As Tanzanians explore structures of government to adopt, I suggest they consider devolution.
Devolution refers to the statutory transfer of powers from the central government of a sovereign state – in this case the Union Government of Tanzania – to governments at a sub-national level – in this case the regions. It differs from federalism in that devolved powers ultimately reside in the central government, thus the state remains, de jure unitary.
Isn't this the solution to our little problem? It offers us some kind of a midpoint between those who think that we need one government (Unionists) and those who are of the view that we need three (federalists). I subscribe to the view that none of the above will work to quash dissatisfactions fully, and that the latter will lead to the eventual collapse of the Union. As patriots, we should shiver to even entertain such a thought!
Now, imagine a scenario of three tiers of government: The Union government, the regional government and the local government. Each of the 26 regions of the country, counting Zanzibar as one, has its own regional government, consisting of a regional executive committee and a regional assembly.
The governors and the lieutenant governors are the chief executives and deputy chief executives of the regions respectively.
Of course, the Union government still controls the major revenue bases (income tax, Customs, corporate tax, VAT etc), but the regional governments collect some taxes such as property tax and all taxes on beer and gambling.
A given fraction of the union government's revenues are shared out among the regions according to a given formula that takes various parameters such as population and land area into account.
Powers devolved to the regional governments include regional agriculture, regional education and health services, regional transport, intra-regional trade, regional planning and development, disaster management and emergency services, regional public works, coordination of local governments et cetera.
All powers not assigned to the regions remain as powers of the Union government. Each region has two senators who represent it in the senate, and is divided into a number of constituencies, depending on its population, for representation in the national assembly.
Each region also serves as a single member constituency for the election of women representatives to the national assembly. In accordance with the Union Treaty, should the president hail from one side of the Union (Tanganyika or Zanzibar), then the vice president must come from the other side.
In the above model, for one, the Zanzibaris will enjoy a reasonable amount of autonomy from the Union. They will have an assembly and executive, serving under a "Governor of Zanzibar."
They will have authority to make and implement decisions that fall within their exclusive jurisdiction. However, they will have to recognise that they are part of a larger state, Tanzania.
Secondly, it guarantees the safety and continuity of our Union by establishing a strong Union government, unlike in the proposed federal structure. It also honours the Union treaty's provision of having the president and vice president come from different sides of the Union.
Lastly, it brings with it all the advantages of having a devolved government, including more localised representation of political views, more localised spending of resources, promotes democratic and accountable exercise of power, balances economic development in the country, gives powers of self-governance to the people and enhances the participation of the people in national socioeconomic development, protects and promotes the interests and rights of minorities and marginalised communities.
If properly administered, each of our regions could be turned into a self-sufficient economic territory!
Let's shun ideology of the tribe
Kenya has been a victim of ethnicity that feeds on hatred and dominance by people of a given tribe. This has seen every election reduced to ethnic mobilisation to win power.
Kenyans must now shift gear to politics of ideology for that is what good democratic practices are founded on. Shall we get there at one time?