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Number 5, 2015
ISSN 821-7001
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Editorial v
Enock E. Mlyuka . 1
Arnold Gawasike .. 69
Neema Kibona .. 82
Book Review: De la Torre, M.A. (2013). Liberation Theology for Armchair Theologians
This volume of TEKU Journal (Number 5) contains both theoretical and research articles
focusing on the Tanzania education system and socio-economic development. The articles in
this Journal are greatly varied in themes. They range from Teachers job satisfaction in
Tanzania; Ring fencing scheme in mineral taxation; Agriculture and rural development; Use
of Kiswahili language in globalizing knowledge in Tanzania; Naming system in Safwa; and
Small and medium enterprises and public procurement.
Please feel free to forward your suggestions and recommendations about this Journal to
drcpps@teku.ac.tz. We welcome positive ideas that would make TEKU Journal better for
readers and subscribers. I hope you will enjoy reading articles published in this volume and
continue to contribute articles to this Journal.
Editor-in-Chief
Enock E. Mlyuka
The Open University of Tanzania
Email:enomlyuka@yahoo.co.uk
Abstract
This study assessed the extent to which work dimensions affect job satisfaction among
public primary school teachers in Tanzania. The study was based in Iringa Region as
a case study area. Forty two (42) public primary schools were randomly selected for
the study from all the districts of the region. Sampling procedure adopted used the
principle of purposive, stratified and simple random samplings. Data was collected
using observations, individual interviews, documentary review and structured
questionnaires. Closed ended questions were used as survey instruments. Cronbachs
Alpha Coefficient was used to determine internal consistency of constructs.
Quantitative data were edited and transformed using the SPSS software version 20
for easy interpretation. Content analysis was utilized to analyse qualitative data.
Generally, the study has shown that work dimensions, namely, living and working
conditions, recognition, advancement opportunities and supervision have great
influence on teacher job satisfaction.
Key words: Job satisfaction, living and working conditions, recognition, advancement
opportunities and supervision.
Job satisfaction is not a new phenomenon in organizational theory. It is one of the topics that
have drawn interest among scholars for some time. Many studies have been conducted on job
satisfaction for over six decades now and thousands of articles have been published.
However, most of the published studies relate to developed countries such as the United
States of America, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, within contexts far different
from Tanzania. Only a few studies have been undertaken in the developing countries
(Michaelowa, 2002; Zembylas & Papanastasious, 2006), including Tanzania. Examples can
be drawn from a few studies on education sector by Phipps (1968); Puja (1976); Mwollo-
Ntallima (1981); Mwakilembe (1981); Muze (1987); Odhiambo (2003); Maro (2004);
Mlyuka (2009); Ngumbudzi (2009); Sirima and Poipoi (2010); Udo (2011); DZombe
(2013); and Masanja (2013).
1 TEKU Journal No. 5, 2015
Job satisfaction is essential for sustained growth of the education systems around the world.
Teachers are arguably the most important group of professionals for securing Tanzanias
future (Masanja, 2013). Studies have suggested that high quality education and successful
reforms of educational systems are the combined outcomes of a well-trained, motivated,
committed and satisfied teaching staff (Nguni, 2005). Masanja (2013) comments further that
job satisfaction for teachers is a necessity for any successful school in terms of performance
and progress. Job satisfaction is also a primary indicator of teachers performance regarding
teaching and other routine duties.
Teachers are a key resource in school organizations and the development of any country
depends on their work; every country needs educated citizens (Sirima & Poipoi, 2010), which
means hard working teachers. The study of teachers job satisfaction has become imperative
to administrators, academicians, school heads and the Government at large so as to motivate
teachers to perform effectively. Attempts to improve performance in schools will be more
meaningful if the aspect of teacher job satisfaction is seriously taken on board. It is an
undeniable truth that if employees in an organization are motivated, they will render services
to the employer and customers very efficiently and effectively (Mbua, 2003).
It appears that many factors affect the quality of primary education in Tanzania, a key factor
and one that has been largely neglected in Government documents and plans is the survey of
teacher job satisfaction (Rajan & Sumra 2004a). They further argue that the near total
absence of issues related to teacher job satisfaction within Government policy documents and
plans is evidence of the lack of concern by the Tanzanian authorities. Though Tanzanias
Education and Training Policy (URT, 1995) highlights the importance of teachers job
satisfaction, irregular salary payments for teachers, lack of proper housing for teachers, the
low status accorded to teachers, inadequate teaching facilities, and the need to enhance the
professional and individual welfare of teachers, the Primary Education Development
Programme (PEDP) (URT, 2001) as well as the new Education policy (URT, 2014) made
almost no reference to these issues. Although the BRN initiative in education appears to
recognise the need for teachers motivation through non-monetary incentives, ensuring zero
outstanding claims by end of June 2013, and zero unresolved claims not more than three
months ahead (URT, 2013), nonetheless, little attention has been given to the needs and
claims of teachers so far.
Low job satisfaction among primary school teachers is thought to be a problem that leads to
poor performance outcomes in Tanzanias public primary schools. In his findings, Sumra
A pressing need exists for efforts to improve teacher job satisfaction, primarily through
improvements in teachers welfare. This need is fuelled by both the Governments moral
obligation to improve teachers lives and by the very real possibility that failure to address
these problems may undermine the governments efforts to achieve high quality, and
sustainable universal primary schools education in Tanzania (Sumra, 2004). As such, this
study intended to examine the extent to which work dimensions affect job satisfaction among
public primary school teachers.
Job satisfaction is an important factor for improving effectiveness and also individuals
satisfaction in an employment situation (Cherrington, 2006). Job satisfaction can be affective
and cognitive. Affective job satisfaction is the extent of pleasurable emotional feelings
employees have about various aspects of their job situation as well as jobs overall. Cognitive
job satisfaction on the other hand is the extent of employees perception, feelings and
responses, with particular aspects of their jobs, such as pay, pension arrangements, working
hours and numerous other aspects of their jobs (Kosi, Sulemana, Boateng & Mensah, 2015).
In the context of this study, the concept of job of satisfaction is used to simply refer to the
primary school teachers attitudes, perceptions, and feelings that they have towards their job
and related aspects of their job such as living and working conditions, recognition,
advancement opportunities, and supervision. Teacher job satisfaction, therefore, refers to
whether primary school teachers are happy with their job and related aspects of their job or
not. In other words, if teachers have positive attitudes or good feelings about their job, these
qualities are taken to describe a satisfaction dimension. Similarly, if teachers have negative
attitudes towards their work, they are then said to be dissatisfied.
Theoretical Perspectives
The study is based on the Herzbergs two-factor theory. This theory is chosen as it closely
relate to the problem under study. Although there is no agreement as to which theory best
explains job satisfaction, the ingredients of this theory form the basis of the study. This
theory is relatively explicit and can easily be understood. The original research carried out by
Herzberg involved interviews with 203 accountants and engineers from organizations around
Pittsburgh in the USA. His major aim was to find out what satisfies and dissatisfies them on
the job (Herzberg 1974a in Martin, 2005). According to Herzberg, a human being has two
different categories of needs, which are essentially independent of each other and affect
behaviour in different ways. When people feel dissatisfied about their jobs, they are mainly
concerned about the environment in which they are working. On the other hand, when people
feel good about their job, this has to do with the work itself. Herzberg calls the first category
of needs as hygienic factors, because, they describe human environment and serve the
primary function of preventing job satisfaction. These factors include supervision,
The second set of motivators is positive motivators. They include achievement, or the feeling
of having accomplished a job, recognition or having someone praise or blame for
performance, work itself or perception of the nature of the job, responsibility or having a duty
for ones own work and possibly the work of others, and advancement or changing ones
position in the hierarchy of an organization. These motivators are all related to workers
satisfaction. This theory is famously known as the Two-Factor Theory. Both hygiene
factors and motivators are considered to be important but in different ways (Naylor, 1999).
It is worth noting that job factors such as recognition, opportunities for advancement and
achievement needs are pertinent to the study of job satisfaction (Travis, 2004). These factors
determine employees affective reactions to the job (Magreth, Mcdaniel & Lucy, 2007). They
also include perceived respect and responsibility, task variety and meaningful work (Mangi,
Soomro,Ghumro, Asad & Jalban, 2011). Research findings have shown that personally
rewarding intrinsic job factors have demonstrated a significant impact on job satisfaction
(Travis, 2005; Nezaam, 2005; Mangi et al., 2011). Work autonomy has positive relationship
with job satisfaction and performance (Robbins et al., 2008). Opportunity for advancement
has impact on efficiency and outcomes of the job. Resignation is a phenomenon frequently
influenced by perception of employees on availability of advancement opportunities (Travis,
2005). Nezaam (2005) contended that although the relatively weak correlation between job
satisfaction and work itself, it is nevertheless, statistically significant.
