3.6. Economical factors

During the first decade of independence, Tanzania’s economy grew satisfactorily. The growth stagnated in the second half of the 1970s due to the oil crisis, the break-up of the East African community, the war with Uganda, repeated droughts and the failure of the villagisation policy. Economic recovery was resumed in the second half of the 1980’s. Several economic adjustment programmes were implemented, primarily according to the policies of the World Bank, but their impact remained limited. Economic growth increased after the introduction of ERP in 1986-1989 and ESAP in 1989-1992. These were standard structural adjustment programmes, aiming at restoring balance in the Tanzanian economy and creating a basis for sustainable growth through liberalisation of various sub-markets from excessive state control. The public sector reform has progressed slowly after the introduction of the Privatisation Masterplan in 1993. (Ndulu 1994, Finnida 1995.)

Structural adjustment programmes in Tanzania have had several interpretations. In the economic sphere, the growth of a new breed of entrepreneurs offering and distributing new products to the market has emerged. The ERP as a political programme has its own implications. The Liberal/Western ideology with its emphasis on individual achievement and selfinterest was not in line with the previous ujamaa (socialist) ideology, which emphasised modesty and reference to such ideals as sharing wellbeing and developing the nation. So far, the ERPs have had several effects: a clear division between the rich and the poor, awareness of regional, religious, racial and ethnic factors; increasing unemployment especially among young people; and growing public awareness through the emergence of private media and multi-party politics, which facilitates more open communication. (Mmuya 1994.) On the other hand, the recent economic change has encouraged people to take matters into their own hands and try to improve their life situations in real and tangible ways. The concept of self-reliance has hence got a new meaning different from the ideological catchword of the socialist regime. (Tripp & Swantz 1996.)

While efforts have been made to increase the public revenue and to cut the costs of administration, the budget still relies heavily on donor finance. According to the UNDP’s Human Development Report (1999), in 1997 Tanzania was the 17th out of a total of 174 countries when measured by GDP per capita. It ranks higher on the UNDP’s HDI although its position on HDI has been going down in 1990’s. (UNDP 1994, 1999.) This can be explained by the fact that many service facilities operate at low levels of efficiency and, at the same time, many previously free services now have to be paid for and the poorest groups of the population cannot afford them. (Kiwara 1994.) On the other hand, the statistical system has been criticised for being based on western economic thinking, which corresponds inadequately to the situation prevailing in Tanzania, e.g. the ways of measuring are inadequate, what is measured reflects inadequately people’s actual state of sustenance, the measured units are wrongly identified and the measures are inappropriate. (Swantz M-L 1998a.)

Tanzania’s economy relies mainly on agriculture. Maize, cassava, sorghum, rice, millet, wheat and beans are the main crops. The agricultural sector contributes 75% - 80% of all export income (Finnida 1995.). Coffee, tea, cotton, sisal, cashew nuts, cloves, pyrethrum and tobacco are the major export articles (Kaduma 1994.). Some diamonds, gold, gems, salt, phosphorite, tin, coal, kaolin and iron are mined for export and local use (Nanyaro 1994.) The major import articles are machinery, vehicles, industrial goods, consumer goods, building materials, fuels, metals and chemicals. Tanzania is, to a large extent, a peasant society with one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world and heavily dependent on foreign aid. (Likwelile et al. 1994).

Traditionally women have had the responsibility for food production and men for cash production. (Buchert 1994.) Economic necessity has made it possible for women to justify entering into occupations and small businesses, which were previously not considered part of the female jurisdiction in a society where occupations are highly gendered. While the majority of women are engaged in low-income projects, such as making pastries, women have also been entering into more profitable businesses from the mid-1980’s onwards. Especially professional and middle-income women have been leaving their salaried positions and establishing tailoring and dry cleaning businesses, flour mills, secretarial service companies, hair salons, export and import businesses, bakeries and other small manufacturing and service industries. In some cases, husbands go as far as preventing the wives from engaging in income- generating activities because of the fear that economic independence will make women arrogant and less submissive. The traditionally accepted view that all property belongs to the husband, even though acquired by the wife, makes it impossible for women to have access to loans. (Vuorela 1987, Ngaiza et al. 1991, Tripp & Swantz 1996.)