Tanzania quietly transforms as we engage in tribal fights

Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli. [File, Standard]

With 2019 drawing to a close, it was time to visit Dar es Salaam during Christmas and New Year.

At the Lunga Lunga immigration office, there were long queues of private cars and buses. Predictably, the clearance exercise was slow with few officers in attendance.

At Horo Horo, the process was faster and the Tanzanian officers were courteous. A few kilometres from Horo Horo, more officers stopped all vehicles to verify that travel documents were in order.

The drive from Horo Horo to Dar was smooth and the roads clearly marked. We stuck to the speed limit, which is lower than Kenya's.

Maybe it is time for our top roads and traffic officials to take a road trip from Mombasa to Dar to benchmark. In Dar, right from the suburbs, traffic lights regulate the flow of vehicles.

In Kenya, traffic officers are the traffic lights thereby messing up everything and causing huge jams.

Once in Dar, it was time to sample the daily routine of wananchi. The Daladala transport system is effective, efficient and cheap. There are no fare hikes even when it rains.

The physically challenged have been given a chance to better their lives and are the only ones allowed to operate tuk-tuks in town. Is there an equivalent programme in Kenya?

People pay to use ferries at the Kivukoni crossing. The ferries are also run efficiently. The bus rapid transit (BRT) system is splendid with dark blue buses zipping by swiftly on clearly designated roads.

In Kenya, the BRT system seems to be stillborn with nothing to show for it. The concerned officials have egg on their faces as it appears they have run out of excuses.

The road network around Dar is being expanded and improved. Like him or hate him, President John Pombe Magufuli is doing great work down south.

Our southern neighbours are quietly but consistently transforming their country. Kenyans will be soon be left wondering at what point we were overtaken.

Our nation seems to have reached a plateau and is going downhill fast. Our leaders seem to have forgotten why they were elected and are only focused on elections in 2022.

The government does not make money; its task is to collect money. It must, therefore, ensure that it creates a conducive environment for businesses to thrive.

Instead, the opposite is happening and shops are closing down at an alarming rate leading to high unemployment numbers.

It is time we humbled ourselves and dropped our obsession with tribal politics to ensure we do not end up as the laughing stock of the region. 

Carey Yiembe, Mombasa