Work could have an effect on the total quality of life of the employee. Robbins et al., (2008)
refers to work as the extent to which the job provides the individual with stimulating tasks,
opportunities for learning, personal growth and the chance to be responsible and accountable
for the results. Employees prefer jobs that present them with opportunities to demonstrate
their competencies on a variety of tasks and that are mentally stimulating (Nezaam, 2005).
There is statistical significant relationship between job satisfaction and dimensions of work
(Robbins et al., 2008). Work can result either in job satisfaction or dissatisfaction
(Oluwabumi, 2009).
Herzberg made a remarkable contribution in the field of organization behaviour. Despite the
criticisms on his theory, there is still evidence of support for the continuing relevance of the
theory. According to Crainer and Dearlove (2001:16):
Furthermore, his work has drawn attention to the importance of job design in the quality of
work life. The major implication of this theory for the Tanzanian Government in designing
motivational practices is that it needs to concentrate on two sets of factors proposed by
Herzberg at the same time if motivation and job satisfaction are to be maintained at
workplaces.
This part presents the research design and approaches utilized in the study. Area of research
is described. Sampling procedures employed and the adopted data collection methods are also
discussed. The latter part of the chapter focuses on data processing and analysis.
Research approaches
Normally, research undertakings are guided by various approaches. This study employed
both quantitative and qualitative approaches with a stronger emphasis on quantitative
research. The quantitative approach was given much attention due to the following reasons:
Firstly, data which are collected using quantitative methods are generally easy to replicate
and also have high reliability (Creswell, 2009). Secondly, the quantitative method is
relatively less time and cost consuming. It also enables the researcher to study a large number
of respondents within a short period of time. The researcher does not need to be always
present when the participants are responding to the questionnaires (Best & Khan, 2006). In
this study, the survey was conducted among public primary school teachers from four
districts within Iringa region which were geographically scattered.
Research design
Given that the study sought to describe some aspects of the sampled group of primary
school teachers from the population, a cross-sectional descriptive survey design was
employed for this study. A cross-sectional survey design according to Fraenkel, Wallen and
Hyun (2012) gathers data from a sample drawn from a pre-determined population and data is
collected in a once off basis. This study was also descriptive. Connaway and Powell (2010)
assert that descriptive surveys are considered to be the most common type of survey
research design. The basic purposes of descriptive surveys usually are to describe
characteristics of the population of interest, estimate proportions in the population, make
specific predictions and test associational relationship.
This study employed both primary and secondary data. Primary data are first-hand
information directly gathered by researchers from the original sources (Krishnaswami &
Ranganatham, 2007). The study used primary data because the data were original in nature.
The researcher collected primary data on teachers job satisfaction from the field through
On the other hand, secondary data are data which had been collected and compiled for other
purposes. Secondary data are very useful as they enable the researcher to get experiences
from other sources (Kasano, 2013). Secondary data was gathered from the findings of other
researchers and various documentations and publications related to the problem under study.
The unit of analysis was teachers in different selected public primary schools in four districts
of Iringa region which were geographically scattered.
Area of Research
This study was conducted in Iringa region. It was necessary to select the study area that
would represent the other areas in Tanzania in terms of features related to primary school
teachers and their teaching job. Iringa is one of the thirty administrative regions of Tanzania.
The choice of Iringa as a study area has been motivated by the interest and familiarity of the
region to the researcher. In addition, Iringa possesses the social, economic, and educational
features of the other regions in the country. Iringa region is divided into four districts,
namely: Iringa Urban District, Iringa Rural District, Kilolo and Mufindi districts. This is
shown in Figure 1.
Study population involves people (Swai, 2012). This section provides descriptions of the
population of the present study. In survey research the identification of the population from
which the sample is selected is essential (Fraenkel et al., 2012). The target population of the
current study comprised 4894 public primary school teachers from all the districts of Iringa
region1. This total included School Head Teachers. The study sample was, therefore, drawn
from a total population of teachers (the sampling population) in the region. In order to
simplify the process of sample size determination for researchers, Payne and Payne
(2004:203) adopting from Krejcie and Morgan (1970) created a table based on the formula
which shows the population of a study and the expected sample size thus ensuring that the
researcher obtained a representative sample for the study. Out of 4894 sampling population,
an estimated sample of 354 is drawn for this study. Understanding the nature of the study
population is necessary before gathering data. Troachin (2000) points out that the researcher
should know some of the overall demographic information of the population such as age, sex,
class, and income. The characteristics of the sample of this study included distinction of
males and females, different levels of education, experience and age.
Sampling techniques
Sampling techniques denote sampling design which is the framework that serves as the basis
for the selection a survey sample. According to Kumar (2005) and Mlyuka (2011), sampling
is the process of selecting of a few (a sample) from a bigger group (the sampling population)
to become the basis for estimating or predicting the prevalence of an unknown piece of
information, situation or outcome regarding the bigger group. The population of the current
study was large and the study was not able to observe it all. In such a situation, sampling was
required. Since it was not possible in terms of time and cost to survey all the public primary
schools, the researcher used purposive sampling procedure to select schools. In the same
vein, Rwegoshora (2006) comments that the purposive sampling technique enables the
1
Iringa Urban District 783 teachers and 43 schools, Iringa Rural District 1407 teachers and 140 schools,
Mufindi District 1559 teachers and 171 schools, and Kilolo District 1145 teachers and 111 schools. The data
were obtained from Iringa Regional Education Office, 2013.
Stratified random sampling was used in the selection of respondents in order to get adequate
representations of groups that were relevant for the study. On the one hand, this technique
was employed because the sampled population was heterogeneous with respect to the
characteristics that are being studied (Ndunguru, 2007). On the other hand, it guarantees
equal representation of each of the identified strata (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010). Within each
stratum (district), simple random sampling method was used. The researcher, in collaboration
with the head teachers, distributed randomly probability cards stating YES and NO to the
teachers. Those who selected YES cards were selected to be supplied with questionnaires
and those who picked NO cards were excluded. This exercise was done for urban schools
in particular. This was considered the best method for reducing sampling bias and achieving a
high level of representation (Saunders et al., 2009; Sekaran, 1992). All of the teachers who
had been working with the school for at least six month were eligible for involvement in the
study sample.
As Table 1 indicates, the scale consisted of 10 items each of which was measured on the 5-
Likert Scale. Results from SPSS output indicate that, the scale has consistency measure of
Cronbach Alpha 0.732. The Mean Score of this subscale is 3.70 and Standard Deviation is
0.65, and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) is [3.60, 3.79]. The minimum score is 1.6 and
maximum score is 5. Statistically, this implies that a majority respondent were moderately
satisfied with living and working conditions. However, qualitative data obtained through
interviews indicated high levels of discontentment.
Most respondents especially from rural areas found their living and working conditions de-
motivating. Hard living and working conditions made them consider teaching job as
punishment.The living and working conditions identified by the respondents include: lack of
proper housing for teachers, harsh and hard geographical environment coupled by lack of
socio-economic infrastructures, large class sizes, and insufficient number of teachers at
schools, heavy work-loads and poor teacher-parent cooperation. Almost all respondents
interviewed strongly commented on the lack of decent housing and hard geographical
environment, which the researcher also observed during the survey. With regard to interview,
some respondents said that:
The distance between village school and where teachers get their
salary in town is very big. Other teachers spend many hours to travel
to their pay stations. Others are forced to borrow money for transport.
This is also one of the biggest challenges, since teachers sometimes
find themselves using half of the salary on the way (Head teacher,
Iringa Rural, 16/4/2014).
Similarly, study by Benell and Mukyanuzi (2005) indicated that the living and working
conditions for most teachers are unsatisfactory and, for many, they are intolerable. The
availability of reasonable quality and affordable housing within easy travelling distance of the
school is a key issue for nearly all teachers. Housing conditions for public primary school
teachers are generally poor. The scarcity of decent accommodation is a constant refrain of
nearly all reports, both official and independent researchers. The 1990 World Bank report
states that typically rural school teachers live in dilapidated, poorly-maintained school or
government accommodation on or near the school compound. The Tanzania Development
Research Group (TADREG) Survey of 1991, similarly, concluded that most houses are in a
sorry state of disrepair (Bennell & Mukyanuzi, 2005). In his study, Mlyuka (2009) found that
working conditions is one of the key factors affecting public primary school teachers job
satisfaction.
The Tanzanias Government made various commitments to improve teachers housing during
the 1990s. Most notably, the high profile report on the Education Sector Towards 2000 stated
that effort will be made to ensure that all schools and colleges have, in their vicinity, an
adequate number of teachers quarters.By 2000, all teachers shall have suitable housing
accommodation(URT,1997). Unfortunately, despite these commitments, very little progress
has been made in improving the housing situation. It has appeared that much effort is
directed to building classrooms and not teachers houses. This problem needs immediate
interventions if at all the quality of primary school education in Tanzania is to be improved.
