Tanzania does not have a specified ideology to address national economic system

SINCE the introduction of the trade liberalization policy in 1986, Tanzania is said to have not yet specified openly the ideological basis of the Republic which stands for the national economic system as a sole means of production for the available rich natural resources and other business sectors. The policy which changed from the socialist economic state and now to the globalized economy has adopted the capitalism type of economy whereby the government has allowed Direct Foreign Investments (DFI) in every business sector of the national economy in the country. Seven years after the attainment of the country’s independence, in 1967 the government banned all individual means of  production an aspect that paved the way for the nationalization programme that allowed all means of the economic production were channeled and dominated by the government. The nationalization programme which was manifested after the Arusha declaration included confiscation of people’s fixed assets such as land and housing exceeding Sh. 100,000 by then and turned into national properties. The move was recognized in the constitution as the country was adopting Socialism and Self Reliance economic system policy. In view of this uncertainty, the Constituent Assembly (CA) Committee No. 9 has proposed the need of having the ideology which talks about the unified national economic system to be included in the draft of constitution as the current legal system has remained silent about the matter. The deputy chairman of the CA committee No. 9 William Ngeleja said on Tuesday last week that, there was a need for Tanzania citizens to be well informed about the type of an ideology which stand for national economic system and have it endorsed in the new constitution. 

Former Tanzania's Miister for Minerals and Energy William Ngeleja briefing journalists not in the picture

He said that before the trade liberalization policy which came into being in 1986, the main ideological basis for the United Republic of Tanzania as analyzed in 1977 constitution recognized ‘Socialism and Self Reliance’  as the main political ideology of the republic. Ngeleja, a former Energy and Mineral Minister said that, it should be clearly stated in the new constitution what type of the ideology that Tanzania has adopted since the introduction of trade liberalization policy which should control its national economic system. He was highlighting various irregularities which had emerged among his committee members when they were discussing Chapters 3 and 4 of the constitutional draft and had come across the issue of citizens’ rights and thereby had remembered the national economic system as a major economic concept which he said is not specified at all within the draft. For that, matter his committee has proposed it to be included in the constitution for it is among the most important issues which drives the country’s national economy. However, he also said that, the issue was among the hottest issues that dominated debates by committee members. However, Ngeleja said that, there is a great need for Tanzanians to be informed in their national constitution about  the type  of economic system and the ideology the government is currently following as a means of production for its national economy.