Sad story of Tanga’s industrial past

Tanga. Decades ago, the residents of Tanga coined a Kiswahili expression “Tanga ni Raha” (Tanga is a place where you enjoy). Back then, it went without saying—it was the place to be—what with the booming economy that positioned the region as the most successful in the country.

Anyone who lived in Tanga six decades ago will tell you the expression was an apt description of a region that was once the attraction of thousands of people from across the country.

From the expansive sisal plantations to the flourishing industries, by an measure, Tanga was what you could pass for a perfect case of industrial growth.

For years, Tanga manufactured goods dominated the shops in the country. Mass manufactured items were produced more efficiently and competitively than, arguably, anywhere else in the country.

Press fast-forward to 2016— things have changed. Many of the residents, who have seen it all, the region’s transformation over the years, will sing for you, a sad love song — a far cry from the romanticised video of the region by Bongo Flava artiste Tunu Aliyetunukiwa, Tanga Raha, Haina Karaha (Tanga is about joy, there’s no annoyance).

“It simply explains the Tanga of yesteryear….A Tanga that was indeed full of enjoyment….It was that way during our childhood when sisal earnings accounted for 50 per cent of government revenue,” says 76-year-old Ramadhan Hiza, a resident of Magomeni B in Tanga City.

Longing for the past

He is not the only one who is more nostalgic about Tanga. Many of the region’s older really miss the past, when Tanga’s economy was next to none in the then Tanganyika.

The region’s economic history dates back to the days of Portuguese traders, who established a trading post in the region during the 16th century. Even when the Sultanate of Oman defeated the Portuguese in the 18th century, Tanga continued to act as a trading port for ivory and slaves.

That was the Tanga that the Germans found when they bought the coastal strip of Tanganyika from the Sultan of Zanzibar in 1891.

Tanga went on to become not only the first German establishment in East Africa, but also the centre for the German colonial administration before the establishment of Dar es Salaam in the 20th century. The Germans built a tram line to facilitate domestic transport. They also built a port to facilitate exports. The Usambara Railway began and was later extended to Moshi. They also brought in sisal, which, combined with a functioning infrastructure, saw the economy of Tanga expanding to be next to none in Tanganyika.

Betraying his nostalgia, 68-year-old Hamisi Mzee, also a resident of Tanga says: “Tanga was the first to have a Post Office in Tanganyika.

It was the first to have a police station in the country as settlers wanted protection. The first tarmac road in Tanganyika was built between Tanga and Korogwe, and it was also the first region to have a vehicle showroom.”

Several processing factories

Mr Mzee, who is the deputy chairman of the Tanga Dairy Cooperatives Union, said during the early days of independence, Tanga boasted several successful processing factories.

They included metal processing factory; Kilimanjaro Blankets; Gossage, which produced shirts; a fertiliser processing factory, Amboni Plastics; a soap manufacturing factory, which produced Mbuni and other soap brands; Singh Saw Mill and Kilan Industries, which owned several processing factories.

It was this strong industrial base and a booming sisal sector that resulted in the residents coining the expression ‘Tanga Raha’. But it wasn’t just the presence of the factories – it was perhaps the fact that the residents somehow ‘enjoyed’ the benefits.

Back then, at the end of every month, and on the 15th, owners of sisal estates and manufacturing firms from various districts in Tanga would bring their workers to the city for shopping and entertainment.

“Every last Saturday of the month was set aside for enjoyment and shopping as workers in sisal estates and their counterparts in processing factories thronged the city….this is how the ‘Tanga Raha’ expression was coined,” said Mr Mzee.

Unfortunately, all that is gone. Most of the processing factories are not operational. Many track the falling apart of Tanga’s once robust industry to the days of Ujamaa, during the early days of a politically independent Tanzania.

Under the Ujamaa policy, the government took over control of all the means of production from the private sector, including trade in agricultural products. Tanga started losing its economic status to Dar es Salaam.

A drop in world prices of sisal also brought to an end the existing linkages between the crop and Tanga’s processing factories.

‘The government’s own doing’

“In short, the fall of Tanga’s industrial base is simply the government’s own doing and residents deserved to be compensated for that. Those days the term unemployment did not exist here because jobs were all over,” says Mr Mzee, adding:

He adds: “Even the unemployed youth could simply go to the port and wait for ships to arrive,” says Mr Mzee.

Regional authorities say Tanga has really lost its position due to a number of reasons ranging from policy changes to infrastructure challenges.

When privatisation was adopted in the 1990s, the aim was to make sure the government leave business activities to private players and concentrate on the provision of infrastructure and support services for businesses to thrive.

However, almost 20 years since the policy was adopted, it has had both negative and positive outcomes, with both parties – the public and private sectors – shouldering part of the blame.

Tanga trade and investment officer Musa Mwalilino mentions three reasons for the death of industry. The factors are cited in a survey conducted by region’s regional authorities.

Double-dealing by investors

“Some investors bought several factories offering the same products in different regions to deliberately halt operations in one region and concentrate on a factory a different place of their choice. Some factories ended up dying in Tanga because of this,” he says.

Lack of raw materials

“Some factories, like the Sandari Wood, which was never a state-owned entity, died due to lack of raw materials, precipitated by a change in policy while others also stopped production due to a lack of serious investment, contrary to their earlier pledges.”

Poor infrastructure

“Similarly, inadequate electricity, which is characterised by intermittent outages and poor sea port facilities as well as an almost worthless railway system that connected Tanga to the rest of the country, are also to blame.”

Apparently, these happen to be the same issues that private sector bodies – including the Confederation of Tanzania Industry and Tanzania Private Sector Foundation - have always been complaining about..

Bright future

According to Mr Mwalilino, however, regional authorities, in cooperation with the Central Government and other state-owned entities, were doing “everything possible” to retain the region’s lost glory.

“The Regional Commissioner conducted a tour of various factories in the city in January and established that a good percentage of the privatised firms are still operating – including Tanga Cement and PPTL among others,” he said.

He said work was in progress to revive those that are not operational. The former RC, Ms Mwantumu Mahiza, then invited officials from various departments and agencies to work out a plan to address challenges facing the private sector and get the factories running again.

Each department and agency was also required to come up with deadlines on when they will have worked on any particular challenge. The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) has promised to buy budges and tags within the next few months in order to improve efficiency at the Port.

Regional authorities are also banking on a planned “aggressive campaign” to market the region to domestic and foreign investors.

“We do this through investment forums and by participating in a number of promotional campaigns in and outside the country,” Mr Mwalilino told The Citizen.

With such efforts, the region has managed to attract a number of new investors during the past eight years. They include Neelcanth Lime Factory, Tanga Pharmaceuticals & Plastics Limited and Hai Life Factory which manufactures juices.

Tanga is also home to a factory that produces mobile phone airtime recharge vouchers while Rhino Cement and Sungura Cement also new players in Tanga. “Looking forward, we see it very possible to have a Tanga that will be full of industries in the next five years,” said Mr Mwalilino.