In my view, building of classrooms should go hand in hand with building of better housing
for teachers. This argument is supported by Udo (2011) who commented that teachers may be
more satisfied in schools with good working environment if their terms and conditions of
employment are improved. Similarly, Spector (2008) adds that work environment is an
Luthans (1998) maintained further that if working environments are conducive, employees
will find it easier to assume their daily job responsibilities. In the same vein, Perie and Baker
(1997) and De Nobile and McComic (2008) argue that working conditions had a significant
positive relationship with teachers job satisfaction, regardless of whether the school is public
or private, elementary or secondary, background characteristics and the school demographics.
As such, living and work conditions of public primary school teachers in Tanzania should be
improved further so as to increase their job satisfaction, hence job performance.
ii. Recognition
This sub-section intended to find out the extent to which teachers were satisfied with
recognition they receive from their employer and community. Generally, the findings
revealed that the respondents are dissatisfied with recognition they receive. This is evidenced
by Mean Score as presented in Table 2 which shows Cumulative Mean Scores.
As Table 2 indicates, the scale consisted of 5 items each of which was measured on the 5-
Likert Scale. Results from SPSS output indicate that the scale has consistency measure of
Cronbach Alpha 0.605. The Mean Score of this subscale is 2.95 and Standard Deviation is
0.72, and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) is [2.87, 3.04]. The minimum score is 1.0 and
maximum score is 5.00. This implies that a majority respondent were dissatisfied with
recognition they received from their employer and the community. However, qualitative data
indicated that the respondents were greatly dissatisfied with recognition they receive from
their employer.
During the interview, teachers raised concern that their employer is less concerned with their
welfare.
In my opinion, for teachers to be really effective in their job, the Tanzanian government
through the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training needs to understand the
psychology of praising and encouraging teachers good work. As we may all know,
appreciation is a fundamental human need. Normally, employees respond to appreciation
expressed through recognition of their good work and it confirms their work is valued. So,
when teachers and their work are valued, automatically, their satisfaction and performance
rises, and they are motivated to maintain or improve their good work.
From human resources management point of view, praise and recognition are essential to an
outstanding workplace. People want to be respected and valued for the contribution they
make in the work organization (Ngirwa, 2006; Torrington, 2008). Sajuyigbe, Olaoye, and
Adeyemi (2013) added that recognition of the achievements by the managers leads toward
job satisfaction and performance. As indicated by the study findings, teachers feel the need to
be recognized as individuals and to feel a sense of achievement for work well done or even
for a valiant effort.
Advancement
opportunities 7 0.774 2.66 2.54 2.78 0.87 1.0 4.86
As Table 3 indicates, the scale consisted of 7 items each of which was measured on the 5-
Likert Scale. Results from SPSS output indicate that the scale has consistency measure of
Cronbach Alpha 0.774. The Mean Score of this subscale is 2.66 and Standard Deviation is
0.87, and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) is [2.54, 2.78]. The minimum score is 1.0 and
maximum score is 4.86. This implies that a majority respondent were dissatisfied with
advancement opportunities offered to them.
To probe further, the majority of respondents interviewed had a feeling that chances for
training and development were scarce. One of the interviewees underscored that technology
is changing and many things keep on changing but there are no seminars to update our skills
at work and if they are there, then they are very few (Staff teacher, Kilolo district,
19/05/2014). Similarly, the problem related to promotions was confirmed by respondents
during the interview, they asserted that:
Dissatisfaction with promotional procedures was also evident among staff teachers;
for a long time, there has been a cry about teachers staying for a
long time in the same position without being promoted. You find that
a teacher has completed additional training and forwarded the
certificate to our superiors, but it takes years to be responded to, and
yet one has spent time and money to obtain the additional
qualification. This is injustice and unfair. (Staff Teacher, Urban,
28/11/2013).
The low satisfaction of teachers with promotional opportunities is reported by various studies
conducted in Tanzania and elsewhere. For example, Mlaki (2011) shows that lack of
promotional opportunities caused stress among head teachers in Tanzania. Also, Muze
(1987), Ngumbudzi (2009) and Masanja (2013) found similar results, indicating that the
teachers are dissatisfied with the promotional procedures and processes. This is because
opportunities for promotion have been the main way of enabling teachers to advance
16 TEKU Journal No. 5, 2015
themselves economically. Further, these findings confirm the results of the PEDP II
Evaluation Report (URT, 2012), that revealed, regular promotion and thus salary adjustment
and payments have been a major problem because the promotion procedures are unclear in
terms of the timing and payment of the associated benefits.
Masanja (2013) points out that the Teachers Service Department (TSD) is entrusted by the
Government with the task of promoting teachers at the primary, secondary and college level.
The TSD is a government department under the Presidents Office, the Civil Service
Commission, that is, responsible for maintaining and controlling a unified service for all
teachers. Basically, it is the organ that deals with teachers promotion, and it works alongside
the Local Government Authorities (LGAs). The TSD offices spread from the national level to
the district one. Each district has its own TSD staff who are concerned with discipline,
promotion, safeguarding the teaching of ethics and raising the status of teachers. According
to URT (1999), TSD as a semi-autonomous organ that is entrusted with providing security of
service for teachers by offering them employment letters containing teachers regulations,
offering confirmation letters for teachers who have completed their probationary periods and
promoting teachers who have achieved defined standards such as a increased education level
or remaining in the profession for a certain period of time. As a matter of fact, despite the
trust by the Government, the TSD has shown weaknesses in dealing with teachers welfare
shortfalls in the way expected by the teachers themselves, the Government and the
stakeholders. As pointed out earlier in this study, teachers welfare has been a problem,
which needs deliberate efforts and seriousness of action in addressing it. According to
Masanja (2013), such a situation is an indicator of the inability of the TSD to deal with the
welfare of teachers, especially regarding provision for equal opportunities for promotion.
In other countries, a similar situation is reported. In their study, Sirima and Poipoi (2009)
found that, among other factors, teachers in Kenya have been dissatisfied with the inadequacy
of promotional opportunities available to them for a long time now. In Uganda, Claudia
(2009) reports that, despite the personal determinants, the teachers are dissatisfied with the
promotional opportunities available to them, especially when a teacher increases his/her level
of education. Similarly, in South Africa, the findings of Mwamwenda (2004) indicate that the
teachers are dissatisfied with the promotional processes, which was found to be unfair. In
Based on the findings above, the researcher is of the opinion that a policy is needed which
clearly stipulates the progression upon completion of specific qualification to avoid delay of
public primary school teachers promotions and salary adjustments, and also a policy which
caters for training and development related issues. Effective implementation of these policies
will definitely enhance teachers morale at work. This argument is supported by other
researchers who found that the provision of adequate training opportunities sends a message
to employees that they are valued by their employers resulting in strong psychological
bonding and a willingness to contribute more to achievement of organizational objectives
(Gartner and Nollen, 1989; Tannenbaum et al., 1991; Luthans, 1992; Arthur, 1994; Wood
and de Menezes, 1998; Taormina, 1999; McElroy, 2001; Ngirwa, 2006). Additionally,
employees who receive support from employers in developing their skills and knowledge,
become more satisfied with their jobs as this improves their chances of getting promotion,
resulting in better pay and improved status in their workplaces (Meyer & Smith, 2000).
Previous studies found that employees, who had adequate promotional opportunities and
perceived the promotion procedures to be fair, developed strong psychological attachment
and loyalty to their jobs. In addition, employees who are promoted receive increased pay,
high status and their self-esteem is boosted, resulting in increased job satisfaction unlike
employees who stagnate in the same position (Iles et al., 1990; Snell & Deen, 1992;
Kalleberg and Mastekaasaz, 1994; Young et al., 1998; Meyer & Smith, 2000; Malhotra et al.,
2007). However, since it is not possible for an organization to promote all its employees,
Lambert and Paoline (2008) suggest that the promotion procedures should be seen to be fair
and have clear objectives. This mitigates negative feelings of employees who are not
promoted.
These results support the Equity Theory used in this study which stresses employee job
satisfaction in terms of equal treatment of people in an organization. As noted earlier in this
study, this theory is concerned with the perception people have about how they are being
treated compared with others. Negative perception among teachers may result in job
dissatisfaction which in turn may also affect work performance such as in schools.
This sub-section examined the extent to which teachers were satisfied with the supervision
they receive from their school supervisors (Head Teachers). In the Table 5 respondents
indicated their rating on the set of variables that measured how they were satisfied with
supervision and advice from their supervisors.
As Table 5 indicates, the scale consisted of 5 items each of which was measured on the 5-
Likert Scale. Results from SPSS output indicate that the scale has consistency measure of
Cronbach Alpha 0.642. The Mean Score of this subscale is 3.98 and Standard Deviation is
0.64, and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) is [3.89, 4.07]. The minimum score is 1.80 and
maximum score is 5.00. This implies that most teachers were satisfied with the supervision
they received from their immediate bosses (Head Teachers).
