Large-scale land acquisitions in Tanzania: a critical analysis of practices and dynamics

Kjell Havnevik, Linda Engström and Jumanne Abdallah has now published a new article in the book-The Global Land Grab Beyond the Hype. The book was edited by Mayke Kaag and Annelies Zoomers and published by Zed Books. The article covers several empirical evidences and roles of governmental agencies in protecting the village and communal land use in parallel to rural agricultural development. There is general concluding remarks that there is lack of clarity in procedures for identifying land for foreign investors, among other . This has been a repeated games. Among other critics were unclear land tenure systems which have also been in conflict with the production needs of the rural poor communities. The article can be accessed at the Zed Books Publication or can be ordered directly from the author.

 

The last two years have seen a huge amount of academic, policy-making and media interest in the increasingly contentious issue of land grabbing - the large-scale acquisition of land in the global South. It is a phenomenon against which locals seem defenceless, and one about which multilateral organizations, such as the World Bank, as well as civil-society organizations and action NGOs have become increasingly vocal.

This in-depth and empirically diverse volume - taking in case studies from across Africa, Asia and Latin America - takes a step back from the hype to explore a number of key questions: Does the ‘global land grab’ actually exist? If so, what is new about it? And what, beyond the immediately visible dynamics and practices, are the real problems?

A comprehensive and much-needed intervention on one of the most hotly contested but little-understood issues facing countries of the South today.

Reviews

'When the dust settles, and the sensationalists and opportunists have moved on, we will still have to grasp the nature, the dimensions and the consequences of 'land grabbing'. This collection provides a serious analytical contribution to our understanding of a phenomenon, which might seem to peak at the present, but which is deeply rooted in the past and will need steadfast scholarly and political attention in the future.' - Professor Christian Lund, University of Copenhagen

'This is an excellent, original collection, on the global land grabbing phenomenon. It covers Africa, Latin America and Asia and a number of interesting themes including urban land grabbing in Kenya, GM soy cultivation in Argentina, residential tourism in Costa Rica, water grabbing in Peru and Ecuador, new land conversions in Vietnam, and the Gulf States' investments in Indonesia and the Philippines.' - Robin Palmer, Global Land Rights Policy Specialist, Mokoro

'The increase of international trade and investment over the past three decades was justified by the hope it would help to achieve efficiency gains, maximizing the comparative advantage of each region. But it also results in sharpening the competition for the land and water on which agricultural production relies. As the competition has become global, it also has grown deeply unequal, pitting poor communities of the global South against deep-pocketed investors and wealthy consumers. This collection of essays provides a uniquely well informed and comprehensive analysis of 'land grabbing', describing developments across three continents and illustrating the variety of forms it has taken: it shall be of interest to anyone interested in the future of globalization and its impacts on the poor who rely on access to land for their livelihood.' - Professor Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food

'The Global Land Grab represents an important break from the earlier wave of land grabs studies in at least three interlinked ways: it looks beyond the 'here and now land deals' by historicizing analysis to facilitate better understanding of longer term implications of the phenomenon; it contains grounded local-national studies; and it offers a comparative perspective across regions of the world. Academic researchers, activists, and development-policy practitioners who are interested in understanding global land grabbing, its origins, meanings and implications should read this book.' - Dr. Saturnino M. Borras Jr., International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague

Table of Contents

Introduction: the global land grab hype - and why it is important to move beyond - Mayke Kaag and Annelies Zoomers

Africa
1. Modernizing the periphery: citizenship and Ethiopia's new agricultural investment policies - George Schoneveld and Maru Shete
2. Large-scale land acquisitions in Tanzania: a critical analysis of practices and dynamics - Jumanne Abdallah, Linda Engström, Kjell Havnevik and Lennart Salomonsson
3. Kenya and the 'global land grab: a view from below - Jacqueline M. Klopp and Odenda Lumumba

Latin America
4. The rapid expansion of genetically modified soy production into the Chaco region of Argentina - Lucia Goldfarb and Annelies Zoomers
5. Transnational land investment in Costa Rica: tracing residential tourism and its implications for development - Femke van Noorloos
6. Water grabbing in the Andean region: illustrative cases from Peru and Ecuador - Rutgerd Boelens, Antonio Gaybor and Jan Hendriks

Asia
7. Land governance and oil palm development: examples from Riau Province, Indonesia - Ari Susanti and Suseno Budidarsono
8. Vietnam in the debate on land grabbing: conversion of agricultural land for urban expansion and hydropower development - Pham Huu Ty, Nguyen Quang Phuc and Guus van Westen
9. 'Land grabbing' in Cambodia: land rights in a post-conflict setting - Michelle McLinden Nuijen, Men Prachvuthy and Guus van Westen
10. Beyond the Gulf State investment hype: the case of Indonesia and the Philippines - Gerben Nooteboom and Laurens Bakker
11. Tracing the dragon's footsteps: a deconstruction of the discourse on China's foreign land investments - Peter Ho and Irna Hofman

12. Conclusion: beyond the global land grab hype - ways forward in research and action - Annelies Zoomers and Mayke Kaag

About the Authors:

Mayke Kaag is a social anthropologist and a senior researcher at the African Studies Centre in Leiden, the Netherlands. Her research focuses mainly on African transnational relations, including land issues, engagements with the diaspora, and transnational Islamic NGOs, on which topics she has published widely. Within the African Studies Centre she is the convenor of a collaborative research group on Africa in the World: Rethinking Africa’s Global Connections.

