Several Million Dollars Later, Tanzanians Show Their True Colors

Barely a week after my post here about the hypocrisy of Tanzanians in matters of integration, that strange nation has dropped a bombshell and the truth has finally emerged (these Tanzania government guys probably read this blog).

In the latest issue of the authoritative EastAfrican, Tanzanian Minister for East African Co-operation Andrew Chenge puts into words what many keen observers (including this blogger) have known all along. Namely that at the moment Tanzanians are not interested in integration. Maybe to use kinder words, they are terrified of integration.

It is clear that the country is back-tracking on the commitment made only in April this year when the 3 heads of state met and agreed that the negotiations on the common market would commence from July 1st 2006.

Maybe the most important aspect I should point out here which Kenyans should take careful note of is that I am reliably informed that the general view amongst Tanzanians is that Kenyans are desperate for the common market and free movement of labor and assets. It is felt that Kenyans have much more to gain from integration than Tanzanians do. You do not need to be an expert to know immediately that there is no way this can be true. The weaker economies always benefit much more from integration anywhere in the world. Look at what is happening at the EC at the moment where people from former Eastern European countries in the EC are flocking into larger economies like Britain? Contrast this to the situation where despite being hit by massive unemployment, Germans are refusing to move to where the jobs are (In Britain for example).

While it is true that there are many Kenyans in Tanzania at the moment, free movement in all 3 countries as well as Rwanda and Burundi (who are to be admitted into the East African Federation), would have brought some semblance of balance very quickly. Not to mention the fact that the Tanzanian economy is showing signs of rapid deterioration (and the sad thing is that it is not as resilient as the Kenyan or Ugandan economies to be able to weather the coming storms).

But by far the most annoying thing here (as this blogger has long pointed out) is that Tanzania has been wasting the time of the other East African partner states. Most of all the tax payers cash is being wasted at Arusha.

This blog repeats the call to the Kenyan government to quickly withdraw from this ship that is headed nowhere. Or alternatively sit down with Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda to get on with the integration process minus Tanzania.

Investors Take Note: Tanzanian has a long history of going back on its' word and even on agreements and contracts with investors. President Nyerere broke so many contracts with foreign investors that most people lost count. Then came the "icing on the cake" namely the nationalization of assets of foreign companies in 1967 in the failed Ujamaa (socialism) experiment in that country. So there is really nothing new that we are seeing here. And that includes all the illegal charges at the border that the Tanzanians have been periodically imposing on other East Africans. Not forgetting that Kenyan exports to Tanzania are taxed while Tanzanian imports to Kenya come in tax-free.