherish local investors, local communities. It is time to awake and work for the interest of Tanzanians first. It is just too much to hear plans and plans every time. Where are the results?       

   

---

* Clarence KIPOBOTA holds Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B (Hons)), Masters of Community Economic Development (Msc. CED) and Certificates in Human Rights and UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania, currently working as Legal Consultant with LEGAL AND DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS LIMITED (LEDECO). He is also Human Rights Activist. Email: kipobota@yahoo.com Tel: +255 762776281/ +255 222700695.