From the results of this study, the importance of a supervisor in job satisfaction is evident.
Elton Mayo-human relationist stated that employees attitude, morale and level of job
satisfaction depends on supervisors behavior (Staudt, 1997). This implies that change in
supervisor may also cause the attitude of workers at workplaces to change. When the attitude
is favorable towards the methods of supervision and the dealings of the supervisor, sincerity
and loyalty to the job also increases. Supervisors behaviors, relationship with co-workers are
positively related to job satisfaction (Sajuyigbe, Olaoye and Adeyemi (2013). A large number
of research findings indicate that employees high morale and job satisfaction depend on
supervisors employee- centered attitude and their considered behavior (Brunetto & Farr-
Wharton, 2002; Okpara, 2004; Muhammad & Akhter, 2010). Additionally, DuBrin (1992)
observes that managers who show concern for the feelings, attitudes and opinions of their
employees contribute to high morale and job satisfaction, as people feel better and actually
The findings above are consistent with other studies which were conducted in Tanzania. To
take a few examples, the findings of the Joint Monitoring Visit Report (URT, 2010) indicated
that there were good relationships among the school committee members, school
administration, teachers, pupils and the community at large in Tanzania Primary schools.
Similarly, Puja (1976) and Nguni (2005) found that school teachers are satisfied with their
working relationship with their head teachers/school leadership. Likewise, the findings of the
current study are consistent with studies undertaken by Ngumbudzi (2009) and Masanja
(2013) whose findings revealed that teachers have positive views regarding administrative
support and leadership. They asserted that head teachers are good and caring when they need
academic and social support.
These findings are also supported by the Education Sector Joint Monitoring Report (URT,
2010), which shows that primary schools are performing better than secondary schools in
terms of governance, management, infrastructure, and teachers and student support services.
According to Masanja (2013), these findings for primary schools reflect the improvements
made during the implementation of the Primary Education Plans that instilled in head
teachers knowledge and skills related to the management of both human and physical
resources. He adds that during the implementation of the Primary Education Development
Plans (PEDP I and II), there was extensive training provided for head teachers and school
committees by the Agency for the Development of Educational Management (ADEM)
sponsored jointly by Ministry of Education and Culture [ by then] and the Presidents Office
Regional Administration and Local Government. According to the PEDP National
Monitoring Report (URT, 2004), all School Committees were trained in participatory,
financial management, procurement procedures, and good governance. It is worth noting that,
in Tanzania, the head teacher is the secretary of the School Committee (Masanja, 2013).
Generally, statistical measurement of variability indicates that the overall of job satisfaction
with all subscales Mean is 3.3, Standard Deviation is 0.466, and Confidence Interval is [3.27,
3.39]. These findings suggest that work dimensions jointly and independently influence job
Conclusions
This study objective was intended to assess the extent to which work dimensions such as
living and working conditions, recognition, advancement opportunities, and supervision
contributed to public primary school teachers job satisfaction. With regard to work
dimensions contributing to teacher job satisfaction, job security, pay and related benefits
items were dropped in the analysis to ensure reliability of the results because their Cronbach
Alpha Coefficients were below 0.50. But this does not mean that they are unimportant.
Otherwise, the general findings for the analysed work dimensions were as follows:
ii. Recognition
The findings have also indicated that majority teachers are dissatisfied with recognition they
receive from their employer and community. Respondents revealed to be greatly dissatisfied
with recognition they receive from their employer. Qualitative data showed that a majority
teacher raised concern that their employer seems less concerned with their welfare.
iv. Supervision
From the results of this study, the importance of the supervisor in job morale and satisfaction
was evident. The findings of the study have shown that majority teachers are satisfied with
the supervision they receive from their immediate superiors [Head Teachers].
Generally, the study has shown that work dimensions jointly and independently contribute to
teachers job satisfaction.
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Abstract
This paper aims at investigating as to whether a more progressive fiscal regime in mineral
sector gives some relief to investors for projects with low rates of return as the case may be
high rate of returns under tax ring fencing regime, and if it allows the government to increase
its share of revenue when the investments in the either cases are highly profitable. It further
confirms if a more progressive regime under ring fencing regime could attract investment for
marginal projects, thereby increasing government revenue overtime, just as a heavy early
fiscal burden on a project could deter investment altogether.One of the major challenges in
any accounting reporting framework is how best to implement ring fencing in the context of a
specific company or industry. Hence, this paper explores the best link between accounting
and taxation and provides specific guidance on the disclosure in the mineral sector.
Introduction
Ring-fencing is the isolation for tax purposes of certain type of activities, income and losses
(Van Blerck, 1992:15). It refers to artificial restrictions created by the law with the intention of
ensuring that capital expenditure incurred by a particular mine is only deducted against the
income generated by that particular mine and the balance is carried forward for deductions in
the following year. Ring-fencing is an antiavoidance measure in terms of which the
expenditure incurred in conducting a mining operation is limited to the income of that specific
mining operation. Any excess expenditure (loss) is then carried forward and is set off against
any income derived from those operations in a subsequent year of assessment i.e. year of
income (Mangondo, 2006).
Ring fencing is a standard feature in mining regimes and facilitates the provision of mining
specific fiscal treatment to accommodate the spatial characteristics of mining investment: high
capital costs; high investment risk; long lead times; and, potential for generating resource rent.
Therefore, ring fencing if mineral revenues and costs from other sources of investors
operations allows for proper accounting and reporting for tax purposes and other obligations. In
Ring fencing is the practice of a company creating a legal entity separate from itself in order to
protect certain assets. For example, ring fencing may protect assets from taxation, regulation, or
allow the company to hide it from creditors. Ring fencing often makes use of offshore
accounting. It is usually legal, but there are limitations, such as maximum amounts that may be
protected. It is a legal walling off of certain assets or liabilities within a corporation. For
example, a firm may form a new subsidiary to protect, or ring-fence, specific assets from
creditors (Marais Committee, 1988:75). The mineral sector is a capital-intensive industry and if
expenditure from one mine had to be deducted against the income of another mine, then the tax
base would be eroded, hence need for ring-fencing. The aim of ring-fencing including among
other things is to fight against tax sheltering and tax arbitrage. Hence, it may include limitation
of losses arising from passive activities and more stringent at risk rules and minimum taxes
(Marais Committee, 1988:75).
In the same vein, under Para 19 of ITA No 33 of 1973 the term "Mineral" including among
others excluded clay, sand, limestone, sandstone, gypsum. kaolin, bauxite, any sodium or
potassium compounds, or any other mineral substance which for the Cap 123 declared for the
time being not to be a mineral under section 2 of the Mining Ordinance, unless it has been
obtained by underground mining operations, and also excluded a specified mineral. In that
regard, the ITA No 33 of 1973 ring fenced quarry operations associated to the inputs producing
On the 26th August, 1997 the tax system adopted new regime in mineral sector through
Financial Laws (Miscellaneous Amendment) Act, No 27 of 1997 which made amendment to
the ITA No 33 of 1973 through PART III of the Second Schedule; in that, Para 16 harmonized
the term mineral through the definition of mine2by including open pit, underground mining,
together with all buildings, premises, erections and appliances belonging or appertaining
thereto and any other minerals. However, Para 18 to that Schedule provided additional capital
allowance on unredeemed qualifying capital expenditure which ring fenced deduction with
Prospecting capital expenditure or any interest or financing charges (Clerk of the National
Assembly 1973). The aim of Part III of the Second Schedule to the Income Tax Act, No 33 of
1973 under the Financial Laws (Miscellaneous Amendment) Act, No 27 of 1997 was to
provide automatic exemption for the non-productive mines and to allow efficient allocation of
resources in the long run and mostly to enhance investment capacity in mineral sector. Hence,
the law intrinsically allowed unutilized tax losses of one mine to be transferred to and set off
against the taxable income of another mine within the same corporate group. Though there
were no clear defined transfer rules but the practice was relatively straight forward and easier to
administer (Mafwenga Handley 2012).
It should be noted, that absence of ring-fencing preserved room for the group consolidation
system; For example, Buzwagi Gold Mine and Tulawaka Gold Mine under Pangea Minerals as
the case may be African Barrick Goldwere able to determine overall tax position under Pangea
Minerals, also Samax Resources and Geita Gold Mine were also able to dwell under group
consolidation except that splitting of accounts in relation to their shareholding was undertaken
at the time of filing corporate income tax returns on the 85% to 15% basis. Of course, this
system is more complex than a loss transfer regime (Mafwenga Handley 2012). On 15th June
2010 through Finance Act, No 15 of 2010, ring fencing in relation to the mining operation was
adopted under section 11(5) (f)3 ofITA Cap 332; whereby the ITA Cap 332 defines the term
Mining operations that shall not include exploration activities conducted outside the mining
2
" mineral'' means any substance, whether in solid, liquid or gaseous form, Act No. occurring naturally
in or on the earth, or in or under the seabed, formed by or subject to a geological process, but
does not include petroleum as defined in the petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 1980, or
water.