Annelies Zoomers is professor of international development studies (IDS) at Utrecht University and chair of LANDac. After finishing her PhD in 1988, she worked for the Netherlands Economic Institute (Rotterdam) and the Royal Tropical Institute (Amsterdam) on long- and short-term consulting assignments for various organizations (e.g. the World Bank, IFAD, ILO, EU, DGIS) in various countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Between 1995 and 2007 she was associate professor at the Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation (Amsterdam) and was professor of international migration at the Radboud University (Nijmegen) between 2005 and 2009. She has published extensively on sustainable livelihoods; land policies and the impact of privatization; tourism; and international migration.

Tibaijuka orders the Kapunga rice investor to release 1870 ha of land to the small-scale farmers

Waziri wa Ardhi,Nyumba na Makazi Profesa Anna Tibaijuka amemtaka Mwekezaji wa shamba la Mpunga la Kapunga[Kapunga Rice Project]kuachia hecta 1870 za Kijiji ili kumaliza mgogoro wa ardhi uliodumu kwa muda mrefu.

Rai hiyo ameitoa alipofanya ziara katika shamba hilo ambalo liliuzwa hecta 7370 badala ya 5500 ambazo ndizo zilizostahili na kuacha hecta 1870 ambazo ni eneo la kijiji kabla ya kukabidhiwa shamba la NAFCO kabla ya kubinafsisha.

Ziara hiyo imefanywa na Waziri ili kujiridhisha baada ya kupokea mgogoro huo kwa muda mrefu bila majibu ya kuridhisha kutoka kwa watendaji wake hivyo kama Waziri mwenye dhamana lazima atoe majawabu yenye uhakika badala ya kuolea majibu ofisini.

Profesa Tibaijuka alikutana na Uongozi wa Serikali ya kijiji kabla ya kukutana na Mwekezaji na kuhitimisha kwa kufanya mkutano wa hadhara uliofanyika katika kijiji cha Kapunga ambao pia ulihudhuriwa na Mwenyekiti wa CCM wilaya ya Mbarali Matayo Mwangomo,Mkuu wa wilaya ya Mbarali Gulamhusein Kiffu na wataalam mbalimbali kutoka wilayani na mkoani.

Waziri Tibaijuka aliwashukuru wananchi wa Kapunga kwa uvumilivu wao kwani licha ya mgogoro kudumu muda mrefu hawajafanya vurugu zozote hivyo alimtaka Mwenyekiti wa kjiji hicho Ramadhan Nyoni kudumisha amani na upendo ili kumaliza mgogoro huo bila uvunjifu wa sheria.

Profesa Tibaijuka alipata maelekezo ya shamba hilo kutoka kwa mmoja wa wakurugenzi, Mkurugenzi mtendaji Bwana Justin Vermaak ambaye alimweleza kuwa suala la kuachia ardhi atakutana na wabia wenzake watano ili kutoa majibu muda mfupi ujao.

Hata hivyo Bwana Vermaak alibainisha kuwa shamba hilo linakabiliwa na changamoto ya wizi wa mbolea na mpunga kutoka kwa baadhi ya wananchi hivyo kuzorotesha uzalishaji wa mpunga.

Aidha Vermaak alimwambia Waziri kuwa kuharibiwa kwa miundo mbinu ya mifereji ya maji kilometa 14 kutoka mto Ruaha kumepelekea kupungua kwa maji katika shamba hilo hivyo kulazimika kulima chini ya kiwango.

Pia Bwana Vermaak amemwambia Waziri kuwa wanalazimika kukodisha mashamba kutokana na kuombwa na wananchi wa Kapunga ingawa hakuwa wazi juu ya mikataba ya ukodishaji kuokana na mashamba hayo kukodishwa kwa shilingi 2,880,000 kwa plot na kutakiwa kulipa mwekezaji tani 24 hadi 27 za mpunga baada ya mavuno.

Wananchi wameonekana kushindwa kumudu gharama za uendeshaji kauli iliyoungwa mkono na Diwani wa Kata ya Itamboleo mheshimiwa Lwitiko Mwangosi ambaye amesema kuwa licha ya kulipia shilingi 1,680,000 mwaka jana lakini hakupata kitu baada ya mwekezaji kuchukukua mpunga wote aliovuna.

Baada ya kukutana na uongozi wa kijiji na mwekezaji Waziri alihutubia wananchi na kuwaambia kuwa hivi sasa mgogoro haupo baada ya kumwomba mwekezaji kuachia hecta 1870 na kuwataka wananchi kuwa na subira kwani suala hilo halitachukua muda mrefu na kama atakaidi basi taarifa ataiwasilisha kwa Rais kwani ndiye mwenye dhamana ya kufuta hati miliki ya ardhi.

Katika mkutano huo wanachi walipata fursa ya kuuliza maswali ambapo Emmanuel Kapalamba alimwambia wazri kuwa vijana wamekosa ardhi ya kilimo hivyo kufanya maisha kuwa magumu kiuchumina pia kwamba hawpati huduma za umeme na maji licha ya miundo mbinu kupita katika kijiji chao.

Kwa upande wa wanawake walimweleza waziri kuwa kijiji hakina zahanati kutokana na iliyokuwapo kuporwa na mwekezaji hivyo kulazimika kutembea umbali wa kilomita 26 ili kupata huduma za afya katika hospitali ya Chimala.

Mkutano ulifungwa kwa waziri kuchukua baadhi ya changamoto za maji,umeme na kilimo kuzipeleka kwa mawaziri husika ili kupata ufumbuzi wa kudumu.

Katika ziara hiyo wazir alijionea jinsi tani zaidi ya 1800 za mpunga uliovunwa na mwekezaji ukiwa umehifadhiwa nje ya maghala kutokana na kukosekana na soko ndani na nje ya nchi hivyo kufanya kiwanda kuendeshwa kwa hasara ambapo baadhi ya hecta hazijalimwa na nyingine kufanya majaribio ya zao la soya kinyume na mkastaba.

