Lipumba tears into ‘Ujamaa’ socialism the Arusha Declaration
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| Prf Ibrahim Lipumba the chairman of the Civic United Front (CUF) |
The Arusha Declaration and poor leadership are to blame for Tanzania’s inability to overcome poverty, ignorance and disease, according to the national chairman of the Civic United Front, Prof Ibrahim Lipumba.
Addressing journalists for the first time since he returned from the US, Prof Lipumba said the country would not attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as long as it continued managing the economy the same way.
The renowned economist told reporters at the party’s headquarters in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the country lacks an organisational framework to oversee national resources.
Prof Lipumba was part of a team of economic experts from around the world who were in the US to research ways to end the economic crunch. During the five months he worked with other economists at the invitation of the National Endowment for Democracy, he presented a paper titled From Ujamaa to Democracy which reflected on the 50 years of Tanzania’s independence.
“In the research I conducted when preparing the paper, I realised that democracy and economic freedom are key elements for any country’s development,” he said. “Ujamaa, brought about by the Arusha Declaration, robbed Tanzanians of democracy and economic freedom.”
By setting limits on how much a citizen should possess and forcing them to live in Ujamaa villages, the Arusha Declaration violated the people’s economic freedom and other rights, Prof Lipumba said, and the decision to nationalise industries and companies killed the industrial sector as it handed the sector to incompetent personnel.
“(Julius) Nyerere (first Tanzania President) did a lot to bring about national cohesion but failed to create a sustainable economy,” the CUF leader said. “The Arusha Declaration is what brought us to where we are now and we will not achieve the MDGs partly due to historical reasons.”
Prof Lipumba said it was saddening that, 50 years after independence, over 70 per cent of Tanzanians were still rooted in extreme poverty despite the country’s immense wealth.
Addressing journalists for the first time since he returned from the US, Prof Lipumba said the country would not attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as long as it continued managing the economy the same way.
The renowned economist told reporters at the party’s headquarters in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the country lacks an organisational framework to oversee national resources.
Prof Lipumba was part of a team of economic experts from around the world who were in the US to research ways to end the economic crunch. During the five months he worked with other economists at the invitation of the National Endowment for Democracy, he presented a paper titled From Ujamaa to Democracy which reflected on the 50 years of Tanzania’s independence.
“In the research I conducted when preparing the paper, I realised that democracy and economic freedom are key elements for any country’s development,” he said. “Ujamaa, brought about by the Arusha Declaration, robbed Tanzanians of democracy and economic freedom.”
By setting limits on how much a citizen should possess and forcing them to live in Ujamaa villages, the Arusha Declaration violated the people’s economic freedom and other rights, Prof Lipumba said, and the decision to nationalise industries and companies killed the industrial sector as it handed the sector to incompetent personnel.
“(Julius) Nyerere (first Tanzania President) did a lot to bring about national cohesion but failed to create a sustainable economy,” the CUF leader said. “The Arusha Declaration is what brought us to where we are now and we will not achieve the MDGs partly due to historical reasons.”
Prof Lipumba said it was saddening that, 50 years after independence, over 70 per cent of Tanzanians were still rooted in extreme poverty despite the country’s immense wealth.
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