Resource nationalism and political will
If a recent online dialogue on Mining prospects in Tanzania is to be believed, resource nationalism in itself would not be as bad as it seems. In fact, Dr Abel Kinyondo, when giving a keynote address on the subject, said the United Nations recognises the need for resource-rich countries to ensure that exploitation of their resources benefits the host countries/communities.
In essence, then, ‘resource nationalism’ only becomes meaningful when third-world counties rich in mineral resources effectively ensure that their God-given resources are used to improve the livelihoods of their folk.
Tanzania is a case in point, especially after the President John Magufuli government – in office since November 5, 2015 – revolutionised the country’s mining policy and regulatory frameworks in 2017.
This not only created a level the playing field for all stakeholders; it also ensure that the new mining regime thereafter functionally benefit Tanzanians as a matter of course.
Dr Kinyondo’s presentation on the pioneer On-Line Platform for Research and Dialogue that’s funded by the European Union and Cowi-Tanzania gave a run-down on the status of mining in Tanzania, dating back to the days of economic nationalisation in 1967...
But, this is with the caveat that the current resource nationalism has nothing to do with nationalisation. While there is convergence on resource nationalism, the divergence on how it is implemented must be functional, lest perception make people think it is nationalisation a la 1967 all over again.
The thing with bad news is that it spreads further, wider and faster than good news. For whatever reason, the Tanzania government does not seem – at least not publicly – to have a communication strategy to back up this whole process. Instead, it relies on straight-jacketed official government spokesmen!
On the other hand, mining companies employ investment strategists, international communication and media strategists, investor relations teams and high-octane lawyers with international gravitas.
These cross-cutting teams have hundreds of background researchers who virtually ‘mine’ the world for information that supports their mining interests, and puts together very believable narratives everywhere in the world.
If you had just landed from outer space, you would imagine that the government had just committed the most heinous offence. But, in reality, it was just doing what needed to have been done years back.
In any case, it is duplicitous persons – politicians and their ‘tenderpreneurs’ in government in the past – who had worked behind the scenes to ensure that they were lining their pockets, making tidy sums of monies, while ordinary Tanzanians we left in poverty over the years.
So what did we learn from Dr Kinyondo’s on-line forum? That we have a choice to go the Norwergian way, whereby Norway discovered oil and gas deposits in the 1940s – but their production took off only in the 1970s. They prudently waited until they had the requisite skills and competencies that enabled them to gainfully implement these nationalistic policies.
On the matter of skills, this column has been on record as saying we need to develop skills. Dr Kinyondo raised the matter, as well considering the hundreds of thousands of graduates entering the jobs market yearly – but, sadly, with no practical skills.
We literally need to put the horse before the cart – unlike now when the cart is ahead of the horse. In Dr Kinyondo’s opinion, an industrial base is almost non-existent in Tanzania.
How, then, do we tackle these twin problems? There needs to be political will and openness about these matters. The political gravy train enjoys these sweeping statements on the expansion of the Education sector. Good on the ear but lacking in realism. This is the place to begin now.
Dr Kinyondo helped to shape the conversation in the direction it ought to be going. And, as they say: no research, no right to speak.
