Socialism in Tanzania resembles something Kenyans have been striving for

What you need to know:

  • The philosophy the Arusha Declaration Museum stands for summarises what Kenyans spent so many days and even more money on at the Bomas of Kenya trying to articulate in the new constitution,

  • It is amazing that one, a political party has a development philosophy that is people-based and two, its constitution sounds like the much sang-about Bill of Rights in the Kenya constitution 2010.

Arusha, the headquarters of the East African Community, has a laid-back atmosphere that reminds one of the Kenyan coast, except that in September it is quite chilly in the morning and freezing cold at night.

The city also hosts the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) that handles mainly human right abuses in member states, but that is not what I will remember about Arusha. I will remember the contents of the Arusha Declaration Museum. “Makumbushu ya Azimio la Arusha”.

Again, it is not the museum building that is impressive, even if I can only appreciate and sing praises for most Museums in Kenya.

More important, the philosophy the Arusha Declaration Museum stands for summarises what Kenyans spent so many days and even more money on at the Bomas of Kenya trying to articulate in the new constitution, and what we shall clearly spend decades trying to implement. The economic model is the glaring difference.  

According to the history of Tanzania as written by academics from the University of Dar es Salaam, Mzee Julius Nyerere struggled with wealth redistribution on the attainment of independence.

In 1961, the ruling party stalwarts led by their party leader and president-elect, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere crafted a new philosophy that was to guide the nation in 1967. 

It was this philosophy that is generally known and ignorantly judged as ‘Ujamaa Villages’ that was announced to the republic at the “Mnara wa Azimio la Arusha”, (Arusha Declaration Monument), similar to the 25 years of Nyayo Era monument in Nairobi’s Uhuru Gardens.

Right next to the Declaration Monument stands the Arusha Declaration Museum.

The Tanganyika African National Union’s (TANU) policy of an African socialist state was based on the belief that for six years after the country’s independence the model of development was material-based.

The declaration aimed towards a policy of African socialism that would be focused on people-centred development.  The ruling party therefore declared that:

(a) That all human beings are equal;

(b) That every individual has a right to dignity and respect;

(c) That every citizen is an integral part of the nation and has the right to take an equal part in Government at local, regional and national level;

(d) That every citizen has the right to freedom of expression, of movement, of religious belief and of association within the context of the law;

(e) That every individual has the right to receive from society protection of his life and of property held according to law;

(f) That every individual has the right to receive a just return for his labour;

(g) That all citizens together possess all the natural resources of the country in trust for their descendants, among other powerful clauses.

It is amazing that one, a political party has a development philosophy that is people-based and two, its constitution sounds like the much sang-about Bill of Rights in the Kenya constitution 2010.

The distribution of resources to the grassroots so that individuals and communities within a region can have a platform on which to base their development, resonates well with our current devolution, while the use of cooperatives as a basis for giving farmers advantage over middlemen is exactly like our cooperative movement.

The only difference is that in Tanzania cooperatives were organised by government, while in Kenya the successful arm is run by the cooperators themselves.

Tanzanian socialism even warned Tanzanians against racism. In Mwalimu’s own words the philosophy that he was advocating was a ‘basis of socialism whose belief was in the oneness of man and the common historical destiny of mankind.

Its basis, in other words, is human equality’. The philosophy advocated that every person had to fight the racist habits and thoughts that were part of the inheritance of colonialism.

This can sound like tall stories on paper, but in reality, a keen observation of the Tanzanian people will confirm that the philosophy has played a big role in their lives.

During the workshop that I attended, which was organised by the International Training Centre for Museum Studies of the International Council of Museums of Museums (ICOM-ITC), a Tanzanian had the honour of giving participants, 20 from Africa, six from China (who co-sponsored the workshop) and one each from India, Bangladesh and South America, a brief history of Tanzania.

In the presentation he talked about the people, their aspirations, achievements and other historical developments. It was only towards the end that he mentioned in passing that the country was once a colony. Talk about putting a people first and all others second.

Looking at the exhibition at this museum, I can only conclude that the type of socialism advocated for by Mwalimu Nyerere is almost exactly as the democracy Kenya fought to achieve – the only difference is that in a democracy we are not required to live in a ‘Ujamaa village’.

Twitter: @muthonithangwa