Having Just read the latest issue of the Bulletin I wanted to write back to say how much I enjoyed it. It has humour (vital!) and a great deal of background information which I find keeps me in touch with what is happening in Tanzania. I wonder if you can help me over one thing. A number of years ago I read the book “A Picnic on Mt Kenya” while climbing Mt Kilimanjaro. The changing bands of vegetation on Mt Kilimanjaro are very similar to Kenya and so the memory of my climb of Kilimanjaro stayed with me reinforced by the reading of the book. Unfortunately I no longer have the book. I know that it was written by an Italian because he describes his adventures as a POW escaping from the foot of Mt Kenya. He climbed the mountain having broken out of the camp and then gave himself up! I wonder whether you or any of your contributors would know the writers name and publisher7 Thanking you for any help that you can give,
J K Read 16,St Edmonds Rd, Ipswich

THANK YOU
To the President of the Britain-Tanzania Society.
I want to thank you very much for your letter of 11th November, enclosing the booklet in which so many friends pay so much tribute to my service as President of my country. I do not know how to thank you and my friends of the Britain-Tanzania Society. The Wazanaki have a saying: ‘Courage is among men’; meaning that no single individual can achieve without the support of others. I have been almost uniquely fortunate in the support I have received from many loyal friends both in Tanzania and outside Tanzania. I wish I had done more to deserve so much support and loyalty. May God bless you all.

Moving house is a very difficult business, I discover! But I am gradually settling down although some of my stuff is still coming. I did not realise I had accumulated so much property, especially books! The problems of this country remain acute; but the President has a very good team and they are doing all they can to cope with them. Please convey my gratitude to all my friends in the Society.
Julius K. Nyerere,
S.L.P. 4.
Butiama,
Musoma.

UJAMAA SOCIALISM AID VILLAGISATION
The following comments on “The Nyerere Years” in Bulletin No. 22 based on my experience as British High Commissioner in Tanzania from 1975 to 1978, may be of interest.

In his article on Nyerere’s political thought. Professor Cranford Pratt refers to “the major national effort from 1968 to about 1975 to introduce ujamaa socialism in rural Tanzania”; and to “the ‘forced march’ to ujamaa socialism which was attempted in the mid-1970s.” The latter phrase seems to reflect the widespread but mistaken belief that in the mid-1970s rural farmers were compelled by force to adopt ujamaa socialism and establish ujamaa villages. This misconception arises from confusion between two separate concepts; the ujamaa village and the process of villagisation.

After the Arusha declaration, the Tanzanian Government pursued two major policies in the area of rural development;

a) for ideological and developmental reasons, to persuade farmers already grouped in villages to engage in communal or collective farming on something like the Chinese model; those villages which did so were known as ujamaa villages;

b) for developmental reasons, mainly social but also economic, to persuade isolated homesteaders to group together in villages in order to benefit from amenities such as schools, clinics, shops, electricity, clean water and agricultural extension services; this was the process of villagisation

Until the mid-1970s the Government relied on peaceful persuasion; there was no compulsion, though no doubt in some cases considerable moral and other pressures were applied by keen and ambitious Party leaders. But progress on both counts was slow; in particular the individual homesteaders were reluctant to leave their traditional plots to set up in a new village some distance away. The Government accordingly decided that in order to achieve satisfactory progress on education, health. etc., villagisation would have to be made compulsory. The aim was laudable enough but the implementation, with inadequate planning and preparation and. often brutality, was disastrous. The consequent disruption of agriculture and alienation of the farmers who had been forcibly removed from their homes was an important factor in the decline of agricultural production in the m.1d-1970s.

However, at no stage was force used to compel either the new villages or the existing villages to engage in collective farming and become ujamaa villages.

In 1977 – two years after the ‘forced march’, President Nyerere told me that only a small percentage (I think of the order of 10%) of villages were ujamaa. Moreover, even in an ujamaa village individual families were allowed to keep a small plot for their own use; and no family was compelled to engage in collective farming – in Nyerere’s own village of Butiama which was considered an ujaaaa village, out of over 500 families only some 100 took part in farming the communal land. In other words the application of the ujamaa concept in farming remained, and as far as I am aware still remains voluntary.
Sir Mervyn Brown, London.

