PROTECTION OF THE MUFINDI RAIN FOREST
Re “Menace of Desertification in Iringa District” in the last Bulletin, feel that some assurance is needed about the vast quantities of wood used by the Southern Paper Mill from the Sao Hill Forest Plantation and about protection of the old Mufindi Rain Forest.

There is a project write-up of the Mill called ‘Paper at any Price’ by Anthony Ngaiza in Towards Sustainable Development published by the Panos Institute. It is stated that at full production the Mill requires 300,000 m3 of wood per year. There are some 90,000 ha of pine and eucalyptus trees to be harvested and the Government plants about 1,000 ha per year.

In another paragraph it is stated that by the year 1991 the Sao Hill Plantation will cover 65,000 ha. Does this mean that 25,000 ha are being lost?

The Mufindi Rain Forest lies close to the Mill and I hope that this is not being further destroyed. Much must have been lost to tea plantations, commencing in pre-war days. This forest must be of important environmental/ecological value and ought it not to be protected, if it is not already?
Christine Lawrence

We referred this letter, through the good offices of Mr. Cyril Kaunga, to the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources and we are grateful to Mr. G. Mbonde, a Senior Forest Officer, for the following comments:

The Sao Hill Forest Project comprises 12 Forest Reserves with a gross area of 136,000 ha. The net plantable area is 65,000 ha which will cover any expansion needed from 1990 to 2000. 16,745 ha known as the Mufindi Scarp Forest Reserve is incorporated in the Sao Hill Forest Project. Some 40,000 ha have been planted there in 1986/7. Within this reserve enrichment planting of valuable indigenous species is being carried out. The Paper Mill is expected to produce 75,000 tons of paper per annum after 1990; this is equivalent to 300,000 to 400,000.m3 per annum. From 1988/9 we will only be replanting areas which have been harvested by the Pulp Mill (and the Sao Hill Sawmill) plus areas where there may have been fire or disease damage. Planting beyond 40,000 ha will depend on future forest industry development. Studies are in progress. Such developments will not include the Mufindi Scarp Forest reserve – Editor

THE RATE OF LITERACY
I gave a talk the other day to a geography class and told them that literacy in Tanzania was over 60%. A young boy challenged me by quoting from the book Understanding Human Geography by Michael Raw which states that the rate is 10% Can you give me the up-to date figure.
Brother Amos,
The Society of St. Francis,
Dorchester
Yes. Dr. E. D. Mwaikambo, Secretary of the Tanzanian Chapter of the Society, bas checked with the Ministry of Education in Dar es Salaam. The present figure is 90.4% It varied in 1986 from about 99% for men in Dar es Salaam to 83% for women in Shinyanga – Editor.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO LIVE IN TANZANIA?
Thank you for Bulletin No. 29. 1 liked the articles – the one on the re-election of Mwalimu Nyerere was especially interesting. Were you there? It seemed so from your article. (Unfortunately not! – Editor). I would appreciate some more regular articles on what it is like to live in Tanzania. I was last there in 1984. For example: What is the price of various essential commodities maize flour, rice, soap, petrol, meat? How are salaries changing if at all? And other matters that would concern socialists who would like to go back to live in Tanzania.
Tony and Anna Goodchild.
Queensland. Australia.
(The recently announced controlled price of first quality printed Khangas is Shs 536; one Pilsner beer costs Shs 80. The current exchange rate is Shs 169 to £1 (mid-April 1988) Perhaps someone in the Tanzania Chapter could help us with answers to the main questions you asked?
Editor)

A POEM
On December 9th 1987 more than 20 Tanzanians and other nationalities
celebrated Uhuru here in the colleges. The Catering Department of Westhill had laid on a buffet and we had a most enjoyable time with music, speeches and recitation of poetry.

One poem seems to me to warrant wider publicity. It was composed by the Rev, Charles Almodad Munga for the occasion:

Selly Oak tumetimu, twakumbuka Tanzania
Wana Vyuo na walimu, sote tunafurahia
Hakiku twaiheshimu, siku hii kwa mamia.
8el1y Oak twakumbuka, Uhuru wa Tanzania

Tisa Decenba twaf1ka, Uhuru twafurahia,
Hata wegi wakicheka, sisi tunajivunia,
Wahenga waliyafyeka, mapambano mia mia.
Selly Oak twakumbuka, Uhuru wa Tanzania.

Moja Tisa Nane Saba, Ni ishirini na sita,
Miaka tumefikisha, Si michache ya kusita,
Rabuka katupitisha, mapori tunapita.
Selly Oak twakumbuka, Uhuruwa Tanzania.

Hasani na Julius, Jina mmetuwekea,
Kwa wenu huo ukwasi, baraka mtapokea,
Siasa yenu ya kasi, Uwanja inawekewa.
Selly Oak twakumbuka, Uhuru wa Tanzania.

Twautakia fanaka, Ujamaa Tanzania,
Tuwatoe na mashaka, wasioufikiria,
Tutadumu kuushika, Mola atatujalia.
Selly Oak twakumbuka, Uhuru wa Tanzania

Wapigania Uhuru, Siku moja kutakucha,
Kumuondoa Kaburu, tutafuga na makucha,
Wang’oke kwa msururu, kucha kutakavyokucha.
Inshala twatumaini, Mola atawajalia.

