Beyond the GDP: What Kenya's hustle culture can learn from Tanzania

Kenya and Tanzania share a long border and communities (tribe is old-fashioned), with places and people’s names replicated across the two countries, which were former British colonies.

Tanzania was under German rule for several years; that is why school is shule. Many people think the main difference between Tanzania and Kenya is language. They almost exclusively speak Swahili; we speak English. The major difference is the economic pace and national identity.

After independence, the two countries took two different paths; Kenya became capitalist, where the private sector took the economic lead.

But that is on paper. In reality, the State still held sway over the economy, with prices of most commodities controlled. Do you recall the fanfare around the budget? Do you recall the boards in various sectors? And the parastatals?

Real capitalism only came after the 1990s liberalisation of the economy under pressure from Bretton Woods institutions. That has done “very well".

Today, even roads are provided by the private sector. The concept of public goods is fading. Remember public-private partnership projects? Who is “private”? 

The capitalist system in Kenya drives even politics, where parties have proliferated. They aim to get the economic power that comes with political power.

The cosy relationship between politics and economics is not healthy for long-term economic growth. It holds innovation hostage and trades efficiency for rent-seeking, better called corruption.

With capitalism, which is misunderstood, we made more businessmen than made entrepreneurs. Society should benefit when real capitalists make their money.

We love phones; Apple and others make money. We love meat; butchers make money. We love entertainment; comedians make their money.

We love food; hotels and vibandaski (shacks) make their money. Make the list longer. Entrepreneurs create something or offer a service, like Google, Toyota, or Safaricom.

What did Kenya’s economic elite make or offer to make their money? An award-winning PhD thesis would be, “How Kenyan elite made their money: 1960-2026”.

What of Tanzania? The Southern neighbour focused on the “people“ part, not the money. Its leaders forged a nation. You feel that nationhood when visiting "TZ" or when you meet Tanzanians abroad.

Never mind the Zanzibar autonomy and last year's events.

The Tanzanian economy was also liberalised in the 1990s, like Kenya's, but the social fabric remained strong. Nationalism triumphed over tribalism. 

In Kenya, economic competition has even taken a tribal angle. Ever wondered why prices are lower across our southern border? The social part of the economy still smoulders in Tanzania, its ashes in Kenya. 

Ujamaa (socialism) may have delayed capitalism, from the Kenyan perspective. But it made Tanzania a more livable and homely country. TZ  has few fences, both stone and barbed wire, around homes and shambas.

That probably shows the level of trust. In a conference, no one warns you not to leave your bag unattended. In Kenya, you are alert everywhere: on the streets, at home, and at the workplace. There is no time to “live".  We might be richer than our neighbours but more stressed. Even holidays stress us!

Tanzanian entrepreneurs admire the Kenyan middle class as a market and consumers. Grass is always greener on the other side.

One businessman across the southern border told me Kenya has a bigger middle class, making it a lucrative market for investors and entrepreneurs.

Does that explain why Tanzanians, Nigerians and South Africans, among others, are buying off our firms or investing in Kenya? Think of Dangote and the new Nation Media owners.

The pace of life is slower in Tanzania. But is that not the ultimate dream of everyone, to live a less stressful life? When did the rat race become a badge of honour?

Being busy to the extent of being unavailable to even your children should not be heroism. Maybe reality and ageing are catching up with us. Noted how holidaying in TZ is more relaxing, aided by the exchange rate?

The political style is converging in both countries and East Africa, with governments taking the lead in big projects. Individuals in the EAC have learned from  Deng Xiaoping, who led China as it opened up in 1978: “ To be rich is glorious".

That discovery should create innovators and globally focused entrepreneurs. But it often creates nepotism as more citizens try to use shortcuts to become rich and glorious.

Noted are Chinese global brands such as BYD, Haier, Huawei, Alibaba, etc. When are we leaving the shores?

Foreign influence is common in both countries, particularly in economic affairs. The residual belief that investors have to be foreign is deeply ingrained.

Curiously, “foreign investors” do not seem to include investors from neighbouring countries despite East African Community protocols. Foreign investors have the advantage of investing in many countries at once. How many indigenous East Africans have done that?

The two countries seem to compete now more than cooperate.  Foreign powers, read China, the US and middle powers, have influence in the two countries, targeting their mineral wealth and building roads and rail networks.

Tanzania seems more nationalistic and less open to foreign influence. I need to live there longer to qualify that statement.

Tanzania feels more homely and less stressful. 

The country seems determined to catch up with Kenya or upstage it. One hopes that as Tanzania becomes richer, it will also become happier and less stressful.

We focus too much on the positive side of capitalism; the negative side should be exposed: the toll on our energy, emotions and happiness.

 Is that why European countries adopted the hybrid social market economic system? It combines free market capitalism with social policies that ensure fair competition and welfare protection. Now respond to my question: Would you prefer to live in Tanzania or Kenya?