Breaking News From Tanzania
Is Tanzania On The Verge Of Shutting Down?
President Jakaya Kikwete was in the news this morning according to one of my sources in Tanzania, apologising for the power crisis to ordinary Tanzanians for the first time. But the real news was what he said after the apology.
The President says that the crisis is the Almighty himself, testing his government and it is not man made in any way.
This is NOT TRUE.
But I will get to that in a minute.
This latest development clearly illustrates the gravity of the crisis in Tanzania. The reason that the president is apologising is because there is worse to follow, possibly a total blackout in some major commecial centres in the country (as experts have been continously warning for sometime now). This is unprecedented because even in the darkest days of Nyerere's Ujamaa, the country did not have this sort of electricity shut down.
It is clear that President Kikwete's government is facing the sort of crisis that will definitely spill over and affect Kenya in one way or another in the coming weeks. The widely quoted (old figures) about Tanzania's good economic performance are about to start sticking out like a sore thumb.
Any of my Tanzanian brothers reading this who thinks this blogger is happy at being proved right (after blowing the whistle months ago) is badly mistaken. My closest friends live in Tanzania and most of the are Tanzanians. I love this beautiful country deeply (othewise why bother commenting?). What has happened is tragic and may have the effect of even slowing down Kenya's rapidly risisng economic growth. Foreign investors kenya will try to woe over the next few years will warily look at what is about to happen in Tanzania and get cold feet about investing in neighboring Kenya.
Anyway, here is to story of how corruption in high places played a major role in bring about the current Tanzanian crisis;
Impeccable sources in Tanzania close to the ministry of energy told this blogger the following fascinating story.
Immediate former President Benjamin Mkapa had forseen the coming energy crisis and had ordered two huge generators to help alleviate the coming crsis. However when Kikwete's new government came into power, the then Minister for Energy, Dr Ibrahim Msabaha, cancelled the order pointing out that there was corruption involved which the incoming government of President Jakaya Kikwete wanted to clean up.
My source said that the minister then went ahead and called in his Asian friends (from the kariakoo commercial area in dar-es-esalaam) and gave them the tender to supply the generators pronto. Apparently delivery for such big generators takes a little while - a couple of months at the very least (which his Asian friends found out later. Long after the Mkapa contract had been cancelled and the ordered generators sold to another client in South Africa. What this meant was that even as the crisis was starting to bite, the government was starting afresh the whole process of ordering generators.
But this sad story does not end there. The company given the contract does not exist in America where they say they claimed they were registered. To make matters worse something went wrong and the company ended up supplying some unservicable Boeing engines which cannot generate any power. (Read the revealing article that talks about this in detail).
So it is not God to blame as President Kikwete is saying, but corruption and simple human greed.
My source tells me that the Energy minister and his colleagues were eager to recover cash spent on the campaign trail quickly and were keen to get a huge contract to do this (almost identical to the Anglo-Leasing saga in Kenya).
I have made a decision to allow all the abusive comments by readers of this blog claiming to be Tanzanians that are heavy in empty rhetoric and abuse and lacking in facts and objectivity. I find it a very effective way to show evidence (in writing) to anybody (whether Tanzanian or Kenyan) that Tanzania is not ready for The East Afrian Federation and that with this kind of attitude there is a serious crisis in this nation that will virtually be impossible for Tanzanians to get out of in the near future. You can help somebody in trouble who wants to be helped, but how do you help somebody who is sure they are doing well?
The saddest thing about it all is that the vast majority of Tanzanians are convinced that Kenya is finished without the East African Federation or Customs Union. The truth is that Sudan beckons and dozens of other countries worldwide including the United States and Britain, two western powers that are desperate for Kenyan nurses and medical personnel. The evidence on the ground is that Kenya's huge well-trained idle work force is about to dissapear and became as precious as electrical power currently is in Tanzania.
History will prove that the very East African Union that Tanzanians are fighting so hard to kill (while giving hypocritical lip service in favor of it at Arusha) was the last boat that would have saved a sinking nation.
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You are currently my only source on the going ons in Tanzania...
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated time and time again when I hear people off the streets comment how lazy Tanzanians are, how they don't like Kenyans (that we are too aggressive - have they met Nigerians???).