3
Section 11(5) (f) stipulates that "mining operation" shall not include exploration activities conducted
outside the mining licence area which shall be accumulated and allowed when the commercial
operations commence."
Quarry Industry
The quarrying industries involve extraction of minerals primarily used in construction
materials. These industries differ from mining of other resources in a number of important
ways that are relevant in determining the optimal arrangements for allocating rights and
extracting resource rents. In particular, for quarries: Quarrying materials used in construction
are relatively abundant and cheap to extract. As such: they are of low unit-value particular
relative to transportation costs; they are sold into local markets largely unaffected by
international competition; and resource rents are likely to be small or non-existent.
Heavy construction materials include; Quarry (extractive) industries, Cement, and Concrete.
The quarrying (or extractive) industries involve the extraction of low unit-value minerals that
are predominantly used in local construction. The resources extracted at quarries include: 1)
Limestone, clay, Pozollana and other minerals used in the production of cement; 2) Sand, rock
and gravel used as aggregates in the production of concrete. Royalties could potentially distort
decisions by encouraging quarry operators to choose sites on private (i.e. royalty free land).
Royalties are not a material factor in the choice of site location. Other factors such as the risk of
regulation approvals and transport costs tend to more significant. Furthermore, quarry operators
are also likely to pay royalties to private landowners or incur transaction costs in purchasing
land for a quarry site.
Mining Industry
Mining means extracting minerals from the earth. Materials that are usually extracted from the
earth that way are base metals, uranium, iron, limestone, coal, rock salt, potash, diamonds and
precious metals. These are all the materials that cannot be created in an artificial way nor can
they are grown through agricultural process and that is the main reason why they are being
obtained by mining. So, in a wider sense of word mining incorporates extraction of resources
that are not renewable. Mining process in a modern sense of word comprises prospecting the
ore body, analysis of possible earnings from the exploitation of a certain mine, then the
extraction of the targeted material and last the recuperation of the land to make it suitable to
use for something else once the mine has been closed. It is important to mention that mining
processes can have a negative effect on the environment.
Limestone is the major process input. Other raw materials such as clay, sand quartz and/or iron
ore may be added. These raw materials are extracted from the quarry crushed to a very fine
powder and then blended in the correct proportions. This blended raw material is called the
'raw feed' or 'kiln feed' and is heated in a rotary kiln where it reaches a temperature of about
1400 C to 1500 C. In its simplest form, the rotary kiln is a tube up to 200 meters long and
perhaps 6 meters in diameter, with a long flame at one end. The raw feed enters the kiln at the
cool end and gradually passes down to the hot end, then falls out of the kiln and cools down.
The material formed in the kiln is described as 'clinker' and is typically composed of rounded
nodules between 1mm and 25mm across. After cooling, the clinker may be stored temporarily
in a clinker store, or it may pass directly to the cement mill. The cement mill grinds the clinker
to a fine powder. A small amount of gypsum - a form of calcium sulfate - is normally ground
up with the clinker. The gypsum controls the setting properties of the cement when water is
added.
The key local economic benefits of mining and quarrying can include direct and indirect
employment, local tax revenue such as produce cess, improved availability of local building
materials, and government or operator re-investment. Local recruitment priorities, linkage
development and operator and community partnerships through Corporate Social Responsibility,
can help to enhance these benefits. The key local economic costs particularly of quarrying can
include the displacement of existing and potential economic activities and deflationary pressures
on property. Planned quarry land rehabilitation and after-use as well as sound environmental and
social practices, can help to mitigate these economic costs.
Taxpayer ring-fencing
By virtue of section 3 of ITA Cap 332, the taxpayers meaning could be ascribed to the meaning
of the term "person" which means an individual or an entity; "individual" means a natural
person and an "entity" means a partnership, trust or corporation. Likewise, by virtue of section
4(1) of the Mining Act, 2010, person means a natural person or a body corporate or other
juridical person. Taxable income for each taxpayer is determined separately in the gold mining
industry.
For example, each employee's income is reconciled against that person's expenditure and taxed
accordingly. This type of ring-fencing is also applicable to other sectors of the economy. Natural
persons, companies, clubs, and every other tax-paying organization are demarcated differently
and taxed accordingly. Van Blerck (1992:15-2) noted that in South Africa there are no
provisions for this type of merged group taxation and the time was not ripe for such provisions.
However, the work of Van Blerck have not directly addressed ring fencing relating to quarry
and mining under single taxpayer.
Prospecting ring-fencing
Van Blerck (1992:15-8) in his works, comments that, if a mining company incurs prospecting
expenditure, such expenditure is accordingly deducted for tax purposes. The Commissioner has
the power to prescribe that such expenditure be deducted in installments or to restrict the
deduction to a particular class of minerals to which the prospecting applies. However, Van
Blerck (1992:15-8) has not shows to what extent the power of the Commissioner could affect
ring fencing rule.
Mafwenga (2013) argues that, ring fencing creates tax system feasible;However, Mafwenga
(2013) has not shown how feasibility of tax system could prevail when ring fencing is
applicable to quarry industry. In the same line, he argues that, ring fencing enables mining
companies to comply with the Matching Concept of accounting and Prudence Principle of
Taxation whereby taxable income for each mine is determined separately the extent to which
expenditure incurred in generating income will be deducted wholly and exclusively against the
income generated from that particular mine; However, Mafwenga (2013) has not shown as to
whether quarry operations follow the Matching Concept of accounting. Marais Committee
(1988:75) argues that ring fencing restricts losses made in the mine to set off against profits of
Methodology
Data collection
A wider range of information has been accessed through the use of primary and secondary data
collection methods from the Quarry, mining industry and cement companies available in
Tanzania. Primary data were gathered through observation and informal conversations during
site visits. To enhance the validity and reliability of these instruments, a pilot study was
conducted prior to the main primary data collection process. Questionnaires (both structured and
semi-structure) were used to collect data from the mining industry. Secondary information were
obtained from company reports, publications, and studies published by local researchers and
universities. Information provided by secondary sources would likely serve to triangulate the
data to be gathered from interviews and site visits, as well as to augment the literature review.
Following the compilation and thorough analysis of both primary and secondary data, a number
of conclusions have been formed.
Data Analysis
Based on the research methodology i.e. qualitative and the research design strategy i.e. case
study, collection of a lot of qualitative data through the use of in-depth interviews and
discussions were made. Fisher (2010) described that, qualitative data usually consist of words,
audio or visual recording and observation, not numbers. In the light of this, the study employed
According to Altinay and Paraskevas, (2008), qualitative data analysis is the conceptual
interpretation of the dataset as a whole, using specific analytic strategies to convert the raw data
into a logical description and explanation of the phenomenon under the study. As in many
instances in qualitative research, the process of data collection and analysis tend to be
simultaneously, with analysis continually informing the process of additional data collection and
new data informing the process of analysis (Irby & Lunenburg, 2008). Therefore the analysis of
data in this study has largely been influenced by the theoretical perspective of the phenomenon
under the study, the research strategy and understanding about what data might be relevant and
important.
Conceptual Framework
Our Hypothesis is that, at 5% level of significance there is no effect whatsoever of ring fencing
on production level in the mean volume for the two periods Before ring fencing and After ring
fencing. Therefore:
H 0 : 1 = 2 (1 = Pr oduction BEFORE RING FENCING, 2 = Pr oduction AFTER RING FENCING )
H 1 : 1 > 2 (Two Tailed )
t=
(X X ) ............................................................................................................................................(1)
1 2
1 1
P+
n1 n2
Another Hypothesis is that, there is difference of mean or effect whatsoever in the production
level that have been affected by ring fencing in the mean volume for the two periods.
Hypothesis three is that Ring fencing scheme has not affected significance of mining and quarry
contribution to the economy; and alternatively our Hypothesis is that Ring fencing has affected
significance of mining and quarry contribution to the economy.
H 0 : 3 = 3
(1 = Contribution BEFORE RING FENCING,2 = Contribution AFTER RING FENCING)
H : = (Two Tailed )
1 3 3
Complexity in the Determination of Taxable Income as the case may be Ring fencing
Determination of taxable income on quarry industry may be difficult because mining assets and
other expenses may be used into quarry operations and at the same time in the manufacturing
center producing cement. Determination of taxable income under quarry operation may be
simple when such operation is solely and exclusively employing equipment solely intended for
quarry such as Red Soil Screening Equipment, Kiln Inlet Gas Analyzer, Planetary Cooler etc,
but may be complex when assets serve for quarry and at the same time for manufacturing center
such as Motor vehicles of the company, fuel expenses, Dump Truck, Front Loader and other
costs associated with the Human resources. Quarry operations may persistently be recording
losses because realization of value chain may be caught during the final products like cement
has been sold with profit at the market.
