FOCUS ON Sadc SUMMIT 2024: Tanzania

THE United Republic of Tanzania is a founding Member State of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), having been one of the nine countries that formed the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) in Lusaka, Zambia, in April 1980.  SADCC transformed into Sadc with the signing of the Sadc Treaty in Windhoek, Namibia, in 1992.

Tanzania includes the Indian Ocean islands of Pemba and Zanzibar and the mainland territory, and is located on the east coast of Africa between the great lakes of the African Rift Valley system in the central part of the continent and the Indian Ocean. 

Tanzania has a common border with Kenya and Uganda to the north; Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the west; and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to the south.

There are over 120 ethnic groups in the country, each with its own language or dialect. Indigenous Tanzanians make up 99 percent of the population, while other groups include Asians, Europeans and Arabs. KiSwahili is the official, universally-spoken language in Tanzania. English, also an official language, is the language of commerce. Elections are held every five years, with the first multi-party election being held in November 1995. The President is the Head of State for a maximum of two terms in office.

Capital City: Dar es Salaam (administrative and commercial) Dodoma (political)

Area of Country: 945 200 square kilometres

Currency: Tanzanian Shilling (TZS) Tsh 1 = 100 cents

Head of State: President Samia Suluhu Hassan

Official Languages: English and KiSwahili

Climate

Mainland Tanzania can be divided into four principal climactic and topographic areas: the hot and humid coastal lowlands of the Indian Ocean shoreline, the hot and arid zone of the broad central plateau, the high inland mountain and lake region of the northern border, where Mount Kilimanjaro is situated, and the highlands of the north-east and south-west, the climates of which range from tropical to temperate. Tanzania’s warm equatorial climate is modified by variations in elevation.

The high amount of solar radiation throughout the year is associated with a limited seasonal fluctuation of temperature. Rainfall is highly seasonal, being influenced greatly by the annual migration of the inter-tropical convergence zone. Roughly half of mainland Tanzania receives less than 750 mm of precipitation annually, an amount considered to be the minimum required for most forms of crop cultivation in the tropics. The central plateau, which receives less than 510 mm per year on average, is the driest area and experiences a single rainy season between December and May.

Because of the historically low density of human settlement, mainland Tanzania is home to an exceptionally rich array of wildlife. Large herds of hoofed animals — wildebeests, zebras, giraffes, buffalo, gazelles, elands, and kudu — are found in most of the country’s numerous game parks. Predators include hyenas, wild dogs, and the big cats — lions, leopards, and cheetahs. Crocodiles and hippopotamuses are common on riverbanks and lakeshores. The government has taken special measures to protect rhinoceroses and elephants, which have fallen victim to poachers. Small bands of chimpanzees inhabit Gombe National Park along Lake Tanganyika. Nearly 1 500 varieties of birds have been reported, and there are numerous species of snakes and lizards.

About one-fourth of Tanzania’s land has been set aside to form an extensive network of reserves, conservation areas, and national parks, a number of which — including the Serengeti National Park, the Selous Game Reserve, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and Kilimanjaro National Park — have been designated UNESCO World Heritage sites.

People

According to most reputable surveys, Tanzania’s population includes more than 120 different indigenous African peoples, most of whom are today clustered into larger groupings. Because of the effects of rural-to-urban migration, modernisation, and politicisation, some of the smallest ethnic groups are gradually disappearing.

As early as 5000 BC, San-type hunting bands inhabited the country. The Sandawe hunters of northern mainland Tanzania are thought to be their descendants. By 1000 BC, agriculture and pastoral practices were being introduced through the migration of Cushitic people from Ethiopia. The Iraqw, the Mbugu, the Gorowa, and the Burungi have Cushitic origins. About 500 ce, iron-using Bantu agriculturalists arriving from the west and south started displacing or absorbing the San hunters and gatherers; at roughly the same time, Nilotic pastoralists entered the area from the southern Sudan.

Today the majority of Tanzanians are of Bantu descent; the Sukuma — who live in the north of the country, south of Lake Victoria — constitute the largest group. Other Bantu peoples include the Nyamwezi, concentrated in the west-central region; the Hehe and the Haya, located in the country’s southern highlands and its north-west corner, respectively; the Chaga of the Kilimanjaro region, who inhabit the mountain’s southern slopes; and the Makonde, who reside in the Mtwara and Ruvuma regions of the south-east.

