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Have we met management needs since independence?
2006-03-21 08:32:03
By David TendaiI
Tanzania, like any other African country that was once under colonial rule is still grappling with the effects of colonialism.
Much has been done but still more has to be done to bridge the gap.
One of the greatest felt needs in post-independent Tanzania is that of management skills.
As a result of the natural rebirth generated by independence, there has been a mushrooming growth of new projects and programmes.
However, the success of these enterprises greatly depends on the level of management skills as well as on the supporting administrative infrastructures.
Whether it is in the field of managing co-operatives and newly established business enterprises or in the bureaucracies of central or local government, new managers and administrators need relevant management skills to ensure maximum success of the various organizations.
Administrative structures are constructed by human beings for specific purposes.
As it can be reasonably assumed that some of the objectives of the new Tanzania differ significantly from the objectives of the new post colonial and settler governments, it is pertinent to explore how far the existing administrative structures enable these new objectives to be achieved and how far they militate towards the realization of old objectives.
Nearly all higher forms of life, from bees to baboons, survive through well worked out systems of co-operation, inter-dependence and specialized labour.
Human beings are able to go further by developing widely varied social and administrative systems suited to different ecological situations, different technologies, different cultures and philosophies.
Administrative systems can be compared to machines specially built by human beings for specific purposes. A sewing machine differs greatly from an aeroplane engine, but each provides auseful service to people.
Similarly, there are different administrative systems designed to achieve widely varied ends.
In post-independent Tanzania there’s an urgent need to examine the administrative systems inherited from the colonial regime in order to evaluate how far they can successfully fulfill new social goals.
The colonial regime followed a policy deliberately depriving the indigenous population of higher as well as middle level management skills and experience because it was easier to manipulate a poorly educated populace than a highly educated one.
Tanzania has now gained political independence, but there’s further need to consolidate this independence in the administrative and economic fields.
In order to attain such goals, knowledge and experience of administrative structures and skills are critical factors. Without them success will be unattainable.
Tanzania was fortunate that at independence she already had a small but significant number of skilled personnel who had gained invaluable administrative experience.
Some gained the experience in the ranks of the liberation forces, while others gained it locally, in the fields like trade union, church, school and hospital administration where they were able to exercise some authority.
However, this small elite will not be able to transform Tanzania unless they can create suitable and strong administrative infrastructure to support national aims.
Moreover, it is equally important that their efforts are underpinned by a far larger body of skilled higher and middle level management personnel.
Thus, it is essential that management skills as well as the understanding of management systems become common knowledge.
Tanzania’s independence in 1964 gave a boost to development, leading to the initiating of a large number of new enterprises.
At national level, ministries which had only served a minority of the population expanded to include the majority.
New ministries were opened to undertake tasks which had previously been neglected.
Currently there has been a marked improvement in administration and education with many women taking up administrative posts in government due to the education that they received.
We cant say we have achieved it all but at least we have to congratulate ourselves for the progress so far made.
At the same time we have to keep working towards improving our standards in all spheres of life so as to bridge the gap created by colonialism.
We are not alone in fighting this battle since all African countries suffer from the effects of colonial inequalities. Everyone has to be involved if we are to make any headway. We should not leave everything to government.
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