Thursday, July 15, 2010

Compay Segundo



Compay Segundo is a legendary Cuban musician, who hit the word stage with his Chan Chan composition made famous by the film Buena Vista Social Club. With his distinct baritone and ubiquitous cigar and big hat, Compay, who was performing until the age of 96 when he died, became an icon. In these two numbers we hear Cuban music as it should be: sweet but still lively without the steroids they put in once it crosses to Miami.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Rules vs. Norms



After the interruption of the Bumbuli announcement, we now return to our "regularly scheduled program".

Bill Easterly (you can see that I have been following him closely lately), perfectly elucidated a couple of ideas running through my head as I watched Ghana crash out of the World Cup tournament. The piece lay bare some of the conundrums of organising a functioning society. I rehash and summarise some of his arguments from one of his postings in his Aid Watch blog.

"Uruguayan player Luis Suarez illegally blocked a sure Ghana goal with his hands, a goal in the last seconds that would have won Ghana the game. He was ejected according to the rules and Ghana awarded a penalty kick, which they missed, and then Uruguay subsequently won.

Did Suarez cheat? One side would say Suarez realized his team would surely lose if he let the ball go past his hands and lawfully and rationally chose to take the penalty to give his team a chance; the other side says intentionally breaking the rule to prevent a loss was unforgivably unsportsmanlike.

One possible fix is to perfect the rules. If it pays to break the rules, they must be bad rules. The rule could be changed to give an automatic goal in this situation. However, it’s not that easy – it’s impossible to have perfect rules. (The “automatic goal” rule would have worked here, but general application would inevitably lead to new disputes about whether the ball would really have gone in.)

The other solution to imperfect rules is to supplement them with norms. With strong norms in business, a businessman who exploits a loophole to cheat another businessman will often find himself ostracized and will lose a lot of future business, so he doesn’t cheat. Norms can handle complex situations more flexibly than explicit rules, so they are an essential complement to rules.

Unfortunately for Ghana and for a lot of cheating victims in business, norms have to reflect a wide and deep consensus of what is right and a willingness to punish the cheater. If everyone agreed now that Suarez had cheated and will ever after see him as the equivalent of a thieving child-beater, then maybe he would not have used his hands in the first place. Unfortunately, as often happens in developing countries, neither the rules nor the norms were strong enough to prevent cheating and we are the worse for it."

Monday, July 5, 2010

Time Has Arrived!



TAARIFA KWA VYOMBO VYA HABARI

Nimewaiteni kwa mambo mawili. Kwanza, kuzindua kitabu nilichokiandika. Pili, kuzungumzia uvumi na minong’no kwamba natarajia kugombea nafasi ya Ubunge wa Jimbo la Bumbuli.

Nianze na jambo la pili. Baada ya kutafakari kwa kina, na kuzungumza na wana-Bumbuli wenzangu, nimeamua niombe fursa ya kuwa sauti yao, kuwawakilisha na kuwasemea Bungeni, kuwatumikia na kushirikiana nao kusukuma mbele gurudumu la maendeleo ya Jimboni kwetu.

Nimesukumwa na mambo gani?

1. Kwa muda mrefu, nimekuwa na hamu kubwa sana ya kushiriki mijadala ya msingi inayohusu mustakabali wa nchi yetu, nimekuwa na hamu ya kutoa mawazo yangu binafsi na kuyaweka hadharani, kuyaboresha kupitia mijadala na utafiti, na kuyatumia kubadilisha hali za maisha ya watu wa kwetu. Nimeonelea kwamba nafasi ya Ubunge itanipa fursa hii.

2. Naamini kwamba, baada ya kufanya kazi kwa karibu na Rais Kikwete, naweza kuchukua mfano wake kuitumia siasa vizuri zaidi kuitumikia nchi yangu kwa namna pana zaidi. Naamini naweza kushirikiana na vijana wenzangu, wa CCM na wasio wa CCM, kuifanya siasa iwavutie vijana wengi zaidi na ionekane kama ni sehemu ya utumishi wa umma.

3. Asilimia 72 ya Watanzania wana umri wa chini ya miaka 29. Mwaka huu, vijana waliozaliwa mwaka 1992 watapiga kura. Letu ni taifa la vijana. Inabidi ifike mahali vijana sasa wajitokeze kwenye nafasi za uongozi ili sura ya uongozi wa nchi ifanane na hali halisi ya nchi. Tutakapojitokeza wachache na tukafanikiwa, hata vijana wadogo zetu nao watakuwa na hamu ya kufuatilia siasa na tutakuwa hatujawapoteza katika kujihusisha masuala ya nchi na wengine wengi nao watajitokeza kwasababu wataona inawezekana. Hata hivyo ujana peke yake sio sifa ya uongozi.

