President urges ‘self development through self reliance’

BENJAMIN WILLIAM MKAPA President of Tanzania

Benjamin Mkapa was elected President of Tanzania in the country’s first multi-party election in 1995 on a platform of economic reform and a pledge to tackle corruption. Re-elected as head of state by an overwhelming majority in October 2000, he outlines the challenges facing his government in its second term in office.

How would you describe the investment climate in present day Tanzania?
Here is a nation that is at peace with itself and at peace with its neighbors. It has a government that is well-founded democratically and one that has created a positive environment for investment, a government that is seeking to actively involve the population in the development of the country.

What are the government’s priorities at the moment?
I think that continuing our reform package, tackling corruption and having the courage of our convictions would be a fair description of our priorities. Our reforms are now well underway and are firmly rooted. We are also looking to receiving more in terms of investment from abroad particularly in agricultural processing where we lack the capital and knowledge of the market.

What has been the government’s biggest achievement to date?
Because we were once a public sector driven economy, there was a sizable degree of “dependence syndrome” where everyone thought the government would do everything. What our reforms have done is to inspire the population to put our national philosophy of ‘self development through self reliance’ into practice in the management of their own lives. We have said that the responsibility of government is to build the infrastructure, but a great deal of development can be achieved through self-reliance and community initiatives.

What are the greatest challenges facing your government?
We must develop the human resources we have through education. In our poverty eradication program, which has been endorsed by the IMF and World Bank, a great deal of emphasis has been placed on education so that the people can have the tools with which to implement self development.
Apart from that we have a very serious threat in the form of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the fight against it is very high on my agenda.

What do you hope to have achieved by the time you leave your presidency?
I would really like to think that I will have contributed to the consolidation of a sense of nationhood, of political pluralism and of democratic governance through the rule of law. I would also like to ensure that sustainability is achieved so that economic growth can give the people real hope in the system we have established.