ONE MAJOR CRITICISM
To the Secretary, Britain- Tanzania Society.
You asked us to comment about Bulletin No. 23. We like the size as foreshadowed in No.22. More handy and comprehensible than the old type but we have one major criticism and realise that this may not be easy to achieve with the smaller size document. The letter press is far too small and difficult to read. Can we have size as No.22 and printing also as No.22 ?
Myrtle and Philip Radley, Cambridge.
We have had a number of comments on the small print size in No. 23. On the other hand, most readers have much appreciated the almost 50% increase in content which the small size permitted us to publish. A number of changes have been made in this issue with a view to improving readability. We await further comments from readers – Editor

THE FAREWELL SPEECH
To the Secretary, Britain-Tanzania Society
I for one prefer the reduced size of the Bulletin. Furthermore, being smaller it is less heavy and should on average cost less to post so I favour the reduced scale version.

One more comment. The extracted quotes from Mwalimu’s farewell speech in this recent Bulletin are good reading. I can’t recall having seen a full version of the speech. Maybe I’ve just missed it. But if it has not been published it would be worth reproducing it in full.
Dr. John Robertson, Leeds.
The speech fills a 38 page booklet and would require the exclusion of almost all else if it were to be published in the Bulletin. I am sending you my last copy of the speech – Editor.

A SWEDISH VERSION
To the Editor,
Many thanks for the marvellous Bulletin about Julius Nyerere. It wouldn’t be so bad if other political leaders everywhere could have kept his approach to life and friends. But it is perhaps to hope for too much. What is being said confirms much of what I have heard about Nyerere. The publication would merit a Swedish version.
Mats Hultin, Stockholm.

Sir ,

Please refer to Issue No.20 of the Bulletin dated January 1985, which was brought to our attention by a colleague in Morogoro.

Para.4 of page 3 of the Bulletin refers to your comment on the President’s remarks vis-a-vis the Land Grant Colleges. It would be useful to note that the President’s address refers, at para. one, to a Study Team Report, whose recommendations feature very prominently in his address. The Study Team was led by Mr. C.L.S. Omari, Commissioner of Education, and visited Land Grant Colleges in the USA and institutions inspired by the Land Grant Colleges model in India and Kenya. The President himself has several times referred to the ‘pioneering work1 of those colleges. Reference to the visit to Land Grant Universities is to be found in para.3, first column, page (iii) of the Report.

These remarks are being made not to discredit your observations, but rather to draw your attention to facts not so apparent to those unfamiliar with the background literature to the address. Although the Report was published in October 1984 the President had access to the final draft at the time his speech was written in September 1984.

Sincerely,
Professor G.R.V. Mmari
Vice-Chancellor

From J.P. Orasa, Agricultural Officer, United Republic of Tanzania:
I am writing to comment on Mr. Roger Carter’s article on ‘Tanzania’s food problem’, which appeared in the Bulletin of Tanzanian Affairs No.15 of July, 1982.

Throughout the twenty one years of Tanzania’s independence the question of food has consistently received top priority, but the results of various programmes and planning exercises have had no meaningful results, as the food situation has not been steadily improving. It is, however, fortunate that the situation has not gone out of Government control, although the import bill is scaring.

Mr. Carter has rightly pointed out that the causes of Tanzania’s failure to feed itself are complex. In addition to the problems enumerated by him, the demand for food is exaggerated by certain food-eating habits. As it may have been noted, the food problem in Tanzania is based on the supply and consumption of maize, rice and wheat. These are the most preferred cereals that form the main staple grains. Maize is the most consumed; the per capita maize consumption between 1975 and 1977 was 82.9kg, or 63.8% of all cereals consumed including sorghum and millet.

The majority of Tanzanians still cling to maize meal because it can easily be accommodated within the household financial limits. An indigenous coastal dweller does not willingly part with his rice meal, just as a Southern Highlander would not like to miss his maize meal. As a consequence of these dominant and sometimes inflexible food habits certain food crises or shortages are more apparent than real. These food habits indirectly control the tastes and palatability of food. It is probably because of these habits that the sorghum and millet preparations are not as popular as those of maize, rice and wheat. By using better shelling methods and if more research into possible preparations of delicious sorghum dishes is carried out, this dry-weather resistant crop will save the nation from frequent spells of food grain hardships. The move away from millet, sorghum and cassava over the years into maize, rice and wheat has increased the burden on the producers of these cereals, who have been unable to cope with consumer demand.

Up until now there are villagers in many of the rural areas who are not aware of the food problem facing the country. In their small plots scattered here and there they produce bananas, sweet potatoes, yams, majimbi (a kind of root spinach), round potatoes, cassava, etc. in addition to cereal crops. These people have sufficient food throughout the year. But as the same people move to urban areas they tend to shy away from these traditional food items, thereby increasing the demand for cereal crops. If these indigenous foodstuffs were preserved and distributed to areas facing food shortages, the growers would be encouraged to produce more and the demand for cereals would decrease.