There are also Asian and European minorities. During the colonial period, Asian immigration was encouraged, and Asians dominated the up-country produce trade.

Unlike many African countries, Tanzania does not have one single politically or culturally dominant ethnic group, although those groups that were subject to Christian missionary influence and Western education during the colonial period (notably the Chaga and the Haya) are better represented in the government administration and cash economy.

Swahili, the national language, is a composite of several Bantu dialects and Arabic that originated along the East African coast and on the island of Zanzibar. Swahili is the lingua franca of the country, and virtually all Tanzanians speak it. Since independence the government and other national institutions have promoted the use of Swahili through literature, local drama, and poetry. Swahili is also used as the medium of instruction in the first seven years of primary education. English is the medium of instruction at higher levels of education and is widely used in government offices.

In addition to Swahili, most African Tanzanians also speak the traditional language of their ethnic group. The main languages spoken by the Asian minorities in Tanzania are Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu.

Roughly one-third of the population is Muslim, the majority of whom are Sunni.

Almost two-thirds of Tanzanians profess Christianity, which in Tanzania includes Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, and Baptist sects. The remainder of the population is considered to hold traditional beliefs. The division is usually not as clear as official statistics suggest, since many rural Tanzanians adhere to elements of their indigenous religious practice.

Economy

The Tanzanian economy is largely agrarian. The country’s preoccupation with agricultural production, which increased in the 1970s and 80s, is a reflection of the government’s commitment at that time to socialist development and central planning, as outlined in the Arusha Declaration of 1967. The declaration also resulted in the nationalisation of a number of industries and public services.

Diamonds, gold, kaolin, gypsum, tin, and various gemstones, including tanzanite, are mined in Tanzania. Gold is an important resource and the country’s most valuable export. There are large exploitable deposits of coal in the southwest, phosphate deposits in Arusha, and nickel in the Kagera region. Natural gas has been discovered at Songo Songo Island. Several international companies have been involved in onshore and offshore petroleum exploration.

Imported petroleum, hydroelectric power, and coal are the main sources of commercial energy. Firewood and charcoal are the major domestic fuels, contributing to a growing concern about deforestation. The majority of those connected reside in urban areas, and plans to take electricity to villages are intended to have the added benefit of also slowing deforestation.

Tanzania’s industry is based on the processing of its agricultural goods and on import substitution — that is, the manufacture (often from imported materials and parts) of products that were once purchased from abroad. The principal industries are food processing, textiles, brewing, and cigarette production. 

Production of cement, clothing, footwear, tyres, batteries, and bottles takes place as well. There are a number of steel mills and a large pulp and paper mill. Bicycles are also manufactured.

Politics

The Interim Constitution of 1965 established the United Republic of Tanzania through the merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, until then separate and independent countries. A permanent constitution for the United Republic was approved in 1977 and amended in 1984 to include a Bill of Rights.

Zanzibar has a separate constitution, approved in 1979 and amended in 1985. The executive branch is composed of a President, elected by popular vote to a maximum of two five-year terms, and a Cabinet called the Supreme Revolutionary Council. Zanzibar’s parliament, the House of Representatives, is made up of elected and appointed members. These political bodies deal with matters internal to Zanzibar. 

 The President of the United Republic is the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. The cabinet of ministers is advisory to the president. Prior to 1995, it included two vice presidents: the prime minister, who is appointed by the president and acts as the leader of the cabinet, and the President of Zanzibar. Since then an amendment to the constitution, which was approved in 1994 and took effect after the 1995 general election, has rescinded the stipulation that called for the President of Zanzibar to serve as a vice president.

According to the 1984 constitutional amendments, most members of the unicameral National Assembly are directly elected.

By law Tanzania was a one-party state until 1992, when the constitution was amended to establish a multiparty political process. In 1977 the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), which had led the colony to independence, and the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) of Zanzibar, which had taken power after a coup in 1964, merged to form the Revolutionary Party (Chama cha Mapinduzi; CCM), and a new constitution was adopted the same year. Prior to the 1992 amendment, the CCM dominated all aspects of political life.

In 1995, Tanzania conducted its first multiparty general elections in more than 30 years for the Office of President and for members of parliament. Although more than a dozen opposition political movements were officially registered and participated in the elections, the CCM continued to control the Union government. Individuals are eligible to vote at 18 years of age, and suffrage is universal. – Sadc.int/Brittanica.