Tanzania and effects of monolithic party system

Tanzania is one of many African states, which immediately after independence abolished a multiparty political system that existed in a short period before and after independence. The one party political system, which was practised by many countries in Africa, recorded some social advantages and many negative effects, whose impacts are still experienced in many African countries today after the adoption of multiparty democracy in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

For Tanzania, we can list many advantages gained during the one political party system, but we can also list many negative effects, which are still experienced even today.

Unlike many African states, whose rulers used the one-party system to develop and maintain dictatorship for benefits of the ruling elite, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere used it to unite consolidate many tribes into one country called Tanzania, which for decades now has remained a living example for Africa socially and politically.

Mwalimu Nyerere wisely used the one party system to advocate and advance a socialism policy to build Tanzania as one nation on the basis of equality. Mwalimu’s administration devised the first country’s national vision - the Arusha Declaration of 1967 towards building a socialist state.

Changing of national visions and their effects

Through the Arusha Declaration, Mwalimu Nyerere managed to convince and influence Tanzanians in building a socialist nation on the basis of equality. Tanzanians under Mwalimu‘s 23-year presidency expressed their readiness in building a socialist state.

Unfortunately, the world has proved that socialism and its sister communism are unfit systems for human development, while capitalism is now taken for granted as the only system that is wholly viable for human development. Thus, the readiness of people for building their nation depends on the kind of leadership and in this regard, Tanzanians like any societies in the world, had been ready to support any vision.

However, the one political party system that left Tanzania with some inevitable advantages under the first two country’s administrations, it also developed a kind of political environment, whose negative effects are still costing the country even today after the reintroduction of political pluralism in 1992.

The 50th commemoration of the Arusha Declaration, which is now organised annually by the Nyerere Resource Centre, known in Kiswahili as Kavazi la Mwalimu, reminds me the negative effects of the one party system, still haunts Tanzania after 25 years since we adopted multiparty democracy.

During the 50th commemoration of the Arusha Declaration, which took place August 25, several national dignitaries got an opportunity to air their views on the importance of the Arusha Declaration (though it doesn’t exist now). Nevertheless, remarks of Judge Joseph Warioba were the ones, which touched me and reminded me of the negative effects of the one-party system once again. Judge Warioba was quoted by media outlets, commenting that ‘’Tanzanians are yet to decide on the kind of nation they want to build’’. To my knowledge, those were awkward remarks!

Warioba’s public life and presidential commissions

I respect Judge Warioba as one of the very few personalities of high integrity in this country, but I disapprove his remarks that Tanzanians are still undecided on the type of nation they want to build. Judge Warioba after retiring from public service had a privilege to head two famous presidential commissions, whose reports impacted not only on Tanzania, but also on the world at large.

I believe Warioba was trusted to chair the two presidential commissions because of his integrity and his long history in public service through which he went as far as becoming the first Vice President cum Prime Minster during Ali Hassan Mwinyi’s administration (1985-1990).

In January 1996, President Benjamin Mkapa formed a commission to enquire into the status of corruption in the country. That commission was under Warioba’s chairmanship for one year and it produced a 500-page report with significant recommendations on how the problem of corruption would be tackled in the country. The contents of that report are still valid today and I can rightly say that, it hasn’t been worked out well, when the problem of corruption becomes an issue.

In 2012, President Jakaya Kikwete after his dream of giving Tanzanians a new Constitution again picked Warioba to lead another presidential commission - the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC). It did an honourable work in collecting and analysing people’s views on the new Constitution.

Eventually, the CRC gave Tanzanians the best ever Draft Constitution, which would be the first people’s centred Constitution had it never been tampered by the CCM-based Constituent Assembly. Unfortunately, until today Tanzanians have no new Constitution, the one, which they made a decision on the kind of the nation they want. Hence, Tanzanians were failed by the one party system syndrome leadership.

