Countryfile

TANzANIA

Tanzania’s President Kikwete has now been in power for two years, during which his country has continued to show robust growth. What has been his personal impact on the nation? Analysis by Neil Ford.

A man of the people?

Prior to his election as president, Jakaya Kikwete had a solid reputation as Tanzanian foreign minister and as a member of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party. After two years in power, the time is perhaps ripe to consider Kikwete’s performance to date. The Tanzanian economy continues to make considerable progress, but how great a contribution has the man in charge made towards achieving that success? In many ways, it is difficult to separate Kikwete’s record from that of his predecessors. The political and economic condition of Tanzania prior to economic liberalisation is well known. The African socialism of Julius Nyerere depressed economic growth and deterred investment by Tanzanians and foreign investors alike, but his role in binding 200 different ethnic groups into a Tanzanian nation means that he is still generally regarded fondly as the father of the nation. Yet, since the mid-1980s, his successors have gradually adopted a more market driven approach. This approach has begun to pay

Jakaya Kikwete, the right man at the right time in the right place?

dividends in terms of increased investment and higher levels of growth since the turn of the millennium, under the leadership of Benjamin Mkapa, who served as president for the decade up to 2005. Rather than introducing a whole

new set of economic policies, Kikwete has largely continued to implement Mkapa’s strategy. Social spending has been boosted by the deep-seated debt cancellation that was achieved under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Overall, how

ever, the programme of selective privatisation has been sustained and while the country continues to rely heavily on donor support, expenditure and revenues have largely been balanced. As ever in Tanzania, Kikwete’s political position seems secure. The CCM controls about 90% of all seats in the Bunge or parliament and Kikwete’s popularity within the party does not seem to have suffered since he was elected with 80% of the vote in 2005. Unlike in many African states, the CCM tolerates a reasonable level of internal discussion, debate and even dissent without threatening the position of the president. At this stage, it seems highly unlikely that the party will not retain the incumbent as its candidate for the 2010 election. Given that Tanzanians were prepared to vote for CCM when the economy was stagnating, the ruling party is almost certain to maintain its parliamentary dominance now that the benefits of reform are finally being felt. GDP grew by an estimated 6.2% in 2007 and the government predicts that this rate will rise to 7.3% in 2008, partly because the country will recover from the impact of the 2006-07 drought that hit agricultural output and reduced power generating capacity in hydroelectric plants. However, national power company Tanesco has increased its 2007 tariffs by up to 22%, while the very high oil price continues to climb, so the energy shocks may not quite be over. In addition, there is no guarantee that rainfall will be both plentiful and timely this year.

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African Business | February 2008
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ZRL is one of the most active mineral explorers in southern Africa

ZRL is one of the most active mineral explorers in southern Africa

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ZRL’s principal focus is copper & gold exploration in Zambia. Due to the quality of its assets ZRL has successfully joint ventured out copper-gold and uranium properties to major international mining companies Glencore and Rio Tinto respectively. This allows ZRL to develop its other key quality assets within its exploration portfolio. ZRL is one of the most active mineral explorers in southern

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Africa with 8 rigs drilling on four projects and a budget of USD20 million for the 2007 field season. The Glencore Cheowa Copper-Gold JV is on track progressing towards completion of a Pre-Feasibility Study by mid-2008. At the 100% ZRL owned Kangaluwi Copper-Gold project intensive drilling activity is underway with the aim of defining an initial resource by early 2008.

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www.zambeziresources.com Tel: (+61 8)9216 9000 Fax: (+61 8)9216 9090 info@zambeziresources.com ASX:ZRL AIM:ZRL