But even after all that & reading what you have to say (on how they could be heading towards impending doom) it is something I would not wish on my worst enemy...
I pray they wake up and realize there is strength in unity. They should also read The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. I certainly don't want t hear of a Kenyan foreign mission being sent to save the country like the ones we've sent to Sudan, Somalia...
Vee:
ReplyDeleteYou wrote,"I pray they wake up and realize there is strength in unity.
it is strange that one would claim that Tanzanians dont understand there is strength in unity. Would you support your statement? Tanzanians have a lot to teach other African countries when it comes to unity.
About the World Is Flat. I have read the book and listened to the author two times. As much as I like his work, I think his main thesis is flawed. The world is pontentially flat, it is not flat. And do you think the book can help Kenyans get rid of tribal conflicts and improve the lives on people in Mathare?
Chris you have studiously avoided mentioning the ongoing farce concerning Swaleh Mdoe (KTN). One would be tempted to think this is another chapter in the ongoing feud between the Government and The Standard. While that might be so, you can't ignore the timing. Pure coincidence?? Or did some 'blog reader' put two and two together and suddenly realised a visible target like Swaleh has mileage? Is it a retaliation? What's your take Chris?
ReplyDeleteYou Kenyans behave like you are a concerned parent of a child(tanzania) who doesn't know whats really good for her. Simply amazing.
ReplyDeleteWhat is obvious is Kenya needs a neighbour desperately because the place is just getting too small for the people. Doesn't have to be Tanzania, it can be Somali, Sudan, Rwanda..but yes you do need one and as of today it looks like Tanzania was the #1 option. Acknowledge that first then we can sit down as neighbours and try to figure out how to work with each other.
Annonymous said;
ReplyDelete"Anonymous said...
Chris you have studiously avoided mentioning the ongoing farce concerning Swaleh Mdoe (KTN). One would be tempted to think this is another chapter in the ongoing feud between the Government and The Standard. While that might be so, you can't ignore the timing. Pure coincidence?? Or did some 'blog reader' put two and two together and suddenly realised a visible target like Swaleh has mileage? Is it a retaliation? What's your take Chris?"
The Swaleh Mdoe saga is a deep mystery. I have been trying to squeeze my contacts for info but have found myself confronting a dead end each time.
However in my opinion the Standard versus Michuki angle is unlikely in this one.
I could be wrong but this government is getting a little impatient with the dragging of feet by the Tz bureacrats, especially at this eleventh hour when they are tying all the loose ends in prepararation for the general elections. The East African comunity fiasco is an area where the government is vulnerable for criticism, especially when you read some of the comments in this blog. It may have been a diplomats' way of sending a message prior to some horse trading. That would explain picking on such a high profile name. The intelligence community is also fully aware that the Tanzanian government's options are dramatically dwindling by the day.
The aim of the Kibaki administration may be to close a deal before the elections and then use this to shut up critics on the ground.
To me this is the most likely explanation.
Remember that Raphael Tuju the minister of foreign affairs is a memeber of the inner circle or kitchen cabinet (if you like) so much so that he forgets himself and makes public announcements based on kitchgen discussions. For instance the appointment of retired President Moi as special envoy for peace in the region. Remember that guff?
P.S. Tanzanian readers of this blop, I urge you to not start getting ideas. My position on East African Co-operation is that it is more dead than the proverbial dodo, until all playuers realize that things will move faster when Tanzania is given the time she requested and stays out of the community. Kenya,Uganda,Rwanda and Burundi are enough to get something started. In my opinion the current arrangement with Tanzania where the country loses tax revenue is not in the interests of Kenya and we will say as much when we hit the campaign trail with our candidates.
