Julius Nyerere - Transformation Into Socialism

Transformation Into Socialism

When in power, Nyerere implemented a socialist economic programme (announced in the Arusha Declaration), establishing close ties with Mao Zedong's China, and also introduced a policy of collectivisation in the country's agricultural system, known as ujamaa or "familyhood."

In 1967, nationalizations transformed the government into the largest employer in the country. The state expanded rapidly into virtually every sector. It was involved from everything from retailing to import-export trade and even baking. This created an environment ripe for corruption.

The private sector suffered from multiplying cumbersome bureaucratic procedures and excessive tax rates. Enormous amounts of public funds were misappropriated and put to unproductive use. Purchasing power declined at an unprecedented rate and even essential commodities became unavailable. A system of permits (vibali) allowed officials to collect huge bribes in exchange for the vibali. Nyerere's policies laid out a foundation for systemic corruption for years to come. The ruling party's officials became known as Wabenzi ("people of the Benz"), referring to their taste for Benz cars.

Collectivization was accelerated in 1971. Because the population resisted collectivisation, Nyerere used his police and military forces to forcibly transfer much of the population to collective farms. Houses were set on fire or demolished, sometimes with the family's pre-Ujamaa property inside. The regime denied food to those who resisted. A substantial amount of the country's wealth in the form of built structures and improved land (fields, fruit trees, fences) was destroyed or forcibly abandoned. Livestock was stolen, lost, fell ill, or died.

In 1975 Tanzanian government issued the “ujamaa program” to send the Sonjo in northern Tanzania from compact sites with less water to flatter lands with more fertility and water; new villages were created to reap crops and raise livestock easier. This “villagization” (coined by W. M. Adams) encouraged the Sonjo to use modern irrigation techniques such as the ‘unlined canals’ and man-made springs (Adams 22-24). Given the diversion of water from the Kisangiro and Lelestutta Rivers by dams, river water can flow by canals into the irrigation systems to alleviate the hardships of smallholder farmers and livestock owners.

Farming practices towards tea and cloves had increased for subsistence farmers. By 1974 ujaama programs and the IDA (International Development Association) worked hand and hand; while villagization organized new villages to farm, the IDA financed projects to educate farmers to grow alternate crops and granted loans to farmers with added credit to small farmers (Whitaker 206). For example, only 3 tons of tea had been produced in 1964 yet by 1975, 2,100 tons of tea was the net output of smallholder farmers mostly by Nyerere’s policies have given the communal villages the opportunity to grow tea leaves despite the long history of tea being only grown in estates (208). Although these statistics come from the late 1970s, one may understand agricultural growth through reorganizing traditional farms and investing into non-staple agriculture (especially through educating farmers how to grow tea and improve farming methods. One may look upon another example of Tanzanian government’s extensive services in to train farmers to grow tobacco and improve farming methods, which aided significantly in tobacco yields 41.9 million pounds in 1975-1976. By 1976, Tanzania became the third largest tobacco cultivator in Africa (207). Therefore, when the Tanzanian government utilized extensive services in agriculture, they achieved positive results and crop yields’ growth, especially in tea and tobacco smallholder farming whose prices are cheaper for Tanzanian villages to consume than purchase products within the cities.

Food production plummeted and only foreign aid prevented starvation. Tanzania, which had been the largest exporter of food in Africa, become the largest importer of food in Africa. Many sectors of the economy collapsed. There was a virtual breakdown in transportation. Goods such as toothpaste became virtually unobtainable.

The deficit in cereal grains was more than 1 million tons between 1974 and 1977. Only loans and grants from the World Bank and the IMF in 1975 prevented Tanzania from going bankrupt. By 1979, ujamaa villages contained 90% of the rural population but only produced 5% of the national agricultural output.

Nyerere announced that he would retire after presidential elections in 1985, leaving the country to enter its free market era — as imposed by structural adjustment under the IMF and World bank — under the leadership of Ali Hassan Mwinyi, his hand-picked successor. Nyerere was instrumental in putting both Ali Hassan Mwinyi and Benjamin Mkapa in power. He remained the chairman of Chama Cha Mapinduzi (ruling party) for five years following his presidency until 1990, and is still recognised as the Father of the Nation.

Nyerere left Tanzania as one of the poorest, least developed, and most foreign aid-dependent countries in the world. Nevertheless, Nyere's government did much to foster social and economic development in Tanzania during its time in office At an international conference of the Arusha Declaration, Nyere’s successor Mwinyi noted the social gains of his predecessor’s time in office: an increase in life expectancy to 52 years, a reduction in infant mortality to 137 per thousand, 2600 dispensaries, 150 hospitals, a literacy rate of 85%, two universities with over 4500 students, and 3.7 million children enrolled in primary school.