Which development model should Tanzania stick to?
As Tanzania is on an economic development track, we need to have serious dialogue on the developmental model that we should adhere to.
Following independence from alien rule in the early 1960s, we embarked on Socialism inearnest in the late 1960s, and adopted the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), a forum of 120 developing world states that was established in 1961 on the initiative of the Indian Prime Minister of the day, Jawaharlal Nehru.
NAM member countries were not formally aligned with, or against, any major power bloc.
After Mwalimu Nyerere’s government (1962-85), we ditched the Socialist model in favour of a free market ideology, steadily becoming capitalists of sorts.
Gradually, the gap between the rich and poor widened. But, today, there seems to be indications that we are reverting to the old ideology.
Indeed, this is not quite well understood, and we may be groping in the dark.
In this regard, I sincerely advocate open debate to determine an all-inclusive development model we should adopt – and, secondly: to ensure harmonious understanding of the model across the population.
The motto of the American Express Card ‘Don’t leave home without it’ implies that people live off a piece of plastic, desperately trying to sustain their lifestyles.
In the event, more than 43 per cent of Americans spend $1.22 for every dollar they earn – meaning that Americans virtually make no savings!
Today, almost 39 million Americans live below the poverty line. Under the relentless onslaught of ‘tricklism’, nearly 45 million have no health insurance.
The minimum wage is $5.15 per hour compared to the inflation-adjusted figure of $8.00 in 1968. Indeed, the wage gap has widened; the minimum wage has actually decreased while the CEO package has increased by millions of Yankee dollars!
Nearly 5 million Americans are homeless – and an equal number go hungry everyday.
This stark situation is a result of the last 40 years of the policy which the US adopted that lets the rich get richer – and the poor become destitute.
In his book The New Golden Age, the Indian-American economist Raveendra Nath ‘Ravi’ Batra (born on June 27, 1943) talks about ‘the final year of the decade syndrome’. This means that every last year of a given decade is ‘significant’ in one way or another.
In history, 1929 saw the start of the Great Depression (1929-39). World War-II started in 1939 (1939-45).
The Chinese Communist Revolution led by Chairman Mao Zedong begun in 1949; the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro started in 1959. The year 1969 saw to global inflation, while the Iranian Revolution started in 1979 – and the Berlin Wall fell in 1989!
No wonder, then, that Ravi – a Professor of Economics at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas – predicts that America could be displaced and replaced as a global superpower by China in 2029.
If nothing else, this would be testimony that a policy under which millions starve while a tiny minority indulges in gluttony is unethical, unsustainable.
So, would my esteemed readers agree that we do not have to go the US way whereby the rich get richer... However, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t adopt a free market development model.
An ideal economic model is one in which every jobseeker gets employment that at least pays a living wage, and provides life’s basic essentials, including food, shelter, clothing and healthcare.
It’s an economy in which everyone enjoys the fruits of new technology and quality living. A rise in national productivity must be all-inclusive.
Sweden, Norway and Switzerland have such an economic model.
Tanzania should likewise create an ethical, efficient economy (EEE).
To me, there are four fundamental EEE precepts: a progressive tax system; a needs-based minimum wage, with salaries rising roughly in proportion to national productivity; free enterprise, and economic equity.
Because a majority of the population is composed of rural-based subsistence farmers, they should be facilitated in their agricultural activities, and should receive fair prices for their produce as a matter of course.
Admittedly, not all economic woes arise from unethical economic policies and regulatory frameworks; but, many of them do.
Hence the dire need for us to adopt and stringently adhere to ethical economic policies.
Good ethics erase poverty, while lack of same fuels abject poverty. Poverty plagues a majority of Tanzanians while their God-given natural resources and other potential wealth are looted under unethical policies and faulty regulatory frameworks.
Poverty knows no ideology – especially because democracy, power and responsibility ultimately rest with the people. In that regard, do not cast your vote for cronyism, sleaze, unethical policies, etc., in future elections.
Always go for honesty, courage and integrity – bearing in mind that a citizenry can easily become victims of misrule.
