BY EDITOR
16th April 2013
This is a major step in the right direction, especially in that the region has always come last in most indicators used in the report in the last few years.
The indicators mainly show how nations are faring in fighting poverty, and thus lifting standards of living through social policy initiatives in health, education and infrastructure among others.
Africa recorded a fairly fast growing economy between 2003 and 2008 and put in place initiatives that improved infrastructure, health and education. It also made notable improvements on the gender equality scale over the time, although it still lags behind the other regions in this respect.
Countries that made the biggest strides include Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.
Tanzania recorded modest strides with regard to life expectancy, which improved from 58.2 years to 58.9, and per capita income also having risen only slightly.
On the economic front, though, the country recorded remarkable growth strides and is among the fastest growing economies on the continent at above 7.0 per cent per year.
But this has not translated into global human development in the country – which thus finds itself still in the Low Human Development category, reflected by intractably high poverty levels, especially in the rural areas.
It is the paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty and despite the application of a number of remedies over the years that our experts and policy makers should address more seriously as they digest the latest HDR.
We need to go beyond the often-repeated lamentation that it is a shame that the country so endowed with resources has failed to make a difference in the lives of the majority of the people.
The policies we have put in place over the years are due for a critical review, with a view to retaining those that have worked and discarding those that have proved useless.
This is especially important and relevant when change seems to move at a snail’s pace and is hardly felt by in our rural areas.
Indeed, the argument is that more resources should be channelled to the rural sector to stimulate production and thereby add value to the people’s lives, which would have a crucial impact on the human development endeavour.
There is a call to learn from – and apply – the strategies of the countries which only recently were in circumstances similar to those prevailing in our country today in order for us to move forward.
Yet others see the country’s dilemma lying in unpunished misuse and waste of public resources, pointing to the much-documented waste and embezzlement of funds, starving key areas of development and thus stunting the pace of change.
There is also what many call a national malaise – low work output. The common feeling is that Tanzanians need to put more hours into work if the nation is to lift itself out of abject poverty.
We say yes to the adoption of more creative ways of working, but also the institution of stricter watch over public resources.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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