Na Ezekia Kamanga

Mbeya yetu

Climate change in Tanzania:A search for water takes its toll

The British Council programme in Tanzania has launched a new book for  captivating people's attention around the world on the better understand, document and communicate the causes and effects of climate change and evidently justify some plausible adaptation measures are developed at the local levels. Although many of them are for short-term solutions.

  

Seven professional photojournalists were trained for five weeks and then sent out to record life at the sharp end of global warming.

In recent years unpredictable rainfall has reduced the availability of fresh water for the people of Namakongoro village in Lindi, Tanzania, eastern Africa.

In recent years unpredictable rainfall has reduced the availability of fresh water for the people of Namakongoro village in Lindi, Tanzania, eastern Africa.
Drought forces women to find an alternative sources of water. So far the community decided to explore the water from the  underground cave network used by rebels during the 1905 Maji Maji war.



Digging down through the sand and dry topsoil, they gained access to the caves where they found a meagre supply of brackish water.

The women walk to the caves each day to fetch water. Carrying buckets, they descend 30m on precarious homemade bamboo ladders. Filling the buckets is a long and arduous task.

This adaptation has helped the village survive the drought, but poses extreme danger and hardship for the women who are responsible for collecting the water.

 Droughts and floods are the two major extreme climate events affecting Tanzania today. In recent years floods have left thousands homeless and destroyed crops. Droughts have also had a significant impact on lives of the poor and vulnerable in the east African nation.

In six droughts seasons from 1980-2008,more than 7.96 million people were affected, losing their livestock and crops and leaving them in fear of starvation. 

Scathed Effects of Climate Change in the Lake Nyasa and Mbarali District

The water level in the Lake Nyasa is declining at an alarming rate due to rising evaporation. Now, it has dropped by approximately 0.8 m as revealed by evidence from POMONDA stone situated 1 kilometer from the Liuli shoreline in the Kyela District-Tanzania side. 

The Lake Nyasa supports livelihoods of heterogeneous  set of inhabitants dwelling along the Lake by fishing and fresh water for farming and domestic consumption. Recently, the Lake has been proclaimed to be rich in oil resources that has accelerated the bordering disputes between Malawi and Tanzania. And in the significant number of cases of the declining water level in the Lake Nyasa has eventually increased the livelihood uncertainty, conflicts and tenure insecurity.

Understanding of this declines is fundamental condition for strengthening commitments and restoring lost forested land due to agricultural expansion, timbering and charcoal and firewood for domestic energy use. 

 In Mbarali District, climate change is all about life or death. The picture above is one of the few evidences  which have been aggravated by unpredictable windy-rainfall which downpours the life stability of the poor  community and social service infrastructures.

Photo:  Credit to Mbeya Yetu.

EWURA Endorses New Power Tariff From January 2014

BY PIUS RUGONZIBWA,

ELECTRICITY consumers will be forced to dig deeper into their pockets to foot their bills effective January. This follows the new tariffs announced by the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) in Dar es Salaam.

In the just-released "Multi Year Tariff Adjustment Order of 2013," the regulatory authority has approved an increase in tariff at an average increase of 40 per cent to last up to December 2016.

EWURA's Director of Regulatory Economics, Mr Felix Ngalamgosi, told reporters in the city that the tariff increment follows the application lodged by the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) in October, last year.

"The proposed tariff adjustment will enable TANESCO to meet its operational costs and capital investment programme (CIP), demonstrate its bankability to donors and increase capacity needed to meet system peak demand," he explained.

According to Mr Ngalamgosi, from January, next year, domestic power customers in the first category called D1; out of five outlined categories, will have to pay 100/- per unit up from 60/- they were paying before.

But as opposed to the present tariff, the number of consumers falling under the mentioned category has been increased to bring more relief to low-income earners who are seemingly regarded as the group enjoying the lowest tariff among the other categories.

While in the past this group was charged for power consumed from 0 to 50 units a month, this time the new tariff of 100/- each unit will be charged from 0 to 75 units per month pegged deliberately to accommodate more beneficiaries.

Another category is T1 in which consumers will have to part with 306/- for one unit, which is an increase of 85/- from the present tariff. Tanesco had applied for a 131/- per unit payment for this group.

"This group consists of larger domestic power consumers, small business operators, milling machine operators and the likes while the T2 category, whose consumption is over 7,500 units per month will have to pay 205/- per unit up by 73/- of the current charges," Mr Ngalamgosi pointed out.

For medium and high voltage consumers falling in T3 MV and T4 HV categories, the new charges per unit will be 166/- and 159/- respectively being an increase by relatively 50 per cent of the present tariffs.

EWURA said it was satisfied the proposed multi-year tariff and charge increase by TANESCO were reasonable, save for some few elements which were adjusted to suit the tariffs enquiry and evaluation process.

According to the authority, however, an analysis showed that TANESCO' proposed fuel adjustment formula lacked some regulatory monitoring parameters such as Specific Fuel Consumptions of thermal plants.

Apart from raising the tariffs, Mr Ngalamgosi said comparison of the electricity tariffs in East Africa reveals that Tanzania's new tariffs, particularly for commercial and industrial consumptions, are still lower save for differences in tariff structures, policies, taxes and levies.

The current Africa optimism ―A false picture

By Professor Kjell Havnevik, Research cluster leader at the Nordic Africa institute.