CCM after Mwalimu is a stumbling block

In Warioba’s first commission, Tanzanians spoke out that they hated corruption, but leadership was the root cause of the problem. During the second Warioba commission too, Tanzanians didn’t hesitate to give their views on the kind of the nation they wanted to create through a new Constitution. Again, we know what transpired in the Constituent Assembly, which was still influenced by a one-party political culture. The rest is history. In a nutshell, Tanzanians had been ready and cooperative in building their nation, but political leadership, which for many decades was under the influence of the one party system has been a persisting problem for change.

From the contents of the Draft Constitution, it is obvious that Tanzanians had decided already the kind of nation they wanted, but an obstacle has always been political leadership of the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), which is the product of monolithic political party system. Thus, it could be better for Warioba to blame the leadership of CCM, but not Tanzanians.

He and his team went around the country and saw how Tanzanians were anxious about the new Constitution based on their views. Mwalimu led the country under one party doctrine-supremacy, but he wasn’t corrupt. Unfortunately, he left behind a gang of corrupt people, who had owned the system to build the kind of empire they want, instead of the one Tanzanians want. This is one of the effects of the one party system syndrome.

Mwalimu led the country for 23 years under a very poor constituted Constitution and knew it, but because of his integrity almost everything went well except socialism. Thus, no time in history that the citizenry had been a problem in leading the country. Thus, the country’s betterment depends on the kind of political leadership.

Some of the remnants of Mwalimu, including CCM, are the causes of what Warioba is concerned now - disbelief in human rights, injustices and treading on the principles of democracy as are done now by the fifth phase government under President Magufuli.

The CRC’s Draft Constitution was the right roadmap in building national integrity, which would be a source of all remedies for many problems the country has been experiencing after Mwalimu. CCM has maintained party supremacy, which President Magufuli is exercising it under the banner of presidential executive orders, whose effects are well-known and because the current Constitution makes the president holy and untouchable creature and no one dares correct or even advise him without facing a punch from him. This, too, is another oddity of the one party system. Incredibly, Tanzania is no longer practising socialism, but the one party-based Constitution has maintained that Tanzania is still practising socialism. Awkward!

The powerful presidency, which is another residue of the one party system is the one, which determines the country’s direction and vision, depends on who is occupying the State House at the moment. Retired President Ali Hassan Mwinyi determined what kind of Tanzania during his 10-year term. Mkapa and Kikwete each did his best to choose the kind of Tanzania for Tanzanians.

Nyerere under one party culture chose socialism for us. Mkapa sold parastatals at a throw away price. Kikwete and his CCM made sure Tanzanians will never get the kind of Constitution they wanted except the one agreed by CCM through constitutional fora and the Constituent Assembly. So, it is CCM and its leaders who at different times chose what they thought was good for Tanzanians because they saw and found Tanzanians as people, who knew nothing when it came to deciding for their future and that of their posterity.

Warioba and all former and incumbent political leaders, who are the product of the one-party system are the ones to be blamed for what Tanzanians have been eagerly waiting for many decades, but leadership has been the stumbling-block. The incumbent president has de facto decided to take the country back to the one-party system era and Tanzanians, including Warioba, have nothing to do because he is everything in Tanzania. We are told each passing day that we are taken to Canaan - the land of industries and, therefore, we don’t need democracy. Fine, what conflict exists between industrialisation and democracy? All developed nations are also democratic.

Magufuli must learn from his predecessors

Mkapa and Kikwete led this country under multiparty democracy. They never banned political public meetings or demonstrations and Tanzania was the same-stable and peaceful country like it was during Nyerere and Mwinyi’s eras. What is novel now that political parties are not allowed to freely do their basic functions under President Magufuli? This is because Tanzania has always been made the property of the president – bad product of the one party system.

We need a new Constitution and a kind of Parliament, which can control the president to lead the country according to the Constitution and laws.

The author is a lawyer/journalist based in Dar es Salaam.