Another problem that aggravates the food situation is the lack of adequate storage and transport facilities. As a result the food piling up in one Region cannot be moved to areas requiring it in time. For example, the surplus maize in Ruvuma and Rukwa Regions in 1980-81 could not be fully utilised before it got spoiled. This year about 55,300 tonnes of round or Irish potatoes in Iringa Region failed to get to market in time due to transport problems.

Thus, the food problem of Tanzania does not arise simply because the country cannot produce enough to feed her people. Much of the surplus food is spoiled for lack of proper storage and because of an unsatisfactory distribution system. A substantial amount of local produce, including fruits and vegetables, cannot find markets. If this problem could be solved, there might even be a surplus of some products for export.

J. P. Orasa

From the Right Reverend George Briggs, written from Mtwara:
One of the first impressions of someone who is returning to Tanzania after several years’ absence is the startling increase in the size of the population. When I first knew Mtwara during the war years it was a small fishing village and now it has a population (together with Mikindani) of 60,000. Its new start in life occurred shortly after the war as a result of one of the British Government’s less successful initiatives – the ill-fated Goundnut Scheme. Mtwara was the railhead where the nuts would arrive from up-country and the port from which they would be despatched to their destinations. Well, the project came to nothing, but Mtwara has since grown to become a Regional headquarters.

I learned only yesterday that four or five cashew nut processing factories have been built at great expense in this area, where cashew trees are abundant, but that they are all standing idle. Why? Because the market for these nuts is mostly in America, where they offer a small price for the processed nut and a much larger one than Tanzania can afford to ignore for the whole nut. The point is that this nut has several valuable properties apart from its kernel- properties which Tanzanians were hoping to exploit through their factories. But now …! Is it surprising that Nyerere is mad with the Western world? As if USA could not afford to forego its profits on the processing of cashew nuts and leave them to a developing country which needs them very badly.

If Sunday attendance at church is anything to go by, then the Christian religion is in good heart in Tanzania. Recently I have had opportunities to attend churches other than the one here, two in Dar es Salaam and two up-country, and the congregations were all impressive, as indeed they are here at Mtwara. Self-support in terms of cash is improving too. The factor which for some of us is a worry is the almost total absence of voluntary service, either for the church, or for anything else. This is an essential element, surely, in the Christian religion; without it a parish, a diocese, or other ecclesiastical unit is defective. This apparent absence of a spirit of self-giving comes out, I think, in the fact that very few of our ordinands have had more than a primary education. The minimal response to vocations- presuming they are there!- from people with a good academic record is very disturbing.

As in many poor societies, theft, bribery and corruption are rife in Tanzania. I mention this, as I have suffered from it twice during the short time I have been in this country. On the first occasion I was relieved of all my money as I was boarding a bus for Korogwe in Dar es Salaam. Fortunately, I discovered what had happened before the vehicle started and so was saved from what would have been an embarrassing situation. The second time was at 4 p.m. on a Saturday, when most of us on the compound were in church at evensong; the housebreakers had a rare field day when they got into my bedroom and found the contents of four suitcases lying about. I was in the middle of unpacking them. I regret most the loss of a cassock (alb) made for me by a Carmelite nun in Mauritius, which I had not worn. There is no benefit provided by the state here for unemployed school leavers and they, together with soldiers returned from Uganda, are said to make up a large proportion of the culprits.
+ George Briggs

Mr. A.D.H. Leishman writes from Zambia: “On page 2 of the January 1977 issue of the Bulletin … a statement is made about the ss Liemba in the Transport paragraph. Far from being ‘unserviceable’, the mv Liemba is scheduled to recommence scheduled services on Luke Tanganyika in September of this year. This information I have direct from the Regional Manager in Dar es Salaam in answer to an enquiry I made in connection with the preparation of the Development Plan for Mpulungu Port which the Department of Town & Country Planning here is undertaking. The Regional Manager stated that the intention was to run the Liemba to a schedule which would bring Mpulungu into weekly connection with East Africa instead of the previous twice monthly service prior to 1972. He also asked for an assurance that the harbour at Mpulungu would be dredged by September to allow Liemba once again to berth at the quayside, an assurance which the Zambian Government may be unable, regrettably, to give unless an extremely rapid decision is taken to effect the necessary operations. But there again, Liemba may not be ready by September!

“You will notice I said MV Liemba; the Regional Manager confirmed that new diesel engines had been installed in the vessel, as was reported in the Tanzanian press last year (or was it 1975?).”