The prevailing Africa optimism is false. Short-term exploitation and large-scale agriculture are neither socially nor environmentally sustainable. Economic and social inequalities are growing.
In 2001, The Economist described Africa as ‘The hopeless continent’. Ten years later, this renowned magazine claimed that Africa is the continent of hope for the future.
My assessment is that this optimism is unwarranted in a forward-looking perspective. Current growth is largely based on natural resource exploitation for export, especially of oil, gas and minerals.
In such a perspective, African economic development will in the future be characterized by social exclusion and conflict rather than being inclusive and poverty-reducing.

The prevailing optimism gives no true picture of Africa. Short-term exploitation and large-scale agriculture are neither socially nor environmentally sustainable. Economic and social inequalities are growing on the continent.
The discussion of Africa in recent years has changed drastically – from seeing the continent as hopeless to a perspective expressing strong optimism. The British magazine The Economist is one of the main drivers behind this reassessment of Africa. In 2001, The Economist described Africa as ‘The hopeless continent’. Ten years later, in 2011, the magazine claimed that Africa is the continent of hope for the future.
It is Africa’s economic growth over the past decade that has turned the analysis around 180 degrees. In March 2013, The Economist informed the world that Africa is the continent of new dynamics – where there are good opportunities to invest and continue to generate large incomes. In April 2013, The Economist gives specific advice to investors about Africa.
A company, Invest in Africa, has been established by people who have already invested in Africa, and who want to see their assets grow. Good news is good for increasing investments and returns in the continent.
In the Swedish discussion too, the focus on the ‘new Africa’ has gained momentum. Swedish public television, SVT, has sent correspondents to Africa to report positive news. The newspaper Expressen has done the same.
Photographer Jens Assur’s exhibition ‘Africa is a great country’ has been on show during the spring of 2013 at Liljevalchs art centre in Stockholm with beautiful photos to assure visitors of the African miracle.
My assessment is that the positive analysis referred to above is inadequate in a forward-looking perspective for the following reasons:
The current overall African growth rate of about 5 per cent annually is largely based on natural resource exploitation for export, especially of oil, gas and minerals.
Recent statistics show that South Africa, an important engine of growth for Africa, already has zero growth. The same has happened with Brazil, until recently another growth engine for the world, where GDP last year grew by less than 1 per cent.
A new analysis shows that less than 1 per cent of Africa’s total workforce is employed in natural resource exploitation or activities. These are controlled mainly by foreign companies and interests. Tax revenues from these corporations are very low or non-existent because of favourable conditions for investors. Transfers of profits and illegal capital flight have increased by 12 per cent annually – to at least twice the amount of aid to Africa.
A growing African elite and middle class in collaboration with foreign allies have also secured benefits for themselves. Therefore, economic inequality is growing rapidly in Africa, as in Asia.
The working population in Africa today is 380 million and is expected to increase to 500 million by 2020, which will exceed that of China. Over a third of the working population are assumed to have a paid job, which means that 320 million Africans will be without paid work in 2020. Research shows that about 10 percent of them still have a reasonable income. This leaves nearly 300 million Africans of working age, 15 to 64 years, with very low incomes or in poverty.
Most live in rural areas and are active in agriculture, but many also live in the growing cities. The prospects of finding jobs in the cities are also bleak, because Africa since 1990 has experienced closures of labour-intensive processing and manufacturing industries.
The challenge for Africa in the long term is that half the world’s population growth by 2050, about one billion people, will take place in the continent.
The weakness of the Afro-optimistic perspective is reinforced by recent research showing that foreign investments to a large extent are directed towards African agricultural land for the production of energy crops and food for export.
Such investments often take place in interaction between foreign and domestic African interests, and with the support of international aid. Such projects are highly mechanized and require little labour.
Large-scale agriculture focuses mainly on a single crop, thus undermining biodiversity. Irrigation is necessary but often leads to conflicts with local smallholder farmers, of whom the majority are women.
In Africa, smallholders have weak water and land rights, despite their paramount importance of their production for food security – they produce 90 per cent of the food in Africa.
As a reference, one can learn from Brazil, which in itself is a continent, where large-scale agriculture and agri-business historically has been the main track. This large-scale agriculture uses 75 per cent of the country’s farmland, but contributes only 60 per cent of the gross annual agricultural production. It employs only two people per 100 acres, while small-scale farming provides jobs for 15 people in the same area, accounting for the bulk of food production.
Small-scale farming also promotes diverse agricultural systems that cause less negative environmental and climate impact than large-scale agriculture.
Africa’s growth model is increasingly based on natural resource exploitation for export, which is based on the interaction of a growing African middle class and elite, and foreign traders and investors.These groups have high income and a consumption levels that also have negative effects on the climate.
This growth model, which is considered optimistic by many, is in my judgment neither environmentally sustainable nor can it enable a wider structure of Africa’s economic development. Improvements in health and education in Africa can hardly compensate for this.
In such a perspective, African economic development will in the future be characterized by social exclusion and conflict rather than being inclusive and poverty-reducing. Although there are positive trends in Africa’s development in the short term, in my view there is ground for pessimism in the longer term.
African governments and organizations such as the African Union currently have no strategy that can contribute to a growth pattern that will enable economic improvement for the majority of the continent’s people who live in rural areas.
Research and historical experience shows that such an inclusive growth would require investments in smallholder farming as the main pathway. While short-term natural resource exploitation and large-scale agriculture are neither socially nor environmentally sustainable, they may generate significant economic incomes and profits. But in my opinion, this is only in the short term.
These benefits will only to a small extent reach the broad layers of the African population. The prevailing Africa optimism therefore does not provide a true image of Africa.