Ring fencing as per Mining License attains reliability from Matching Concept of Accounting;
however, Ring fencing of quarrying activities is relatively more difficult than for other mining
activities. As I have noted, many quarry owners are vertically integrated with other operations
such as cement, concrete, and brickworks manufacturing. There are many shared services and
overheads that would need to be allocated. These include, for example: trucking facilities that
are shared across multiple plants and sites; management activity invested in strategic site
selection and development; and other traditional corporate overheads such as insurance.
A "critical t-value" is the minimum t-value we need in order to have P < 0.05. Our t-valueof -
0.0789is less than the critical t-value of 6.313, and thenwe have no significant difference
between the productions of the two periods under review (population). Hence, do not reject the
Nul Hypothesis because; 1) The level of production increased after ring fencing and no cement
company that attempted to ring fence the quarry operations; 2) The costs at the quarry had no
effect at the quarry level to affect the production; or 3) Tanzania Minerals Audit Agency and
Tanzania Revenue Authority audits have facilitated to enforce reliability in the disclosures
Existence of investment in the marginal ore body for exploitation of marginal deposits
One of the challenges on the ring fencing rule i.e Section 11(4) through (5) (f) of ITA Cap 332
is existence of investment in the marginal ore body for exploitation of marginal deposits (if any)
which may be discouraged. It should bear in mind that, the marginal deposits from the marginal
ore body that would exist within the PL may not be easily defined or identifiable the extent to
which even voluminous deposits may be utilized as sample in testing the mineral thereby
adding the costs to the mining operations which consequently would erode the taxable income
of that particular mine. However, by virtue of section 87(5) of the Mining Act, 2010 samples of
minerals acquired for the purposes of assay, analysis or other technical examination are exempt
from royalty payment if the market value of such samples of minerals is not more than shillings
fifty thousand. This stipulation does not address the concept of marginal ore valuation rather
than to prudently ensure royalty is collected. Moreover, there is no Definition of Marginal
Deposits under the Mining Act, 2010 and ITA Cap 332 in order to avoid unnecessary
complexity. In South Africa for example, marginal deposits has been defined as the level when
the profit ratio is less than 6%. Suffice it to say that, The Mining Act, 2010 and ITA Cap 332 do
not provide for the treatment of marginal deposits with regard to the ring fencing.
By virtue of Section 43 of the Mining Act, 2010, a special mining licence granted to an entitled
applicant shall be for the estimated life of the ore body indicated in the feasibility study report,
or such period as the applicant may request whichever period is shorter. Hence, the feasibility
study should reflect the duration of the mining operations which is in line with the estimated life
of the ore body indicated in the feasibility study report. Likewise, with respect to the Mining
License, by virtue of Section 49 (2) (d), An application for a mining licence for minerals shall
be made to the Minister and the feasibility study should set out among others the estimated
No Definition of Marginal Deposits under the Mining Act, 2010 and ITA Cap 332, this is
because Existence of investment in the marginal ore body for exploitation of marginal deposits
(if any) may be discouraged by ring fencing. Mining Act, 2010 and ITA Cap 332 should
encourage investment in the marginal ore body. In that juncture, the Mining Act, 2010 and
Income Tax Act Cap 332 should stipulated the definition of Marginal deposits by introducing
Exclusion to the Rule on Ring fencing when the level of profit ratio is less to a certain
percentage. Variety of the feasibility studies under the same mining license causes complexity in
the determination of the Present Value of mineral rights as well as inadequate evaluation of the
duration of the Mineral rights this is due to the differences in the economic parameters
pertaining to the exploitation of the minerals. However, Single feasibility study should
accommodate variety of parameters relating to major mineral and associated minerals and be
prima facie document in applying for the mining license; the Mining Act, 2010 and ITA Cap
332 should have constructive interpretation on the evaluation of the investment relating to
mining area rather than minerals to be exploited. Nevertheless, there is a Complexity in the
Accounting for VAT on cement companies in presence of ring fencing becauseValue chain on
cement industry in association with quarry operations is realized upon the sale of cement
products. It is recommended that, VAT Act, Cap 148 should have literally interpretation on the
input-output set off considering value chain creation of cement companies; Commissioner for
TRA should produce Practice Notice on VAT particularly for cement companies
Source: Ministry of Energy and Minerals & Tanzania Minerals Audit Agency
Table 2: Conventional Matrix on the Response of Cement Company to the Ring Fencing
Mechanism
Company YEAR of Owner & Brand Cement capacity Adoption of IFRS Ring
Establishment fencing
Place/ Listing Status
Status
Mbeya Cement Mbeya -Not Subsidiary of Lafarge 350,000 Consolidation and No Ring
Coy Ltd Listed Group -Tembo Brand Segmentation fencing
Portland Cement Disclosures adopted
Tanga Cement 1980 in Tanga Public and Holcim 1,250,000 Consolidation and No Ring
Company Ltd Listed at the DSE Mauritius- Simba brand Segmentation fencing
portland cement Disclosures adopted
Tanzania 1959 in Dar-Es- Heidelberg Cement 1,400,000 Consolidation and No Ring
Portland Cement Salaam - Listed Africa Group, a Parent Segmentation fencing
Company Ltd at the DSE Company of Scancem is Disclosures adopted
subsidiary -Twiga Brand
Portland Cement
ARM Tanzania Initially in 1974; Rhino cement brand 750,000 No Consolidation and No Ring
Company Ltd 2012 in Tanga - Calcium Oxide Segmentation fencing
(formerly Athi Not Listed commonly known as Disclosures adopted
River Mining Quick Lime
Ltd)
Lake Cement 2013 -Not Listed Joint venture between 500,000(Planned No Consolidation and No Ring
Coy Ltd local investors (49%) and ) Segmentation fencing
Banco (India, 51%) Disclosures adopted
Dangote Cement 2013 in Mtwara- Nigeria industry- 2,000,000 No Consolidation and No Ring
Company Ltd Not Listed Dangote Cement brand (Planned) Segmentation fencing
conglomerate Disclosures adopted
Lee Building Not Listed 300,000 No Consolidation and No Ring
Materials (Planned Segmentation fencing
Company Ltd Disclosures adopted
Table 3: Real GDP Growth and Contribution of Mining and Quarry to GDP (Figures in
Percentages)
Table 4: The Results of Descriptive Statistical Analysis of the Production in the Two
Production Period
Table 6:The Results of T-Test: Paired Two Sample for Means on Mining and Quarry Real
GDP Growth and Its Contribution to GDP
BEFORE RING FENCING AFTER RING FENCING
14.4 7.8
Mean 6.35 3.5
Variance 24.32333333 5.446666667
Observations 4 4
Pearson Correlation 0.853747176
Hypothesized Mean Difference 1.25
df 3
t Stat 1.006077086
P(T<=t) one-tail 0.194248496
t Critical one-tail 2.353363435
P(T<=t) two-tail 0.388496991
t Critical two-tail 3.182446305
Source: Ministry of Finance (The Economic Survey (2012)
350,000,000.00
300,000,000.00
250,000,000.00
AMOUNT IN TZS
200,000,000.00
150,000,000.00 2009
100,000,000.00
2010
50,000,000.00
0.00 2011
Twiga Simba Tembo
2009 227,458,575.00 81,959,728.02 70,767,660.00
2010 320,386,815.00 86,871,324.30 80,700,373.05
2011 264,282,075.00 88,291,332.00 77,208,360.06
CEMENT COMPANIES
Abstract
In developing countries, the agricultural sector is the major employer of people living
in rural areas and a backbone of their economy. In Sub-Saharan Africa in particular,
the sector plays a substantial role in promoting economic growth, overcoming
poverty, and enhancing food security. Despite such a useful contribution, the sector
receives no enough financial allocation in the national budgets. Based on literature,
the current trend in the agricultural sector providesinsufficient condition for rural
development in Tanzania. Thus, this paper argues that for effective rural development
in Tanzania, the government has to fulfill the following conditions: increase the
agricultural budget to 10% in the national budget, mechanize the rural farming,
improve the rural urban network, improve mechanisms for agricultural subsidies, and
develop irrigation schemes by maximizing the use of available water resources.
In developing countries agriculture has been the major employer because majority of people
who live in rural areas depend on agriculture for their livelihood. In Tanzania, 70.4% of
people live in rural areas and agriculture is the backbone of their economic base(Census,
2012). Moreover, agriculture is considered as a vital development tool for achieving the
Millennium Development Goal that calls for halving the share of people suffering from
extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 (WB, 2007). In most countries of SubSaharan Africa,
agriculture is an important sector in promoting economic growth, overcoming poverty, and
enhancing food security. Despite its substantial role, the budget for agriculture as per
percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been declining as time went by. For
instance, in 2000/01 it was 7.4% and 2004/ 05 was 1.6%; while for 2007/08 it was just 1.7%.
