Zitto Kabwe, MP
I
use the term The Bottom 30M to paraphrase Paul Collier’s Bottom Billion. This
article has been motivated by the article I read from The Citizen on Saturday
of 9th June, 2012. The article (Tanzania: Don’t leave your rural
world behind) authored by Jacques Morisset, an economist from The World
Bank explains the obvious and answers the fundamental question, ‘why is
Tanzania poor’.
Almost 30 million
Tanzanians are left out of Tanzania’s success story because the economic growth
has never been inclusive. The policies of economic development adopted by
Tanzania as directed and supported by the Bretton Woods institutions is the
main cause of this skewed growth.
For the last 10
years, a decade, of adopting Poverty Reduction Strategies (MKUKUTA I, II and
now III) Tanzania has recorded a remarkable economic growth rates but with a
puzzling outcome, because the majority still live in poverty. In 2011 the
Poverty and Human Development Report (PHDR), the first statement recognizes
this paradox of ‘a growing economy with increasing poverty’ and that of
growth without jobs. One can claim that the bottom 30 millions Tanzanians are
poor because the policy makers wanted it be.
Why are the majority of Tanzanians still poor?
Government
reports as well as various research findings show that the poor live in rural
Tanzania. The Household Budget survey of 2007 shows, 37% of the people living
in rural areas are living below the poverty line, only 2% of the people have access
to electricity and less than 40% have access to water supply. The Uwezo report
‘are our children learning‘ of 2011 shows that
children from poor families do not get educated and for those in standard three
in primary schools, only 3 out of 10 can answer a standard two question. This
is a clear indication that the poor potentially get poorer and inequality
widens.
Lifting poverty
levels in the rural area could potentially improve even the welfare of urban
community. Statistics show that majority of young people migrate to urban towns
every day in search of greener pastures. However, it is clear from my
explanations above, these young people would arrive in urban areas without sufficient
job skills, without proper economic potentials and therefore this breeds
another life of misery. It is not rocket science to link the high unemployment
in our towns and cities and the increase in criminal activities such as drug
trafficking, prostitution etc. The point I am driving home here is, it is in
our best interest to improve the welfare of the rural majority in order to
ensure peace and tranquility even to those who live in urban areas.
Why is poverty a rural phenomenal?
Mr. Morisset again
states the obvious. Agricultural growth in Tanzania has been flat. Since
Agriculture is the dominant sector in rural areas, then rural economy’s growth
rate has been flat over the last decade. While we recognize record growth of
Tanzanian economy, only a quarter has felt the growth leaving the rest living
below the poverty line, for the last 10 years. This has happened because of
poor and extractive policies on Agriculture (bureaucratic and corrupt crop
boards, roadblocks, export bans on agriculture produce), inadequate rural
infrastructure ( irrigation, roads, energy and water supply) and a lack of
focus ( leadership being distracted to lucrative rent generating sectors like
mining and later telecom). In many sense, our leadership decided to leave the
rural behind. Tanzania chose to have the Rural poor. Rural Development has
never been on top of the agenda of the Government of Tanzania since
1985. Rural Tanzania is poor because post Mwalimu governments
have made a consisous decision for it t be that way.