4. Naamini uzoefu wangu kama Msaidizi wa Rais, kwa kuzunguka na Rais nchi nzima mara mbili, wakati anaomba kura na baada ya kuchaguliwa, ambapo nimelazimika kusoma ripoti za maendeleo za Wilaya karibu zote, ambapo, kama Msaidizi wa Rais, nimehudhuria vikao vya Baraza la Mawaziri na Halmashauri Kuu ya Taifa ya CCM, pamoja na mikutano mingine mingi ya kimataifa na ndani ya nchi, utanisaidia sana kuwa Mbunge mzuri. Naingia kwenye siasa nikiwa nimejifunza mengi kuhusu Serikali na jinsi inavyofanya kazi, nikiwa nimejifunza jinsi baadhi ya maeneo nchini yalivyopiga hatua za maendeleo na mbinu gani wametumia na wale ambao bado hawajapiga hatua ni mambo gani hawajafanya. Nitatumia elimu hii na uzoefu huu kushirikiana na watu wa kwetu Bumbuli kusukuma maendeleo mbele.

Sasa, kutamani Ubunge ni jambo moja, lakini kudhamiria kuwa Mbunge mzuri ni jambo jingine. Nimedhamiria kuwa mtumishi mzuri wa wananchi. Na nimeamua kuufanya mchakato huu wa kuwania Ubunge uwe tofauti kidogo.

Nimefanya utafiti wa kina kuhusu jimbo la Bumbuli. Nimezunguka na kuzungumza na watu wa makundi mbalimbali, vijana , wazee, kina-mama, viongizi, watendaji na wafanyakazi wa Halmashauri ya Wilaya, walimu, viongozi wa vijiji na vitongoji. Nilitaka kujua matumaini yao, kero zao, karaha zao, na mambo yapi wanayatarajia kwa viongozi wao. Nilifanya semina ya siku mbili wa wana-Bumbuli karibu ishirini wanaowakilisha makundi mbalimbali, na tukazungumza kwa kina sana kuhusu masuala ya Bumbuli. Nilipata fursa ya kutazama kwa kina takwimu na taarifa mbalimbali zinazohusu maendeleo ya Jimbo. Nikafanya utafiti wa kina kuhusu dhana nzima ya maendeleo ya maeneo ya milimani. Matokeo ya yote haya ni hiki kitabu. Nimekiita Bumbuli: Jana, Leo na Kesho.

Nilidhani kwamba, kama mtu unaamua kugombea uongozi wa eneo fulani, na kama kweli una dhamira ya dhati ya kuleta mabadiliko kwenye eneo hilo, lazima ujiridhishe kama kweli unayajua mambo ya hapo mahali. Sio kuyajua tu juu juu kwa kuambiwa au kusikia. Uyajue kwa kina, kwa takwimu, na vielelezo na kwa kina. Huwezi kuzungumzia mabadiliko kama huna tarifa zote za kina kuhusu Jimbo lako. Hiki ndicho nilichofanya.

Kitabu nimekimegawanya katika sehemu tatu: Sehemu ya kwanza nimeiita Jana, ambapo tunaangalia historia ya Wasambaa na Usambara kwa ujumla. Historia na utamaduni vina nafasi kubwa kwenye mchakato wa maendeleo. Lazima tuyazingatie haya. Sehemu ya Pili, nimeiita Leo. Yaani Bumbuli ya leo ikoje? Changamoto ni zipi na fursa ni zipi. Na kwa kuzingatia hayo tunaanzaje. Sehemu ya tatu, nimeiita Kesho, ambapo sasa naelezea Bumbuli mpya inaweza kufananaje. Kitabu hiki kitakuwa na matoleo mawili: moja kwa lugha ya Kiswahili na jingine kwa lugha ya Kiingereza. Toleo la Kiswahili litatoka baada ya mwezi mmoja. Nimeamua kuandika kwa lugha ya Kiingereza pia kwasababu nadhani moja ya majukumu ya Mbunge ni kupanua wigo wa washirika wa maendeleo wa jimbo lako. Ningependa watu wengi muhimu na mashuhuri niliokutana nao wakati nasafiri na Rais nje ya nchi nao wapate kukisoma, na kutazama ni kwa namna gani wanaweza kusaidia.

Kwakuwa sasa sio wakati wa kampeni, sio vyema kutumia fursa hii kutoa ahadi ambazo zinaweza kutafsiriwa kama sehemu ya kampeni. Na kitabu hiki hakiongelei chochote kuhusu Ubunge wala Mbunge wala dhamira yangu ya kugombea. Kinatoa fursa kwa mtu yoyote - mwekezaji, mtalii, mtafiti na wengineo – kuifahamu vizuri Bumbuli.

Lakini kwa kuwa mimi nina dhamira ya kugombea Ubunge, nimetumia fursa ya kukiandika ili kujifunza, lakini pia nitakitumia kama mwongozo wangu.

Kwenye kitabu tunaona kwamba asilimia 90 ya wakati wa Bumbuli wanategemea kilimo. Hata hivyo, wakati Tanzania nzima wastani wa wakati kwa eneo ni watu 49 kwa kilomita moja ya mraba, Jimbo la Bumbuli wastani ni watu 309 kwa kilomita moja ya mraba, na wastani wa watu wanne wanalima katika hekta moja ya ardhi. Maana ya takwimu hizi ni kwamba watu wana vishamba vidogo sana, na uzalishaji ni mdogo na tija ni ndogo. Kwahiyo, ni muhimu kubadilisha hali hii. Nitashirikiana na wananchi kuhakikisha tunaongeza tija kwenye kilimo lakini vilevile tunajikita kwenye kuzalisha mazao yenye thamani kubwa zaidi, na kutafuta soko la maana la mazao ya wakulima.