Land and Water Grabbing-Burning Threats to Poor Tanzanian Societies

Land and water grabbing have more recently emerged as major burning threats to many African poor societies. These threats are amalgamated to illusion that "land and water grabbing" for large scale investments is deepening poverty by displacing local farming systems. More importantly, land and water grabbing is limiting accessibility of land and water resources for local's agriculture development and energy security. Globally, by 2012 the statistical trend of ongoing land and water grabbing in Africa has indicated that over 9,76 millions chunked fertile land and well ecologically connected have been outsourced to investors mainly lead by China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, South Africa and Japan. Amongst the US investors have reported to gain 3.3millions hectares of land in Africa while the northwestern Europe involvements are still going undisclosed (Kugelman and Levenstein, 2013).

 

The great challenges of land and water grabbing processes in Africa are vested into poor compensations to evictees and worsen yet, whenever evictions occur, none of the allocations are arranged. The recent evidence is from Kilombero valley in Tanzania whereby the pastoralist communities have been evicted without being directed where to heard about. Until recently, land and water grabbing remained to be a major cause of dramatically killing such as those has been witnessed in Tana Delta, Kenya. By April 2011, an Indian investor was reported killed at Tana Delta in Kenya when the locals were protesting against the Indian investment firms which was clearing the rainforest for expanding the sugarcane plantations. Normally, the countries which outsourced land at cheap price, weak and uncoordinated land and water governance system are perceived to be a destination for many large scale investments. As per Tanzania Investment Commission, between 2010 and 2011 the registered large scale investors, both for food crops and bio-energy was bolstered from 23 to 53 companies and these companies are potentially located along the river basin fertile floodplains and wetlands. The current follow up of these companies showed that half of these companies are inactive.

Merely in Rufiji Basin, the Kilombero Valley Teak Co Ltd (British firm) was granted 28000ha of which 7000ha has teak now and remaining 20000ha are not yet operationalized. The Kilombero Plantation Ltd is another British Company that has succeeded 5000ha at Mgeta Village for paddy cultivations from Korea Tanzania Company after phased out (Mwami and Kamata, 2011). The concentration of these investments have increased river water abstractions and lead to unnecessarily water demand competitions with local communities. The large scale investments are adversely depleting river water flows, fertility of floodplains and wetlands and its water quality and hereafter lead to drought which in turns are progressively restricting smallholder cultivation. More importantly, the turmoil of land and water grabbing are leaving Africa with uncompleted promise and high level of being dependence which are mostly rendering burden of importing goods with little gains from exported products. The approach for sustainable large scale investments in Africa has to change by inclusively establishing a clear level of democracy circulation which truly transfer power to local communities in owning natural resources. And the government should stand firm and serious in coordinating and monitoring the functioning of rules and regulations for water abstractions and land use operation.

 

Unlike many African countries, however, Tanzania has been suffering from economic instability mostly because of prudent poor contribution of large scale investment to the national economy. By 2010, the large contribution to the national GDP growth came from public services (43.5%GDP) far followed by agriculture including large scale investments (26,9%GDP), mining sector (13.3%GDP) and the least contribution was from telecommunication and transport sector (6.8%GDP). These evidences showed that large scale investments do not influence much transformation to country economic growth rather. I think, If Africa is really serious to construct its own destiny, it should focus more in empowering small-scale farmers and should carefully identify the serious investors to collaborate with. I suggest, the investment models from Scandinavian countries should be deployed to Tanzania simply because they are very relevant to the development context.

 

The analysis of ongoing land and water grabbing processes and strategies in Africa are affirmed with corruption which is materialized by few African politicians and elites. More likely, corruption and ineptitude capacity of public servants in negotiating deals and agreements have enormously limited accountability and transparency of signed contracts to the citizens. Many of these land and water agreements are still remained undisclosed and they lack inclusiveness of the communities management planning process rather than are drafted based on an off-the shelve. This has an implication that politicians and few elites are the major problematic cause of the persisted land and water grabbing issues in Africa. The politicians are viably occupying huge power of owning and controlling natural resources and sometime they use this weakness to sell the natural resources at the thrown price. Large investments in Africa is not a problem but some of the unserious investor overuse the abided land and natural resources related weak and uncoordinated laws to distort the process. Worsen enough, some investors have been involved even in the process of negotiating land pricing with villagers. This is totally terrible and in facts, their involvement leaves many questions to what is the role of governments because the process does not speak and defend the poor voices instead it decline to pro-investors interests. Following this, the Tanzania government stopped the process of outsourcing the land until the clear identification of land for large investments are placed on the table. Tanzania has recently introduced a new land initiative which is translated as land for "Agriculture first" by burning process of outsourcing land for large scale investments which exceed 10000ha for bio-energy and 5,000ha for food production.

 

For past three years Tanzania has been doing well in establishing safety and rules of laws which resulted the Mo Ibrahim foundation to rank 10^th out of 52 nations in Africa. Tanzania leads other East African countries by 59% in governance quality and followed closely with Uganda (55%). The presence of rule of laws have somehow increase accountability to public workers and gender equality especially to women, now some are leading the high rank positions. Because of these evidence, The 2012 Mo Ibrahim foundation report ranked Tanzania 62.3% for establishing participation and human rights while safety and rule of order raised slightly by 2.3% from 60% in 2011. In Mo Ibrahim foundation, the governance quality is measured through safety and rule of laws, participation and human rights, sustainable and economic opportunity and human development. In short, Tanzania under Kikwete regime has been doing much better in comparison to previous presidential regimes although the main challenge remained to be a corruption within the public sectors mainly governed by politicians to mistreat the opportunities brought through international cooperation. The main path which Tanzania is forgetting is to re-emphases the construction of manufacturing industries along with Agriculture first campaign.

