Socialist Tanzania

Nyerere took control of a country that was not only poor but also had no economic direction. It was politically fragile due to it's tenuous control over the Zanzibar archipelago and education had also been neglected - it was estimated that there were no more than 120 university graduates in the entire country. This situation prompted Nyerere's Arusha Declaration of 1967 which committed Tanzania to a policy of 'ujamaa na kujitegmea' - socialism and self-reliance. The foundation of this policy was the 'ujamaa' or 'familyhood village'. The ujamaa was an agricultural cooperative with traditional African values and a specific emphasis on self reliance. Basic tools and goods were held in common and shared amongst the villagers, while each individual was required to work.

Nyerere's proposals for education were equally noble and seen as an essential component of this scheme. They were designed to encourage cooperative endeavour, to promote social equality and responsibility, and discourage intellectual arrogance among the educated. Other aspects of the Arusha Declaration included nationalisation of the economy and tax increases aimed at redistributing individual wealth.

Between 1973 and 1978, 85% of Tanzania's rural population was resettled, often forcibly, into more than 7,000 planned villages. This was done in order to make agricultural modernisation and basic services more amenable to the people. It did not work. The neccessary finances were not available for the task and there was widespread resentment among the people at being forcibly resettled. The government's authoritarian response to this opposition did little to help matters. Despite the unpopularity of the ujamaa system it was successful from a nation building aspect and it is credited with unifying the country, bridging both ethnic and religious boundaries as well as improving education and healthcare.

Between 1978 and 1984, Tanzania's per capita income dropped and agricultural production became almost stagnant. The industrial sector ran at less than 50% of capacity. This decline was a combination of a number of factors including the sharp oil-price rises of the 1970's, drops in value of coffee and sisal exports and the 1977 break-up of the East African Community which resulted in a border closure with Kenya, not to mention the war with Uganda and a prolonged drought in the early 1980's.

After his re-election in 1980, Nyerere announced that he would retire at the end of his five-year term and in 1985 he was succeeded as President by Ali Hassan Mwinyi, although Nyerere remained chairman of the CCM until 1990. A new dawn was beginning for Tanzania.