Tanzania has a power crisis but they are going to fix the problem, because they already bought generators and also there's a huge investment on the way in coal mines from U.S. The problem Tanzania is going to have with Kenya is the fact that most people in Kenya 50% are below poverty line and ignored by their goverment. All these poverty people are going to run to TZ to open small shops and petty businesses which are going to turn Arusha to a shanti town with Chokoraa everywhere, we dont have any problem with the big companies investing in TZ our problem is poor people who are going to move in just to get a little bit of food. Tanzania is exporting alot of maize from Arusha, poor Kenyans are going to move to Arusha to stay simply because of availability of food in TZ, we should also bare in mind that these small business are not going to pay taxes and they are going to invest their money home, put pressure on the mid-class, accept low paying job and above all continue Kenyans behavior of tribalism and theft. If you are a teacher or a doctor you are going to avoid TZ restance because you are going to be in our system and contributing to our economy, but if you are poor and moving to TZ just to survive you are going to be in trouble and picked by police and we all support that move. Poor Tanzanins should not move to Kenya and poor Kenyans should not move to TZ for these strange brothers to have a sound union. Tanzania should say NO to EAC and its funny that you guys are picking on Kikwete, you should like hime because he is going to be there for approximately 10 years. Tanzania has nothing to loose in EAC.
ReplyDeleteChris thanks for your opinion on the Mdoe saga, I concur with your analysis.
ReplyDeleteSmall observation, the undercurrent of venom (to put it politely) exhibited in this debate is interesting. Poor Kenyan chokoras flocking to Tanzania!!! That was a good laugh. From that 'astute' observation we can safely conclude that all Kenyans in the diaspora are chokoras with the single minded mission of spreading poverty.
What great wit!!!
Well... I see good news for Kenyan manufacturers, farmers and traders since TZ will require lots of food stuffs (cooking fats, flour, oils, sugar) as well as fuels (diesel & kerosene). Chances are that unless TZ opens the borders, these will be smuggled into Northern TZ.
ReplyDeleteNorthern TZ is a natural market for Kenyan manufacturers since Namanga provides an ideal port of entry.
As I had expressed earlier:
- Kenya needs to UPGRADE the Nairobi-Namanga road so Kenyan lorries can get the goods to the border.
- Kenya needs to lay off on ALL police activity that limits "exports" (let the traders "smuggle" into TZ out of Kenya).
- Let the Kenyan & TZ traders do their thing at the TZ border.
Kenya BENEFITS by allowing exports to TZ, TZ gets the the necessary foodstuffs...
If you leave it to the politicians, then they don't care if people starve as long as they (politicians) look good on paper!
Why Tanzanians have some problems with Kenyans in TZ and not other immigrants?
ReplyDeleteThe main difference Kenya has over the other countries is that Kenyans are not just comming to Tanzania, they are moving to Tanzania to stay for good. Due to the geographical location between the two countries, Tanzanians are afraid that Kenyans are not exporting just talent necessary to boost our economy, but also most poor Kenyans are going to move to Tanzania just to making a living, they have nothing to loose since they are poor.Tanzanians who are poor, below poverty level they are not going to move to Kenya because the situation in Kenya is far worse for poor than in TZ, even the fact that Kenya has more revenue yearly, there is no mid-class in Kenya estimated 50% of people are below poverty line about 17,000,000 people, all poor kenyans who are living in draught areas are going to move to fertile Arusha land, and now Massai are fighting!. Tanzania has more small business than Kenya and Kenya has more co-operations than TZ and thats the main reason to why Tanzania has a mid-class, in Kenya the small group of mid-class are mainly workers while in TZ are mainly small business people. For Tanzania and Kenya to have a sound EAC they both need to expand the mid-class otherwise EAC is going to end-up in a separation again.The fact is Tanzania economy is improving in reference to her history and Kenyans should stop the jelous and give the credit to a neighbour. Tanzania is not a solution to Kenyans problems because those poor people are going to be rejected even when EAC is established, the mid-class problem should be fixed before the angry poor people pick the stones in both sides of the border, Kenya has more problem in this area than the others 50%. Unless Kenyan goverment dedicate time to solve the poverty issue EAC is not going to help regular people instead is going to help co-operation in Taxes and sales why? Kenya has both the higher economy in revenue but also the highest poverty level in EAC, that means money is not reaching a regular people 50% of them!. Unless Kenya change her laws or exporting poverty in a current setting they can not reduce the poverty.While Kenyans are so macho and assume that they better in everything they are going to be suprised to learn that in small business they can not compete with Waswahili/ Tanzanians.All families in Dar, Arusha and Mwanza have s certain type of small business is our traditional and we are going to win that battle. we dont want Kenyans to come to TZ and sell tomatoes. Kenya is different in that way is close. Some few Tanzania professional are mad because Kenyans are accepting lower paying jobs in most banks in TZ.Forgive for any spelling this is just free-style
UBALOZI wa Marekani imesema kuimarika kwa uhusiano wake na Tanzania hakumanishi kuwa inataka kuibeba kisiasa kuongoza nchini zilizopo Kanda ya Afrika Mashariki.
