Rows with neighbours will hurt our economy : The Standard

• XN Iraki 30th Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMT +0300

No sooner were we through with the Chinese in Gikomba than we turned to our neighbours to the south, Tanzania. While China may be seen as a rising power, a countervailing force to American influence, it’s not clear why we should rant against Tanzanians. In street conversations we look down upon Tanzania because of her Ujamaa background. Yet the country has solved the biggest problem in Africa, tribalism. Now they can embark on economic growth, which is much easier than resolving the socio-psychological problem called tribalism.  We also in silence admire the power of the Tanzanian president. Could we be turning against Tanzania because it’s an easier target compared to the bigger and more powerful China? How come we rarely rant against Western powers including our former colonial master Britain? Why should we rant against one of our key trading partners? The last time I checked Kenya had a trade surplus with Tanzania. It is strange why anyone would call for expulsion of Tanzanians, members of the East African Community (EAC) with whom we share tribes, rivers and mountains - not forgetting Swahili.

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The mistrust among East Africans cost them one of the most successful economic projects, the EAC. Young Kenyans taking buses that ply Ngong Road may not know why a bus stage bears the name “Community”. Most departments of EAC had headquarters there. That included ports, harbours and railways. After the community’s collapse in 1977, we wasted another 12 years to revive it. Different political ideologies and political chaos in Uganda may have contributed to the death of EAC. Think of the progress made by other regions in the 12 years from 1977 to 1999 including introduction of the Euro in the European Union. Yet when I visit Tanzania, they take US dollars but not Kenya shillings.  Bad relations with our neighbours is not just noise, it costs us jobs once the level of trade falls. Reduced tourism is also costly to jobs. It’s instructive that even when no MP is ranting against Tanzanians, the attitude of the two countries to each other is not very cordial. I often feel more at home in Uganda than Tanzania. We have shifted to Tanzania without sorting the maritime border with Somalia, our eastern neighbour. Discovery of some mineral wealth under the sea may be driving the dispute and we are seeking international arbitration over that border. While each country has legitimate reasons to pursue its own interests, we should perhaps wait for Somalia to stabilise. Or is this the strategic time when the nation is at its weakest?  We have argued that beyond the potential oil in the maritime block, Somalia is a market for our goods and services. The best way to pacify the country would be to make her part of EAC. The truth is that unless we merge with these countries, they will always be our neighbours. I do not see the undoing of the 1885 Berlin conference any time soon. 

SEE ALSO :Vodacom alleged to have caused Sh470m loss to Tanzanian government

When we are not quarreling with our neighbours, we are at logger heads with each other - counties with counties over water and other resources, or county against national government over money or other issues. Before that, it was war between deputy governors and their bosses.  We love quarreling over nature’s resources - but not over what we have created through innovations. That seems to be the hallmark of developing  countries from DR Congo to Nigeria or Iraq.  We could argue that we have taken quarrels into our homes going by reported cases of domestic violence. When there is no physical violence, we replace it with emotional violence. Even in the work place, peace is rare with employees living under the long shadow of fear. Many fear over their jobs, which slows productivity. It is paradoxical that quarreling with each other either as nations, counties or at home takes place in a continent famous for its socialism and taking care of each other. Why do we quarrel? Could it be our helplessness? Xenophobic or quarrelsome communities often have problems that have been neglected for long. Such problems are usually fodder for opportunistic politicians. They stoke fear based on popular prejudices that are hard to prove. How do Tanzanians or Chinese take our jobs?   Worldwide immigrants create more jobs than indigenous people. If we want more jobs, we should welcome immigrants and make it easier for them to get work permits. I’m sure immigrants to Nairobi create more jobs than indigenous Nairobians. There are mechanisms to stop them swamping us or taking over the country.

SEE ALSO :Tanzania's tourism revenues jump to Sh243b in 2018

Understand capitalism The other cause of quarrels with neighbours, we have repeatedly argued, results from our failure to understood the essence of capitalism which was never about making more money than anyone else. It was about making money while making life better for other people.  By failing to understand capitalism and its derivatives, we have planted the seeds of corruption and other vices. We can’t differentiate theft from capitalism. In fact, to the corrupt, they are just making money.  Quarreling with our spouses and our neighbours is a clear indicator that we need to be re-educated on the basic tenets of capitalism. That is why in developed countries philanthropy is rife and the unemployed get welfare allowances. That creates social harmony. They also know that money is made from people, not from trees. Why should we quarrel with neighbours at whatever level yet they help us make money by buying our goods or services? Why should we quarrel with men and women who ought to make our life easier and more pleasant? Have we forgotten that no man is an island? Let us return to reason.

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- The writer teaches at the University of Nairobi

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TanzaniaChinaGikombaTradersEconomy