Is Tanzania really ready for takeoff?

On October 12 last year, I wrote a piece headlined, “Let’s match ambition with action in a globalised world”.

Over the past week, two events came back to remind me of this call to action. The first, a Tanzanian brother was seconded to a senior breweries management job in Accra, Ghana, and there were uproarious compliments for “making Tanzania shine”.

Then the news of the week was the visit to the United Arab Emirates by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, a visit which, going by reports, was an overwhelming success, or was it?

This visit and the appointment of one of our own reminded us how much we are one and the same with those who are not wazawa (indigenous Tanzanians), as we love to say.

This column has no business not calling a spade a spade, otherwise there would be absolutely no point in carrying opinion columns in newspapers, or running commentary sections on radio, TV and even online.

For the said reason, I won’t tire reminding the “thank you for making Tanzania shine brigade” that there is the small matter of that famous quote attributed to Retired President Jakaya Kikwete, “Ukitaka kula sharti uliwe”, which, loosely translated, would be synonymous with the English idiom “there is no free lunch”.

Why are we tireless in celebrating when our one of own finds a placement abroad, but are fiercely opposed to “outsiders” coming to take up jobs in Tanzania?

During President Hassan’s much-publicised visit to Expo Dubai 2022, we were told that many multi-million-dollar contracts were signed, signalling an imminent investment boom in Tanzania. That is as it should be, but every opponent of the “no free lunch” mantra must re-examine their position.

Take Bakhresa Food Products, for instance, and its investment in a country other than Tanzania. Would the firm expect that, at the very least, the CEO and financial director would be its own choice?

In the aftermath of these presidential visits, those for and against have all gone into high gear in a disinformation campaign over the successes or otherwise of those tours. We have said Tanzania is ready for takeoff, but is that really the case?

It is doubtful that we are because it is clear that there are Tanzanians who don’t want Tanzania to take off. They have their reasons, including politics linked to the 2025 elections.

Secondly, a Tanzania that is ready for takeoff must shake off political dogma because such dogma and economic diplomacy are like oil and water – they don’t mix. Reminds one of the phrase, “you can’t have your cake and eat it”.

Thirdly, those who wish Tanzania ill aren’t necessarily foreign. The opponents of the good of Tanzania are very much within if you understand the saying “it is wearer of the shoe who knows where it pinches”.

If our Tanzania aircraft is ready for takeoff, with President Hassan as our pilot, we must have the best in service engineers, cabin crew, airport crew, food and beverage services. Where they come from is not that important. What is important is to learn from those who have been in this game longer, and who have the necessary skills and aptitude.

Fourthly, there is a huge disinformation campaign conducted on both sides of the divide. On the one hand, there are those who would want the world to believe that Tanzania is back in business, while on the other, there are those claiming that the country is being auctioned off to the highest bidder.

I have no idea where the “auction” narrative is coming from, but it is common knowledge that those with designs on the 2025 elections are working overtime to play down President Hassan’s achievements during the relatively short time she has been President.

Both sides miss the point as they focus on disinformation, and not on fixing what is broken. It was nice to see the Burj Khalifa lit up with Tanzania’s national colours, but what is even more important is a taste of reality so that we can sort out our engine room and our discriminatory acts that don’t match the spirit and letter of our laws.