ReplyDeleteAkizungumza na waandishi wa habari katika ofisi za ubalozi huo nchini, Mkurugenzi Msaidizi wa Masuala ya Afrika Mashriki katika ubalozi huo, Debora Malac alisema uhusiano wa nchi yake na Tanzania ni wa kujenga ushirikiano wa kiuchumi na kijamii.
Alisema kuwa hakuna sababu ya watu kuwa na mashaka juu ya uhusiano huo katika utawala huu wa Rais Jakaya Kikwete.
"Tunachodhamiria ni kudumisha uhusiano wetu zaidi, tunapofanya hivi haina maana itafsiriwe tunataka kuifanya Tanzania kuwa kiongozi katika Afrika Mashariki, tunachohitaji ni kushirikiana kujenga mazingira yanayowezesha watu kuishi maisha bora,"alisema.
Aliongeza kuwa kwa kufanya hivyo hawategemei kuvurugiaka kwa uhusiano mzuri baina ya nchi hiyo na Kenya kwa kuwa suala la msingi ni kuwezesha maendeleo na si kuhusisha masuala ya mahusiano kisiasa zaidi.
Alisema kutokana na Tanzania kuwa nchi inayotekeleza demokrasia kwa dhati, nchi yake inavutika kutoa misaada zaidi kuliko ilivyokuwa miaka iliyopita kutokana na umakini wa serikali iliyopo kusimamia sera zake za kiuchumi.
@ Anonymous
ReplyDelete"If you are a teacher or a doctor you are going to avoid TZ restance because you are going to be in our system and contributing to our economy,"
This is the 10th time I am asking this question. In the last 18 months the Tz administration has been hounding Kenyan professionals working in Tz in all sectors of their economy; they were not chokoras. Most of them were forcefully removed and others jailed. Why so? And why has the Kenyan Ambassador to TZ in Dar been asleep all this time? And why are the TZ contributers in this thread not directly telling us?
You know what, it is rare that I lose my temper online, why are you people treating us like refugees while we treat your people well? You know what, the Kenyan High Commission in Dar should be shut down, THEY ARE A BUNCH OF MORONS WHO DESERVE TO BE KICKED IN A VERY DARK PLACE! They have no diplomatic sense in their duties. Nothing has changed to the plight of Kenyans in that country we call Tanzania. Kenyans are more harrased in TZ than any other country in the world! Is anyone listening? The Kenyan High Commission in Dar consists of a bunch of *ss holes with no idea about their job. Period!
GM
It's official, Tanzanians don't like Kenyans and God doesnt lcare about Tanzanians!
ReplyDeleteThis is The East African Standard sunday edition.
ReplyDeleteKikwete lives in utopian world as Tanzanians wallow in problems
@ Chris
Congratulations, what you have been prophesizing over 5months ago has come to pass. It is only now that the mainstream media are catching up on. My advice is that either start a cult or start a magazine; you win both ways.
//Jokingly
Who is this Ernest Mpinganjira who wrote the article. The name sounds Tanzanian.
/Seriously, why are we kenyans commenters on this blog dictating to a foreign country on how to starve itself to death?
GM
@ GM Kenyans who does not have the permit to work in TZ, you want them to work freely, is a different country GM. EAC is not formed yet and hopeful is not going to be formed at all, we can just be like Canada and US moving freely but i am not supporting TZ and the rest of EAC to be like one country. The union should be bi-lateral eg we may start with Uganda 5 years from now they have only 30% poverty level and estimated to be 20% when they start producing oil 2009. Kenya they have some good company but also 50% below poverty line and the gap is increasing rapidly. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda should have poverty level below 20% below EAC is formed, this is going to reduce the exportation of poverty population to TZ and increase the price of land in TZ.Tanzania need free trade and movement but we dont need settlers in our country, we have large land and good cities we dont want settlers so the current setting is enough. Kenya you may have Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi if you want but not out TZ.