Additionally, the percentage of total budget receives a meager amount; in 2007/08 it was only
6.7% (Nyoni, 2007). However, in 2004 the contribution of agriculture to the GDP was 47%,
and to the foreign exchange 51%, and provided a total employment of 75% of Tanzanians
(Amani, 2005). Studies by MAFAP (2013) indicate thatagriculture contributes up to 25% of
the GDP and 34% of foreign exchange earnings. Therefore, as one can note, to eradicate
This paper focuses on discussing Agriculture and rural Development in Tanzania. The main
question which this paper answers is whether current government initiatives to support
agriculture are sufficient conditions for rural development in Tanzania. In answering this
question, the paper will mainly be divided into five parts. Part one will be on introduction and
part two presents a theory related to the topic. Part three provides an analysis of outstanding
issues related to the topic, part four will focus on possible criticisms and recommendations,
and part five provides a conclusionfor the whole argument.
In this theoretical part, the paper discusses about the contribution of agriculture in rural
development in Tanzania since the sector employs over 70% of the Tanzanian population and
has significant contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Paper presents this
theoretical part before indulging into the key issues because the theory establishes the basis
for the better understanding of the key issues, especially when discussing the linkages
between agriculture and rural development in the Tanzanian context. Therefore, in discussing
the contribution of agriculture for rural development, the following aspects will be
considered:
Agriculture in Tanzania
The first aspect is how the government and the majority Tanzanians view agriculture itself.
As it is to many countries in subSaharan Africa, Tanzania is one of the Countries whose
major population is engaged in agriculture as a major economic activity. This means that over
70% of the Tanzanian population lives in rural areas and agriculture stands as their major
economic activity for them to earn living (Census, 2012).
In addition, agriculture contributed an average of 47.9 percent to the real Gross Domestic
Product at factor cost throughout the 19642004 periods (Nyoni, 2007). Despite its
significant contribution in the national economy, it is very unfortunate that the sector is one
of the neglected ones in terms of technical and financial supports. It is disappointing that
people in rural areas mostly use outdated technologies in their production activities, such as
Despite the poor technology and lack of support, Tanzaniaunderstands the importance of the
agricultural sector. It considers agriculture as an important tool in rural development. The
programmes which were set after independence namely: improvement and transformation
approaches provide a strong evidence for this claim.
Rural Development
The second aspect concerns the relationship between rural areas and cities in terms of
infrastructures development. Rural development is about development initiatives that address
certain concerns at the geographical areas in which primary production takes place.
Moreover, the intention of these initiatives were to serve rural and urban population engaged
in activities related to primary production, secondary processing and marketing of finished
products(Amani, 2013). Thus, in order to achieve rural development the linkage between
rural and small town and urban centres is crucial. This assertion means that when
infrastructures in rural areas are improved, there will be harmony between the rural areas
which will produce goods to serve the urban people; and hence reduce the rural to urban
migration of people as the sector will provide adequate incentives to people to enjoy staying
at their rural places.
Second, the formulated rural development strategy related to structural reforms in the country
(OECD, 2008) focusing on macroeconomic development which unfortunately did not benefit
In indulging into the key issues of this Paper, the question of the role of agriculture towards
development requires more attention. Agriculture contributes to development in many ways:
as an economic activity, as a livelihood, and as a provider of environmental services,thus
making the sector a unique instrument for development (WB, 2007). In regard to economic
activity, Agriculture can be a source of growth for the national economy; it can be a provider
of investment opportunities for the private sector. Moreover, it is a prime driver of
agriculturalrelated industries and rural non-farm economy. The notable case was when the
African heads of States met in 2003 in Maputo and resolved that 10% of national budget be
directed to agriculture (Ngene, Mwokoye &Ukaoha, 2012). FewAfrican governments
In the case of livelihood, Agriculture is a source of livelihood of about 86% of rural people at
global level (WB, 2007) because it provides jobs to smallholders and landless workers.
Additionally, agriculture functions as a provider of environmental services as it can provide
good and bad environmental outcomes. Being the largest water user, it also contributes to
underground water depletion, agrochemical pollution and soil exhaustion. Agriculture has
good environmental outcome as it absorbs carbon, manages water sheds and preserves
biodiversity (WB, 2007). In this case, the sector needs a lot of attention because without such
attention agriculture can degrade the environment which is the base of human livelihood.
From the above discussion, it is explicit that agriculture, which is an important sector in the
national economy, has not been accorded the support it really deserves in order to provide
adequate results.(ESRF, 2010) However, the agricultural scenario in Tanzania shortly after
independence in 1961 was that Tanzania emphasized on the importance of rural areas in its
development efforts. The aim was generally to increase production and the living standards
of the in the countryside where more than 95% of the population lived. As a result of the
recommendation from the World Bank, two approaches were adopted which were
improvement and transformation (Amani&Mkumbo, 2013). Fieldman (1970), as cited in
Amani&Mkumbo (2013), argues that the improvement approach was an expansion of
assistance and guidance through the agricultural extension workers, and community
development workers working together,while the later was sought to radically transform
agriculture through the resettlement in special schemes of preselected villagers who would
then engage in 'modern' farming under the supervision and direction of officials as noted by
(see C.K. Omari as cited in Amani, 2013) It was at this juncture that villagezation program
was introduced in the Country from 1975. The intention of which wasto move all the people
into villagesand easily provide social services (Amani, 2013). The intention of all these
approaches was enhancing rural development at all cost.
The Tanzania Rural Development Strategy (RDS) of 2001 and Agricultural Sector
Development Strategy (ASDS) of 2001 are the two strategies which were cornerstones in the
National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP II), preceded by NSGRP I
and Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRP) paper. NSGRP ii identifies three major clusters of
poverty reduction outcomes, which were: (i) growth and reduction of income poverty,
improvement of quality of life and social wellbeing, and (iii) good governance (URT, 2010),
whose focus is on growth of economy while the PRS focus was on poverty reduction. In
addition, RDS covers the entire rural sector including agriculture, nonfarm economic
activities, social services, and economic and social infrastructure; however, ASDS included
only crops and livestock production and agribusiness. ASDS has these 5 strategies which
include: creating a favorable climate for commercialization of agriculture, identifying and
promoting private and public sector roles,strengthening the institutional framework (Central
Government, Local Government, Farmer groups and the Private Sector), improving the
marketing of and markets for agricultural inputs and outputs, and focusing on the preparation
and implementation of District Agricultural Development Plans (DADPs)
(OECD,2008;Amani, 2013).
The Agricultural Sector Development Programme, (ASDP) was a seven years programme
starting from 2006/07 to 20012/13, to operationalize ASDS. Its implementation was expected
to contribute in MDG1, halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer
from hunger(URT, 2010). Thishas important implications not only on poverty and hunger
From the above discussions, it is definite that rural development and agricultural
development are two complementary sectors. In order to improve rural development;
agricultural development is the key, and vice versa. That is why the earlier initiatives were
focused towards transformation of the rural set up. However, there were some technical
shortcomings faced/ experienced. However, we are not yet late to consolidate the efforts
towards the promotion of the sector which is the economic base of the majority Tanzanians.
This section will now analyze the key issues underlying rural economic development in
Tanzania. Currently, the sector faces poor infrastructureswhich hinder effective rural-urban
linkages (Amani, 2010). These infrastructures include roads and communication systems that
are quite useful for the production and marketing of finished farm products. It has been a
common situation for crops to become rotten and thrown as wastes in one part of the country
while the other part experiences a terrible food shortage. The clear example in the country is
Rukwa. Rukwa is for many years among the top four maize producing regions in the country.
However, due to poor infrastructure it has in most cases failed to transport its agricultural
products to neighboring regions such as Dodoma and Singida which usually experience food
shortage as a result of shortage of enough rainfall. In fact, having adequate infrastructure
could have improved their economies.
The second issue is that the agricultural sector depends largely on the rain fed agriculture
despite the many water sources such as lakes and rivers which could be used for irrigation.
These lakes include: Lake Nyasa, Victoria, Rukwa, Natron, Eyasi, to mention just a few of
them, of which irrigation farming could produce enough food crops which could provide
solution to those dry areas experiencing food shortage such as parts of Singida, Shinyanga
Third, in mid 1980s the country experienced a policy shift which led to the withdrawal of
public institutions from engaging in the following activities: production, development,
processing, and marketing of produce and input supply. However, even the government did
not play its role well as it lacked transport and storage facilities to mention a few. During the
transition period the situation worsened. The worsening condition was manifested in the
deterioration in the quality of produce especially for export crops such as coffee and tobacco.