 

The short discussion which I had conducted with the former Finland President, Martti Ahtisaari pointed that he is very confidence to current Tanzania government because it has showed seriousness in addressing poverty issues collectively. This gives him hope and much trust to Kikwete regimes and mostly the current Tanzanian government refers presently as a reference to other Sub-Saharan countries. Contrary, although Tanzanian economic achievement, estimated to grow stable at rate of 7% annual GDP from 2007, still it is very obvious to argue that the economic growth do not provide much impacts to poor people. This is because, the poverty by headcount in the country (2007) has slowly decreased by 2.4% only in comparison to 38.7% of 1991 (Edward, 2011). While, Uganda and Ghana, two countries which were far behind to Tanzania in reducing poverty incidence by headcount for 55.7% and 51.7% respectively in 1991 have do showed successfully in transforming to 31% and 28.5% by 2007. Uncoordinated and unmonitored land laws: For Tanzania case, the pace of land and water grabbing is folded into contradicting land Acts (especially the contradiction of land identification for village land and public land as per Tanzania investment Act 1997 and Land Act, Cap 113 (of 1999 and village land Act, Cap 114 of 1999, miscellaneous amendments Act of 2004 and 2006), land acquisition policies and poor power relation between central governments and grassroots institutions. Many Tanzanians perceived that the land Act 1999 doesn't reconciles the inclusiveness of the local institutions, norms and customers in the process of negotiating the fates of outsourcing their land for large scale investments instead it is focusing only to legal procedures which in other side provides power to corrupted politicians to cheat their own people. The malignant of this process gives favour of power to investor to perform their operations without much concerns to the communities. The conglomerate of these factors limits authority of power to local's institutions and NGO's in coordinating, planning and managing water and land resources. Apart from that, it limits accountability of the public servants and democracy circulation by excluding local communities in negotiating the opportunities and challenges which emerges along with large scale investments.

Now, the fuel the future blog argues by asking who is unserious investor and how to define them?. I leave these two questions to my leadership to top up your thoughts and feelings. This question is well connected with fact that the costs of large scale investments to smallholders farmers and poor communities in Africa are very viable today. As I have mentioned earlier, many people have been evicted, displaced and in some localities like in Kilombero floodplains and even Bagamoyo, the compensation to evictees have been claimed to be very low which do not unpin the current life difficulty. Some villages have been allocated to the unproductive land with limited infrastructure for water supply, health welfare and education. For detailed information refers (Havnevik et al, 2011). The land large scale investment through unserious investors is regarded as a "loose-win" situations that increased rural evictions and disturbs local's food security, increase poverty and thereby streaming to land related blood battles. The unserious investors have been scrambling to African land and water resources and worsen yet, some are continuing to acquire large hectares of land for feeding their home countries' demand. What they leave to Africa is degraded land with chain of uncompleted promises, high level of poverty with limited labour market  and income distribution.

 

Regardless of these challenges still many of the countries seem do not learn from historical evidences of how large scale land acquisitions boomed food prices in 2010 and adversely resulted to unstable economy. However, The Tanzanian government in different approach is trying several means to transform Tanzania development into pro-poor aspects. Of course, the success of Tanzania is aggregated prolifically by the government to offer more much of the efforts have been done to date, especially from the President himself and his cabinets. There are minor challenges which some have been adopted from the previous leadership. Tanzania is very different today much of the progress have been witnessed by my own eyes. The Kikwete's government has strengthen efforts for improving infrastructures, bridge, roads and low cost houses have been constructed mainly roads, institutions have also been strengthened, physical and human capitals have been developed as well and amendment of regulations and laws. In facts, this achievement has been achieved because of good governance that increased confidence to Tanzanians. It is very obviously that, the Tanzanian development showcase floor on the amazing race of implemented safety and rule of laws and participation and human rights.

 

The unserious investors bought land in Tanzania for loan asking to international funding organization and use the acquired fund for other business to the other location (Mwami and Kamata, 2011). I was very impressed to hear that the Minister of Lands, House and Human settlement, Prof, Anna Tibaijuka has already stopped the process of outsourcing land for large scale investment until the creation of land bank. Hon, Tibaijuka has ordered new mapping and identification of Tanzania land for large scale investments and village land use. The Metria company from Sweden has agreed to capacitize ministry staffs on this process. Moreover, the minister strategy is to implement law of land succession against widow women are in place before 2015. Basically, these are very promising approaches which encourage the marginalized women to get land. In many Tanzanian societies women are terribly disadvantaged once they become widow. The minister Tibaijuka mentioned the over going land reform should focus splendidly to respond effectively to the overgrowing people's desire of decentralizing power of land ownership and entitlements to locals/village people. The doubled concerns of the Minister floored on the concerns of enhancing rural village institutions to treat land not like other commodity. The village will be able to discuss through their village assembly council to whom they should give a land and what win-win benefits should be viably expected. This has to go concurrently with proven evidence from past performance and commitment of the investor and stakes should be discussed transparently and consensus agreed by villagers before outsourcing. This means that the village assembly as an institution will be well reorganize and the new law will be created to defend them.