Hapa kituo naweka, Birmingham sikia,
U.K. acha mahoka, Umma unapozimia,
Ondoa vyako vishoka, Umma upate sikia.
Selly Oak twakumbuka, Uhuru wa Tanzania.

S.v. Sicard.
Centre for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations
Selly Oak Colleges,
Birmingham

MAKONDE AND MAWIA
I have seen the letter in the last Bulletin about the Makonde and the Mawia. I am a Makonde from Newala. When I went to school I first met the Mawia people who came from Mozambique. They were escaping from the war. We were very cautious and afraid of them. They were a fierce tribe. There are differences between Mawia and Makonde. We never had incisions on our faces – not even my grandfather. Nowadays they try and assimilate with us and in Dar as Salaam and Tanga they call themselves Makonde .. Francis Libungo.
Dar es Salaam.

(We have spoken to other persons who insist that the Makonde and the Mawia are one and the same – Editor).

MWINYI AND NYERERE
Among the rare references to Tanzania in the press in this country and abroad a common theme has recently been the state of conflict which is said to dominate the relations between President Mwinyi and Party Chairman Julius Nyerere. The Independent, for example published on December 30th a highly imaginative article bearing the sub-heading ‘The former President is using his prestige in a bid to curb the liberalising trend fostered by his successor’. But the presumption of conflict is highly misleading. The President and the Party Chairman are not, of course, alike either in experience, or in temperament. Nyerere, as his writings testify, is a thinker and a visionary of outstanding quality; Mwinyi, so far as we yet know, is guided by an acute practical assessment of the needs of the moment. But it is needless to assume that these contrasting qualities inevitably presuppose conflict. Nor is a discontinuity in national economic policy at the time of the change over in the presidency to be inferred. While greater recognition is now paid to the operation of market forces and the role of the private sector is openly acknowledged, these trends cannot be interpreted as symptoms of conflict between President and Party Chairman. The vision of greater cooperation and equality as the ultimate goal remains in place, unobscured by changes that have been made in response to the country’s critical economic situation and the pressure of world forces.

The Economic Recovery Programme on which Tanzania is now embarked, was approved by the Party under Nyerere’ s chairmanship. Moreover, certain aspects of policy, including the sale of derelict sisal estates to the private sector and the retention by exporters of a proportion of their foreign exchange earnings, had already been promulgated while Nyerere was President. Neither Nyerere nor Mwinyi has abandoned a critical view of the IMF, though the introduction of a structural adjustment facility is acknowledged to be a step in the right direction. Fortunately, though the IMF initially played a leading role in respect of support for the ERP, it emerged as a junior partner in the pattern of support that resulted.

Speaking at the University of Dar es Salaam in September 1956, Mwalimu Nyerere called for the full participation of the private sector. While insisting that within the socialist policies of Tanzania major sectors of the economy must remain under public control, he said that private individuals and companies must also be given scope to perform the services that the state could not accomplish. As to the loss making parastatals, he said, that they were a serious drain on the nation’s resources and that it was neither disloyal nor anti-socialist, to require them to make profits that could be beneficially reinvested in the economy.

It is in fact difficult to find in the public utterances of Nyerere anything that is substantially at odds with the known views of Mwinyi. Nyerere is sensitively aware of the discordant role that a former President might play. His continuation in office as Chairman represented a reluctant decision made only on the insistence of President Mwinyi and in view of the extremely heavy burden of work already falling on the shoulders of the President in carrying out the difficult political task of organising Tanzania’s economic recovery.

Conflict is more sensational and apparently more ‘newsworthy’ than co-operation. I fear that the imaginings of anonymous correspondents and diplomats speculating about the interaction of these two distinguished men caught in a formal relationship that is, to say the least, unusual have been allowed to make up for the shortage of hard news. I would be grateful for your help in putting a contrary view.
J. Roger Carter

THANKYOU
The ‘Friends of Ruaha Society’ would like to express its thanks and appreciation to those generous readers of the Bulletin who made donations to the society following Colin Imray’s letter in the May issue. We would be delighted to hear from any other readers who have an interest in the Ruaha National Park.

The September issue of the Bulletin carried an interesting letter from Brenda Bailey concerning the management of National Parks. Perhaps I should explain that ‘Friends of Ruaha’ is not primarily concerned with theoretical management issues. Management decisions are made by the Chief Park Warden and the Director of National Parks. Our job is to help. We have provided fuel, oil, spare parts, boots, cement, rewards for rangers, grader blades, funds for fire control, road construction, anti-poaching, general repairs and maintenance. We have just approved a request for funds to build a new permanent ranger post. This is the practical side of running a park. Ruaha is an area the size of Wales with fewer than fifty rangers. Tanzania has eleven national parks – a tremendous commitment to the world’s wildlife heritage. The resources to divide amongst them are slim.

We are able to help the park through donations from the public and our responsibility is to ensure that those donations are used effectively. If Brenda Bailey would like to donate some copies of Managing Protected Areas in the Tropics we would be delighted to pass them on to the park. For the £18.50 that the book costs we can buy six pairs of ex-army boots – rangers cannot wear ideas. That having been said, we did discuss with the Park Warden the idea of visits to the park from schoolchildren in the surrounding Villages. Such visits have been paid in the past but lack of transport prevented them from continuing. We are now looking at the cost of hiring the Idodi village bus in the hope that ‘Friends of Ruaha’ can support more visits in the future. To do this we need your help.
Hon. Secretary,
Friends of Ruaha Society,
P. O. Box 60,
Mufindi