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Tanzania: Of Western Assistance And Good Governance
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The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
OPINION
30 April 2008
Posted to the web 30 April 2008
On the phenomenon of foreign aid, among the Western donors themselves, there is an increasing demand for donor harmonisation.
But regarding the beneficiaries, especially Africa, donors have stressed the need for good governance.
In fact, in some instances, good governance constitutes the condition for further assistance.
Donor harmonisation and good governance are considered to allow the possibility for the attainment of the objective of foreign aid, which is chiefly the alleviation/eradication of poverty in Africa.
The UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aim at exactly this. Even though progress has been made in good governance in Africa, it is clear that significant achievements have yet to be recorded.
While the Tanzanian political process is commendable, and as such gives hope for Africa, the current Zimbabwean political deadlock raises a worrying scenario, and dampens hope, as far as good governance in Africa is concerned.
While some countries fall in or incline towards the favourable Tanzanian category, others fall in or tilt towards the repelling Zimbabwean type.
Concerning foreign aid, the political status of any African country largely determines its relation with Western donors.
Tanzania and Ghana have been tagged "donor darlings".
Given the sad political history of Nigeria, the recent undemocratic action of the Kenyan Government, as well as the current political crisis in Cameroon (President Paul Biya), these countries and others may scarcely find as much favour with the donors as do Tanzania, Ghana and others like them.
The point I am making is not actually on foreign aid and African relations with the Western donors.
What I am stressing is the problem of bad leadership in Africa, as the increasing Western demand for good governance calls more attention to it.
There are several factors that constitute bad leadership.
They include leaders' incompetence and ineligibility, corruption and embezzlement of public funds.
A brief list of the consequences of these factors is as follows: Lack of vision and inability to consistently produce sustainable developmental policies and reform programmes that can address the African situation and problems
Inability to cultivate unity and harmonious relationship in the pluralistic African societies
Inability to balance ethnic loyalty with the commitment to the common good.
The glaring reality of high degree of poverty in Africa. In fact, when critically considered, it could be seen that Africa's development deficit in one way or another borders on the problem of bad leadership.
The reality of wars and conflicts in Africa has exacerbated poverty. It's true that there are negative foreign influences in Africa, which fan conflicts and wars, but most of these would have been avoided if good leadership was in place, and the right people were in power.
However, the problem of poor political leadership is not solely that of the African leaders themselves.
There is a way in which African society shares in the blame for the poor leadership.
Consequently, any attempt to resolve of the leadership problem in Africa must reckon with the public conscience.
In traditional African society, there was a high degree of community consciousness.
The individual was deeply immersed in the clan, community and close family bond.
The horizon of the common good was very narrow, limited to kinsmen, clan, community and friends, even as hospitality was offered to strangers.
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But in today's Africa, where people of different cultural, racial and religious backgrounds are mixed, such a narrow concept of common good is very disastrous, as it is divisive.
To a large extent, the contemporary African people still carry this traditional baggage of a narrow concept of common good.
This is reflected in African leadership, where those in power, in employment and political positions, favour first their relatives and people from their ethnic groups.
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