ReplyDeleteKumekucha you play hate Kikwete!!
ReplyDeleteHow many kenyan have been jailed or deported from Tanzania. I hope someone can answer this question, so we can start to put concrete numbers into some statements that are made without any evidence whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteThere's no benefit for Tanzania to join EAC, the current setting is enough.
ReplyDeleteInteresting the going ons on EAC minds.
ReplyDeleteTZdians should remember that there are countries north of Kenya and that these countries are on the UP and UP
As to the so called 50% poverty rate in kenya...these statistics are misleading. Most of these people actually own their homes.
This is not misleading at all what is misleading is par capital which is calculated by NI/Population, but poverty line is all over the world, Uganda and Tanzania is not that different from Kenyans way of life so the statistics are based of the same things.Its true that Kenya has both the riches and the poorest in EAC.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous:
ReplyDelete"You are currently my only source on the going ons in Tanzania..." I can't back up my statement on Tanzanians not knowing or caring cause currently I only have one source on the Kenyan/Tanzania drama...and that's this blog.
Its true there is a power and leadership crisis in Tanzania at the moment. Just as its true that a good portion of the food that Kenyans are consuming right now comes from Tanzanian farms. Similarly, its true that there are more Kenyans crossing the border into Tanzania in search of greener pastures than there are Tanzanians going to Kenya in search of jobs and opportunities. I am a Tanzanian who has lived in Kenya for 20+ years (from childhood till I was about 25 years old) and still have family living there so travel to Kenya a lot. I can say with some authority that it is foolhardy to compare Kenya to TZ , be it our politics, people, religious understanding.... Its true that there is no love lost between Kenya and TZ. But those are historical issues that you should be aware of by now. For the record, we also don't like how Kenyans are always trying to impose themselves on us as if you have your game sorted (yet we are always having to bail your country out in times of food and political crisis). Remember it was Presidents Mkapa and Kikwete who talked sense to Kenyan leaders at the time when the country was descending into anarchy. Dont bite the hand that feeds you. TZ and Kenya are countries born of different ethics and attitudes and goals. Kenya is pressing for the EAC coz at the moment it has more to gain than TZ in terms of new markets and dumping the loads of unemployed people etc. TZ is resisting the EAC coz its obviously skewed against it and we don't really need the EAC at this point in time. Really we dont. The only thing the current set up of the EAC is good for is turning some countries into basket cases like the Eurozone did with Greece and Spain. We know the antics being used to fast track this process and dont like them. Finally your attempt to paint the power crisis as a doomsday event is not valid. Yes things have slowed down and will continue to slow down in TZ. But remember just like the Moi government has a load of scandals before its downfall, the TZ government is doing a good job of hanging itself with these power issues and other scandals both big and small. But we still have all the resources necessary for generating electricity inclusing wind, solar, vast gas resources, hydro in places yet to be tapped, untapped geo thermal, tonnes of coal deposits that havent even been touched, even uranium, vast deposits of iron, phosphate and even very high expectations of striking oil in pemba. To add to this list is the great serengeti, kilimanjaro, lake victoria, lake tanganyika, lake natron, the craddle of mankind at olduvai gorge, zanzibar...goodwill from almost all countries in the world (except Kenya of course), a proud and friendly people united by purpose and the legacy of the Great Mwalimu Julius Nyerere - a true African statesman who left us a big country with rich swathes of arable land for crop cultivation, the third largest herd of livestock on the continent, nice clean sandy beaches and REAL PEACE AND UNITY...
ReplyDeleteA storm is gathering after a long period of drought. The country is about to purge itself. When the rain is over fresh grass will sprout and Tanzania will take its rightful place within East Africa and the world. Trust me. That is what is going to happen. So please take your thieving interests to South Sudan as you yourself have expressed in your piece. Goodbye and God bless you.