 

At this end, I would like to suggest that in order to meet the sustainable economic transformation horizons which reduces direct impacts of poverty to poor societies . Much effort should be directed upon improving small-scale agriculture production system that go parallel with construction of manufacturing industries. Doing so, will raised the value of agricultural products and extend the opportunity of labour markets.The agriculture first  campaign should truly aim to empowering small-scale farming by increasing accessibility of farmsteady inputs and land and water resources. Perhaps, the country could learn from country like Ghana of which its economic transformation is driven by small-scale farmers. Recently the ministry of agriculture in Ghana are planning to use electricity from the National grid for driving irrigation pump. Following this, Tanzanian should tap the opportunity of reserved natural gas to produce electricity to be used  irrigation farming. Subsidies for agricultural inputs and electricity costs should be lowered in order to fit the food production requirements. The other area is to re-form rural co-operative unions and inventing agricultural technologies which will fit easily to the local farming environments.  These will relatively reduce the incidence of youth migrating to the urban and thereby reduce the poverty.The rural community need a lot of capacity building and establishment of joint management institution for sustainable management of natural resources. The terms and condition for  natural resources  coordination and monitoring should be decentralised.The societies need a certain level of democracy which value their concerns and involve them since the begining of the process of outsourcing natural resources and truth is the main pillar of building trust. The allocation of land for large scale agro-investment should be on degraded land and the economic value of the water and land for investment should be re-assessed before outsourcing. This will potentialize the rehabilitation of degraded land without affecting the downstream communities along the river's watershed and the productive land should prioritized to locals, so it will be a win-win process.

Please, we welcome any comments and suggestions for the better of our people!

 

Recommended reading.

Hamisi.R.2013. Simulation of water balance for sustainable agriculture development and energy security in the Rufiji Basin. Tanzania

Havnevik K, and Haaland H. 2011. Biofuel, land and environmental issues: the case of SEKAB’s biofuel plans in Tanzania. In: Prosper B. Matondi, Kjell Havnevik and Atakilte Beyene(Eds). Biofuels, land grabbing and food security in Africa. Nordic Africa Institute in association with Zed Book LTD, Cynthia Street, London and Fifth Avenue, New York, USA.

Kugelman and Levenstein. 2013. The Global Farms Race: Land Grabs, Agricultural Investment and Scramble for food security. Island Press. Washington, USA.

Mwami, A. and Kamata, N.(2011). Land Grabbing in a post investment period and popular reaction in the Rufiji River Basin. HAKIARDHI. Tanzania.

 

 

 

 

 

NGO's ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION IN WASHINGTON DC

May 31st 2012, the embassy of Tanzania in Washington DC has organised the NGO's roundtable discussion. The meeting was attended by by over  70 -NGO's from around the US, with about 170 participants. Following is the speech of Tanzania Ambassador in the United State of America, Mwanaid Sinare Maajar (Source, Embassy of Tanzania in the US).

EMBASSY OF TANZANIA IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

NGO ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION

Speech by Mwanaidi Sinare Maajar, Ambassador of Tanzania in the United States of America and Mexico

THE ROLE OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND THE EMBASSY OF TANZANIA IN WASHINGTON DC IN FACILITATING NGOS ACTIVITIES IN TANZANIA

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Introduction

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends of Tanzania.

It is my pleasure to welcome you to this very important Round Table discussion. KARIBUNI SANA.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation through its embassies abroad has the responsibility of delivering our foreign policy. Engaging host countries, multilateral institutions and other non-state actors is part of that responsibility. This is the essence of this meeting.

On behalf of the Government of Tanzania and on behalf of all my colleagues at Tanzania House, I would like to thank you very much for accepting our invitation and joining us today. And thank you for your interest in our country and in our people. We know you are all very busy people and most of you have travelled a long distance to be with us today. This is testimony to your commitment to what you do in Tanzania and elsewhere. We value your work. And we are grateful.

I would like to take the opportunity to recognize our speakers and the representatives of the US Government and its agencies present in this room. They are Ellen Peterson, Desk Officer for Tanzania, US Department of State; Kelly Daly, Peace Corps Desk Officer, US Department of State; Trina USAID Desk Office, US Department of State and Joanie Brooks-Lindsay, Consular Chief, US Department of State.

Speakers from Tanzania are Mr. Marcel Katemba, Director and Registrar of NGOs, Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Children; Mr. Tiagi Masamaki Kabisi, Deputy Commissioner –Trade Facilitation and Procedures, Tanzania Revenue Authority; Mr. Ikomba Mathew, Immigration Officer, Immigration Division, Ministry of Home Affairs; Dr. Edward Mung’ng’o, Ministry of Health and Social Services and Mr. Paul Mwafongo, the Trade Attaché who will be presenting on behalf of the Planning Commission, a synopsis of the Five Year Development Plan launched by His Excellency President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete in July, 2011;

I would also ask my colleagues in this room to introduce themselves so that participants would know us as your hosts and who to contact in the course of the day.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends of Tanzania,

We were elated when Ellen told us that she and her colleagues will be addressing participants. It is indeed evidence of the US Government’s recognition of the role of NGOs as a strong partner in building on the bilateral relations that so happily exist between our two countries.

In the changing landscape of global relations, foreign policy is no longer confined to state actors. Rather, NGOs and Civil Society Organizations continue to play a major role in our global relations in all spheres, including in the socio-political and even economic interactions on the international stage.

Only the other week, President Obama invited to the G8 summit international NGOs along with the private sector asking them to commit to the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition Security for Africa. This is in recognition of the potent power of the NGO community in the development of mankind. Need I say more?

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends of Tanzania,

This meeting is about NGO participation in our Government’s efforts to better the lives of the people of Tanzania. It is about building relations between US based NGOs and our Government. It is about strengthening US Tanzania relations through non-state actors. It is about continuing to build bridges.

Recognizing the contribution of NGOs to our national development, our Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation wanted to engage you and interact with you. We wanted to work very closely with you and to help facilitate your work in Tanzania. We wanted to let you know that we are here for you and we look upon you as our partners. The work you do, working with our communities complements the work of the Government of President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete in delivering social services in education, health and general social needs. We are pleased of your positive response.

