Tanzania is a portmanteau of "Tanganyika" and "Zanzibar", the two parts of present-day Tanzania that were united in 1964. It's current guise owes much to the policies of Ujamaa established by "Mwalimu" (teacher) Julius Nyerere, the first leader of Tanzania. Under this version of African socialism, the 120-odd tribes were mixed into various collectives throughout the country, which has to the day resulted in Tanzania being held as a model for peace and stability, as it has only been at war once since independence (with Uganda), and unlike many African countries, there is no intertribal or religious conflict due to the (initially forced) free association of its diverse peoples. Nyerere also established a policy that in national census polls, the published religious demographics should always be 33% Christian, 33% Muslim, and 34% other indigenous beliefs so that no religion felt threatened even though the reality is the Islam has a greater number of practitioners and Zanzibar is almost exclusively Muslim as it was formerly part of the Omani Sultanate.
Swahili is the lingua franca of Tanzania, and unlike Kenya where English is widely spoken, the prevalence of English is limited depending on where one is. Due to the prevalence of corruption regarding detention of law-breakers being curtailed through bribes, communities came to embrace a form of mob justice wherein those who are convicted of a (street) crime are cornered by a large group of individuals from the community, who will then beat the perpetrator (even if there is no substance to the accusation), sometimes to death. This implies that as countries go (and African countries especially), Tanzania is generally safe and most Tanzanians are very friendly and community-oriented. It has developed tourist infrastructure serving the many national parks where safaris are common, as well as in Zanzibar, where beaches, historical culture, and favourable tax policy lure those looking for culture or relaxation. Tanzania is also one of the largest countries by area in Africa and despite having the largest population of any country entirely south of the equator, it remains 60% rural and the capital city Dar es Salaam is the only city with a population of (appreciably) more than a million inhabitants. With predictions of increasingly rapid urbanization, Dar is slated to more than double its current 7.7 million population by 2050.
Although boasting the wealth of mines (including the endemic and coveted mineral tanzanite), land, and natural resources, Tanzania is still a very poor country. It borders eight other countries, and of these only Kenya ranks higher in per capita GDP. In 2015, after a series of government scandals and accusations of internal corruption, the ruling CCM nominated Minister of Transportation John Magufuli for the Tanzanian presidency. Nicknamed "the bulldozer", he set about taking a decidedly anti-colonialist stance in contrast to his predecessors and pushed for rapid industrialization, spending reductions (including diverting Independence Day celebration funding to hospitals), and the renegotiation of contracts with multinational corporations. He was also one of few nations to refuse to disclose COVID statistics and the implementation of vaccination programs. His death in March 2021 was announced as being related to a pre-existing heart condition, but speculation was rife that it was COVID-related. Upon his death, Samia Suluhu became the first female President of Tanzania and the first to come from Zanzibar (based on national policy, the President and Vice President must come one from Tanganyika and one from Zanzibar).
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