Makinikia and economic liberation: The untold story-13

The dawning of the new regime; the Fifth Phase Government in the fall of 2015 was the beginning of new dynamics in the mining sector mirroring a completely new outlook of making the mining industry more beneficial to the country and its people.

This was the new so called patriotic era with leaders believing that they were ordained to stop the plundering of mineral resources by imperialists in the name of investment and bring more value to the country.

The new President strongly believed that Tanzania with an ironic endowment of mineral resources was a rich nation that was supposed to be self-reliant.

In many occasions the nation’s leader reiterated that “…we have been looted a great deal and now this plunder must stop, so that we are never again exploited…”

These words of the President reminded me of Part Three of the Arusha Declaration that decorated the policy on self-reliance by decreeing:”… We have been oppressed a great deal, we have been exploited a great deal and we have been disregarded a great deal.

It is our weakness that has led to our being oppressed, exploited and disregarded.

Now we want a revolution – a revolution which brings an end to our weakness, so that we are never again exploited, oppressed, or humiliated…”

Indeed the Fifth Phase Government governance of the country was another epoch in the Tanzanian history of trying a direct head-on attempt to emancipate itself from economic bondage as was attempted in the late 1960’s through the Arusha Declaration.

Some people even said that a new Mwalimu was here at last.

Under the patronage of the President the nation was determined to protect its mineral resources from alleged looting by investors whom were now openly being called mabeberu (imperialists).

There was hard-talk emanating from the State House which left an impression to be reckoned.

The ordinary majority of Tanzanians were filled with great expectations that this Government could create a new self-reliant Tanzania without corruption; little did they know that the mining industry was to be thrown into unpredictability and many experts and political leaders of the former regimes were accused of collaborating with investors to loot the country and many were arraigned and some imprisoned as economic saboteurs and money launderers.

With this new governance style it was apparent that the deeper realization that had befallen the previous leadership and experts that minerals were international resources; subject to the world economic trends in exploration, exploitation and application and that investment in mining was a global competition on access to capital and technology.

Henceforth, the 2 global geopolitical dynamics always affected processes in developing nations and that the mining industry review processes needed a sober and balanced mind with dual natured determination of a humble sheep and a canning attitude of a wolf to navigate through these challenges; suddenly this view point evaporated from experts and leaders of the new regime.

The principle of the government walking on an invisible line of ensuring that the country receive the rightful share from the mineral endowment as well as investors obtain the rightful return on investment and avoid investors to quit was abandoned.

The delicate act of balancing between the investor and the citizenry was bewilderedly truncated and the Government showed a skew towards the interest, freedom and sovereignty of a country and its people.

A new set of mining reforms were looming and investors were concerned and troubled again.

What came to pass of the Makinikia Saga left most Tanzanian citizen bewildered as will be told in black and white in the coming articles beginning next week.

Next week we will therefore begin to re-count the activities of the Fifth Phase Government to review once again the mining sector with a view of ending foreign domination in mining investments to ensure more benefits accrual from the mining sector but in style.

A series of articles will digest the apex events of the Untold Story of Makinikia.