The Government of Tanzania regards international NGOs as important non-state actors in the delivery of its foreign policy. In the same way, American NGOs working in Tanzania are helping Tanzania to reach out to the people of America and to cultivate an interest in Tanzania and its people.

In essence the American NGOs are also complementing the work of our Mission in Washington DC by raising the profile of Tanzania in the United States through the stories they bring back to America. America is a vast area of representation and our embassy in DC cannot reach a large part of the people of America but NGOs can, as they come from the community. NGOs are socially and geographically far reaching and they have closer relations to the people, sometimes more than the state agencies. This is why I am very happy to see so many of you. I know we have in each one of you an ambassador for Tanzania in the United States.

The role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in facilitating the activities of NGOs in our development agenda is therefore critical and I am pleased to have the opportunity to explain that role to you today. The Ministry and the Embassy would like to assure you that we will facilitate your work in Tanzania as part of our annualstrategic plan.

1. The facilitation starts with the issuance of Visa in our embassy. We are ensuring that visa requirements continue to be clearly set out in the embassy website. We will ensure that visa processing is done swiftly and without undue delays and we will continue to improve our visa payment systems to make it more users friendly.

2. We are working with Government Departments to address some of the issues raised by NGOs and this is the main reason we convened this meeting. We noticed that we were not talking to each other. Each of us worked on our corner. Some NGOs raised issues with us concerning import duties on donated imports, visa and work permits, visa fees, volunteer health workers license fees, import duties of items donated by NGOs, dispute resolution between US and local partners, etc. Although the Treasury will normally try to streamline fees for visa, residence permit, health workers’ license fees, etc, we did not previously look into how much in total would for example, a health volunteer end up paying from his or her visa, license and if need be residence permit. These issues will now be addressed and recommendations submitted to Government.

3. We will engage the NGOs constantly. We will organize meetings and events that will offer the opportunity for networking and we will create a page on our website for NGOs to allow them to network and where possible to form alliances. NGOs are encouraged to visit our website and to follow on the important links so that they learn more about Tanzania and the areas they are working. If the information on the website is not adequate NGOs are encouraged to contact us for further details.

4. Our Embassy Strategic Plan each year, and we have already started this year, will have NGO related activity and NGOs will be considered an important ally in the delivery of our foreign policy in the United Sates. As I already said, we will consider US NGOs working in Tanzania as our Honorary Consuls in their respective areas in the United States.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends of Tanzania,

As we continue this engagement, we encourage NGOs working in Tanzania and if they have not yet done so, to do the following:-

1. Please contact the embassy by email or telephone or even visiting before you travel to Tanzania and raise any issues that you need clarified. If you need a reference letter, we will be pleased to issue one.

2. Work with relevant government authorities in districts, the office of the District Commissioner, in the Regions the office of the Regional Commissioner as well as the relevant Ministries. When you make contacts, with authorities, a reference letter is always useful.

3. Please report at a local government office near your place of operation. This creates good working relationship and at least you would know where to go should you need government intervention for whatever reason.

4. You are advised to engage a reputable law firm and an accounting firm. This helps you to overcome legal pitfalls and taxation issues. Do not enter into land acquisition agreement without the benefit of legal advice. Your partnership agreements in particular should be drawn by a lawyer, local or international. You should be able to get discounted rates from law firms and accounting firms. I know some do not charge commercial rates for charities.

5. Before entering into binding partnerships with local partners, NGO are encouraged to undertake a vetting process of the partners through the embassy and verification with local authorities as to the character and authenticity of activities claimed to be undertaken by local NGOs or individuals. Such vetting should include references from local authorities where the local partner claims to be operating. Such vetting process is crucial to minimize incidences of individual acting in bad faith or who pretending to be doing charitable work but in the event they set out to enrich themselves. I am saying this because we have seen such cases increase in the last year, where local partners are in dispute with foreign partners to the detriment of those intended to benefit from the activities of the NGO.

6. Any successful Partnership needs to have one person in charge. So, the decision of who is responsible for day-to-day activities of the NGO needs to be made early on, and everyone in the partnership needs to be 100 percent clear of their roles, duties, and responsibilities. We are for example, aware of local partners charged with the responsibility of securing work permits for volunteers but abdicating the responsibility and blaming it on the US partner.

7. A partnership, like marriage, requires a pre-nup. NGOS entering into partnership with local NGOs or individuals seem to have very loose arrangement. Sometimes there is only a gentlemen’s agreement. Sometimes there is a very insufficient document not detailing the responsibilities of each party or what happens in the event of a dispute or if they decide to part company and to go their separate ways. Having legal counsel will address such issues and minimize disputes.

8. And finally, I would propose that you may consult among yourselves and look into possibility of establishing some form of a networking vehicle here, in the US, which will have the mandate to speak for you as a group, on issues that you would like the Government to attend to. Speaking in one voice should offer you good leverage on issues that affect you and the way you deliver your services in Tanzania.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends of Tanzania,

It is challenging to cover all important areas in one day. But as you can see from our program we have targeted NGO registration process, immigration, Tanzania Revenue Authority, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation and our Embassy. There is a presentation on the Five Year Development Plan to offer an insight where NGOs may choose to focus. You will hear from the presenter that the Government did anticipate NGO and private sector participation in executing the Development Plan. You will also hear from representatives of the US Department of State, the Peace Corps and the USAID.

After each presentation there will be an opportunity for questions and after the morning session and the afternoon session there is time allotted for general discussion.

And finally, I would like to invite all participants to a cocktail reception at Tanzania House after concluding the discussions. It is a small act of appreciation for your commitment to Tanzania. KARIBUNI SANA.

Once again I thank you for your attention. AHASNTENI SANA