3.5. Political and legal factors

The present Tanzania, previous Tanganyika, was a part of the German East Africa during 1890-1918. In the mandate agreement of 1922, the United Nations accorded Britain the right to administration in Tanganyika. In 1961, Tanzania gained independence from British rule. TANU had organised the nationalist movement starting in the 1950’s, and its leader, Julius Nyerere, became the first president of the country. The broad support of TANU, the high level of political consciousness and a common language (Swahili) contributed to national unity after the independence. When TANU adopted the Arusha Declaration in 1967, it became the ruling party. In 1977, TANU and the ruling party of Zanzibar were combined into a new party, CCM and Tanzania adopted a single-party system. (Havnevik 1993, Finnida 1995.)

The main preoccupation of the nation’s policy-makers during 1961-1980 was to lift the majority of the population from illiteracy, poverty and disease. With the aim of achieving economic independence, the government pursued a policy of nationalising the important economic sectors, particularly the major industries, distribution and marketing. In planning, the central issues were re-allocation of resources to minimise regional inequalities, provision for basic needs, price control and access to basic social services. (Unicef 1990, Havnevik 1993, Buchert 1994.)

The Arusha Declaration inspired a fundamental change in the country’s rural development policy. The government started to promote the grouping of dispersed villages and homesteads into ujamaa (= familyhood) villages. The introduction of communal production systems and the expansion and improvement of community services accompanied the ujamaa policy into rural areas. In 1973, the ujamaa villagisation policy was proclaimed to be more or less compulsory, and millions of peasant families were moved to new village sites, which were often unsuitable for productive farming. (Swantz M-L 1985, Havnevik 1993, Buchert 1994, Finnida 1995.) As the outcome of the failure of the ujamaa villagization policy and decreased economical growth Tanzania was forced to follow the guidelines of the World Bank. Among other changes, it meant also political liberalisation. In 1992, Tanzania changed into a multi-party parliamentary republic. The first multi-party parliamentary election was held in October 1995. Eleven parties were represented, and CCM won the elections.

The administrative structure in Tanzania is decentralised. The country is governed by a president. At the national level, there is a central administration responsible for affairs common to both the mainland and Zanzibar; the latter has also its own administration. The country is divided into 20 regions on the mainland and 5 on the islands. Each region has its own administration. The regions are divided into districts that serve as the principal administrative units. The districts are further divided into divisions and wards. A ward consists of at least three villages that have their own village councils. Parallel to the administrative structures, the leading party, CCM, has had its own administrative structure, which goes down to cells consisting of 10 houses. (Unicef 1990, Finnida 1995.) Legally, women have equal rights with men, but the legislation recognises a customary law under which women do not have equal rights to land or to the custody of children. (Swantz M-L 1985, Ngaiza et al. 1991, Ndagala 1996.) In the African context, Tanzania has had a relatively free judical system and a good human rights record. (Finnida 1995.)