Katika Wilaya ya Lushoto yenye majimbo matatu, zao la chai linalimwa kwenye Jimbo la Bumbuli pekee. Lakini ukiwatazama wakazi wa Bumbuli huwezi kujua kwamba wanalima zao lenye soko la dunia. Ukitazama kwenye kitabu nimejaribu kulinganisha kati ya mkulima wa chai Rungwe na yule wa Mponde, kule kwetu. Inasikitisha. Wastani wa bei ya majani mabichi ya chai kule Bumbuli ni shilingi 130 kwa kilo, wakati Rungwe ni karibu mara tano ya hiyo. Chai ni ile ile na mnada wa chai ni huo huo kule Mombasa. Wakulima wa chai Bumbuli wanatumia eneo kubwa zaidi kwa asilimia 40 kuliko wale wa Rungwe lakini tunazalisha kidogo zaidi – kwa tofauti ya kati ya kilo 200 hadi 330 za majani yaliyosindikwa kwa hekta. Utafiti wa mwaka 2008 unaonyesha kwamba asilimia karibu 20 ya mashamba ya chai yametelekezwa kwasababu wakulima hawaoni tena faida ya kulima chai. Nimeazimia kushirikiana na wananchi kupata ufumbuzi wa matatizo ya wakulima wa chai.

Tunaona kwamba huduma bado ni tatizo. Wakati wa mvua barabara nyingi hazipitiki na shughuli zinasimama. Watu wanashindwa kwenye kupekeka maiti kwa mazishi au kwenye kuhudhuria harusi au maulidi kwasababu barabara muhimu, kwa mfano ya Soni-Bumbuli, hazipitiki. Mbaya zaidi ni kwamba kule kwetu mvua ni karibu kila siku. Katika jimbo zima la Bumbuli hakuna hata tawi moja la Benki. Inawezekanaje mahali watu wanalima zao kubwa kama chai, wana biashara kubwa za mboga na matunda lakini hawana hata tawi moja la Benki. Matokeo yake ni kwamba hakuna mikopo, na hakuna huduma ya kuweka fedha. Hali hii lazima ibadilike. Lushoto nzima lipo tawi moja tu la Benki. Lakini ukiangalia mahesabu ya lile tawi, pesa zinazowekwa ni maradufu ya pesa zinazokopeshwa. Maana yake ni kwamba ile Benki iko pale kukomba pesa za eneo lile, eneo la watu ambao ni masikini, bila kutoa huduma za mikopo. Hili na lenyewe nitalitazama.

Kwenye elimu, bado ziko changamoto nyingi. Watoto wengi hawamalizi shule ya msingi. Mwaka huu, 2010, wanafunzi 1,286 hawakuingia darasa la saba kutokea darasa la sita, na kati hao, tofauti na sehemu nyingine nchini, wengi wao, karibu asilimia 71, ni wavulana. Lazima tumalize tatizo hili.

Serikali imejitajidi kujenga shule nyingi za Sekondari. Lakini bado mahitaji yapo. Hadi sasa, wanafunzi waliopo darasa la saba ni takriban 5,548. Kama wote wataingia kidato cha kwanza, yatatakiwa madarasa mapya karibu 160 na walimu wengi zaidi, jambo ambalo haliwezekani kwa muda uliopo. Lakini tukienda na mwenendo wa hali halisi, labda asilimia 8-10 ya wanafunzi hawa, yaani wanafunzi kati ya 450 hadi 550, ndio wataingia kidato cha kwanza, na nusu ya hawa ndio watamaliza sekondari. Je, hawa wengine wanaenda wapi? Nitakaa na wananchi wa Bumbuli na kuzungumza kwa kina kuhusu yote haya. Tunapaswa kuongeza shule za Sekondari na hata zile zilizopo zinapaswa kuimarishwa ili kuwa na hadhi na uwezo wa kutoa elimu bora. Katika Jimbo la Bumbuli hatuna shule hata moja ya kidato cha tano na sita. Hili tutalirekebisha.

Huduma ya afya na yenyewe bado haijawafikia wananchi wale kwa kiwango cha kuridhisha ingawa jitihada zimefanyika. Kwa kweli yapo mengi ambayo siwezi kuyamaliza kuyazungumzia yote. Lakini nimejiandaa vizuri. Nimefanya utafiti wa kina kuyajua matatizo ya Bumbuli, nimezungumza sana na watu wa Bumbuli, wazee kwa vijana, kina mama kwa watoto, wanyabiashara, viongozi wa dini, na viongozi wa vijiji na vitongoji, na wamenieleza mambo gani wanayatarajia, na mimi nimejiandaa kushirikiana nao kuyafanikisha.

Nawashukuru kwa kunisikiliza

January Makamba
5 Julai 2010