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Ujamaa to Capitalism: from the frying pan into the fireBy Evaristi MagotiWhen Ali Hassan Mwinyi led Tanzania off the path of Ujamaa [socialism] to a free market economy, most Tanzanians hoped for a better life. President Benjamin Mkapa succeeded Mwinyi and firmly entrenched capitalism. However, for millions of Tanzanians, the shift from Ujamaa to capitalism has failed to deliver them to the economic Canaan.When Ujamaa collapsed, a free market economy was trumpeted as the answer to every problem facing Tanzania. But this has not happened. Proponents of a free market agree that there are many menaces that can discredit the system. Though they are aware of the dangers of a free market, these dangers are being dismissed as temporary setbacks that society can live with. In the end, they claim, the system will bring prosperity for all as wealth trickles down to the poor. Exactly when that will happen, nobody knows for sure. For some government officials, the magic date is between the year 2010 and 2015, that is “if people work” and the economy grows at 6 or 7% every year. Other officials expect the transformation to happen within the next five years. Hardly anybody at the grassroots shares this optimism. For them, these expectations are nothing but an ideological slant and may very well be part of a political propaganda to keep people hopeful in a situation of despair.
Evils of a free marketThe experience of many people with the new system is negative. Production of major cash crops has dropped as farmers fall prey to corrupt cooperative officers. Greedy public officials continue to “eat” funds for road construction and repair, leaving many roads impassable. The gap between rich and poor Tanzanians is wide, a clear affront to justice.As these problems mount, more and more people are beginning to question the free market. They are posing some hard questions: where are the limits of the market? Are they in a system in which people no longer believe in the common good, which was the basic tenet of Ujamaa, and instead, now play the markets for their own benefit? Cheating, corruption and greed are major problems. It is possible to dismiss them as expressions of the fallen nature of man but to do so becomes difficult when we consider the proper role of people entrusted with the common good. The ethical implications regarding corruption as an economic activity – whether consciously or otherwise – are even more problematic. St. Paul condemns corruption in Titus 1:15 and today the Church brands it sinful. For many Tanzanians, corruption has become a way of life, and is essential for everyday living. When last April, Bishop A. Shayo of Zanzibar lamented that the church is almost obliged to be corrupt, he echoed the experience of many sincere people who, without intending to, get entangled in corruption.
Church to take the leadThese are but some of the complex problems associated with the free market. There must be a way of regulating a system so open to abuse. In Scripture and Catholic social teaching, there has always been a balance between an individual and the community, between the right to private property and the obligation to stewardship, between the creation of wealth and its distribution.Policy makers could borrow a leaf from the corpus of Catholic social teaching. Doing so would restrain some of the negative effects of the free market and subsequently, contain the anger and frustrations of a nation that accepted capitalism as an alternative to Ujamaa but whose sensibility is now offended by the consequences of elevating free market economy to an ideological level. Tanzania's slide into the current mess started with a cynical view of the common good as defined in Ujamaa policy. Then came the opening up of the local market to foreign goods leading to massive imports. The free social service system was abolished. Consequently, education, health, and other social services became commodities to be sold and bought. While this was going on, primary means of production were privatized. As Tanzania began to compete with other countries for foreign investors, investment rules established to control abuses were hastily withdrawn. Investors came in but so did expatriates. Suddenly, people realized that their jobs were at risk. Massive retrenchments took place and jobs became scarce. People were now mere units to be disposed of as the new system dictated. Tighter monetary controls stabilized the shilling for a while but eroded the purchasing capacity of many at the grassroots. However, a certain category of people escaped these pains. Economic liberalisation granted them a bigger control of money, giving them power to determine which political party gets to power. Their financial might even allows them to remove a regime that threatens their interests. Opposition to the free market and globalization has come from the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation, religious leaders and the media. Of the three, the Catholic Church commands not only a wide base, but a clear message as well. People will be looking up to the church for leadership and direction. The Church must provide a lead that goes beyond pious statements. Evaristi Magoti lives at Mbagala (Tanzania) and is a diocesan priest.
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