On top of that, private companies turned into monopolistic cartels which predetermined
prices, forcing farmers to sell produce, particularly cash crops, at very low prices. At times
prices were lower than the cost of production (Amani, 2005). This situation literally
discouraged farmers who were involved in the production of these crops; the outstanding
examples are in Kilimanjaro and Mbeya whereby smallholders decided to either abandon the
production or uproot the crops. They were involved into other crops that provided lucrative
prices such as maize and beans of which there were no middle men. Hence, it was the
beginning of the discouragement of the smallholders in cash crops production and decline in
their economic status.
Moreover, there is a wide information gap in the changing agricultural sector from what we
have as a country. Farmers do not cope with the changing technologies in agriculture; as the
sector currently applies far reaching technology besides the agricultural innovation such as
the genetically modified Objects (GMO) of which the production level is high and crops are
resistant against drought and diseases. This is the dark side of the agricultural sector apart
from the fact that the sector is led by private entrepreneurs who are well skilled with
management skills in production activities linking markets with producers (WB, 2007).
The government has highly taxed the agricultural inputs. This makes the smallholders end up
with small profit margin after harvesting. For instance the prices for fertilizers range
between 110,000 for DAP, TSP 75,000 but the bag of potatoes is just 20,000.00 at most. For
this case, there is no correlation between input costs and production costs which often have
hampered the development of the agricultural sector in Tanzania. For this reason, the
Government needs to harmonize the taxes induced against these inputs. As for now, there is
a voucher system introduced which needs to be monitored closely since the current target is
not accessing this support apart from the fact that many times the variety of the inputs are
decided by the District level. Farmers are really supposed to be part and active players in the
decision regarding the type of fertilizers that have to be supplied tothem (Danida, 2011).The
study noted that, there is elite capture of which elected village leaders receives bigger portion
of these inputs who are usually less poor (Bagagambi, 2013)
The country is endowed with many lakes and riverswhich are underutilized for production
purposes (Census, 2012). With better use of these resources, the country can have a big share
in exporting both food and cash crops such as rice, maize, and beans. In order to make use of
these water bodies, the government needs to invest in the irrigation sector development so
that all lakes and rivers are used effectively for production. Definitely, this will have multiple
effects such as increasing production of crops and even employment of people in the sector.
Eventually, the contribution of the sector to national economy will increase.
Additionally, the government has to adapt an integrated agriculture. Integrated agriculture has
a potential to the nation at large and to rural development in particular as it goes one step
beyond commoditybased improvements to agriculture (Lightfoot.C, 1996). It recognizes
that there are links between livestock and crops, between fish and crops, and between trees
and livestock. In so doing, the agricultural sector contributes to crops production on the one
hand, and animal production on the other. At the end, it conserves the resource base for
economic development, which is the environment.
The present trend in agricultural development is not Community driven since agricultural
development actions do not fit the local conditions. This is because there is no link between
Universities (Research Institutions), which generate findings in agricultural development, the
decision makers (the Politicians), and the target people who are the rural inhabiting people.
The three stakeholders need to work as a team so that the best research can be accepted by
decision making bodies and by farmers who are at ease with the directives provided by
extension workers. Extension workers should be facilitative than authoritative in the sector as
even the rural areas people have rich experiences on indigenous Knowledge that need to be
integrated in the modern farming system.
It is encouraging that agriculture now acquires a new outlook at the international and national
levels. However, there is a need for commitment in the sector for it to be intensified. This
commitment, as I pointed out above, can be possible by increasing the national budget to this
sector from the present level of 6.7% ( Nyoni, 2007), to the one suggested by African heads
of states in 2003, of 10% of the National Budget((Ngene, Mwokoye &Ukaoha, 2012).) so
that the sector can takeoff well. Moreover, there is a need to have improvement in smart
subsidies which are now resumed by the government. The subsidies have to be community
driven in the sense that the supply system is well coordinated by the beneficiaries and the
target people achieve benefits as opposed to the present system of which there is no well
developed system for the subsidies supply to the rural areas.
Again, it is important to build the capacity of the smallholders and their organizations so that
they can be well informed about market entry and mechanisms because these days the
production becomes complex and involves a lot of chains. Hence, from the above discussion,
it is apparent that agriculture is an important part of national development because principally
Tanzania is an agricultural based country and the majority of its citizens still depend on
agriculture for livelihood apart from the sector contributing largely to the GDP. It is my
sincere hope that if well sustained, the agricultural sector will be able to deliver promising
economic growth and lead to reduction of abject poverty that overwhelms rural people in the
country.
References
Ikisiri
Maendeleo ya nchi yoyote duniani yanatokana na uthabiti wa elimu itolewayo kwayo
kwa wananchi wake. Kwani ugunduzi wenye kuchochoea hayo maendeleo unatokana
na elimu na lugha ya jinsi watu walivyobadilishwa na kuwezeshwa kufikiri zaidi na
kuukabili vyema ulimwengu wao. Maarifa bora yenye kuwezesha kufikia malengo
hayo, yanatokana na mfumo bora wa elimu, sera faafu, lugha thabiti ya kufundishia
na watu huru wa nchi husika. Aidha, uhuru wa kweli ni ule unaoiwezesha nchi husika
kujiamulia mambo yake yenyewe bila kuingiliwa na nchi nyingine yoyote hasa
kipengele muhimu cha lugha. Makala haya yanajadili ni kwa kiasi gani Tanzania
inatekeleza uhuru wake wa mwaka 1961 katika kipengele cha lugha. Swali
linaloibuliwa na makala haya ni Je, ni kweli Tanzania itapata wanasayansi,
wahandisi na madaktari bingwa kwa kufundisha wananchi wake kwa lugha ya
Kiingereza?
Utangulizi
Asilimia tisini (90%) ya watu wa Afrika kwa sasa wanazungumza lugha za Afrika pekee
(Ngg, 1992), asilimia sabini (70%) ya watu wa Afrika ya Kusini wanaelewa na
kuzungumza vizuri sana Kizulu na asilimia karibu tisini na tano (95%) ya Watanzania
wanaelewa na kuzungumza vyema lugha ya Kiswahili. Hata hivyo pamoja na asilimia kubwa
ya Watanzania kuelewa na kuzungumza vyema lugha ya Kiswahili bado katika mfumo wa
elimu Tanzania kuanzia kidato cha kwanza hadi Chuo Kikuu lugha ya kufundishia ni lugha
ya Kiingereza. Aidha, umoja wa nchi huru za Afrika uliwahi kutoa vipaumbele kadhaa
kuhusu lugha za Kiafrika katika Language Plan of Action for Africa. Baadhi ya mikakati hiyo
ilikuwa ni:
(a) Kusisitiza kuwa kila mwanachama awe na sera bayana na inayoeleweka kuhusu
lugha.
(b) Kuwakomboa Waafrika kutoka katika minyonyoro ya kuendelea kutumia lugha
zisizo za asili kama lugha za utawala, lugha rasmi za nchi.
(c) Kukuza na kuhimiza lugha za Kiafrika kuwa lugha rasmi na lugha za mawasiliano
katika nyanja zote ili kutimiza wajibu wake wa mawasiliano kwa umma.
(d) Kuhimiza kuongeza matumizi ya lugha za Kiafrika kama tunu ya kutolea maarifa
katika ngazi zote za elimu.
Fasili ya Dhana
Ubeberu wa kiisimu
Ubeberu wa Kiisimu au ubeberu lugha ni dhana ya kiisimu ambayo inahusu uhawilishaji wa
lugha tawala/kandamizi (mf. Kiingereza kwa Tanzania) kwa watu au taifa jingine.
Uhawilishaji huu, ni udhihirisho wa ugandamizaji, nguvu za kijeshi, kimamlaka na katika
ulimwengu wa sasa wa utandawazi ni udhihirisho wa nguvu za kiuchumi. Pia, vipengele vya
kiutamaduni (mf. ushoga uliohalalishwa katika mataifa ya magharibi) vya taifa lenye nguvu
huhawilishwa katika taifa dhaifu. Uhawilishaji huu unajidhihirisha katika sura tofauti, kama
vile kutoa misaada ya vitabu na mashindano ya uandishi wa insha kwa ajili ya kuendeleza
lugha hizo, kutoa misaada ya kiuchumi yenye mwelekeo wa kupumbaza, kuzubaisha
watawaliwa na pale zinaposhindikana mbinu za ushawishi basi vitisho na nguvu mbalimbali
hutumika kwa watawaliwa. (Ngugi 2009) anafafanua kwa kusema;
Katika mfumo wa ukoloni mamboleo, mataifa yenye nguvu, kwa wakati fulani
yaliimarisha lugha zao kwa watawaliwa, ili kuhakikisha kwamba mfumo mzima wa
uzalishaji, usambazaji na utumiaji wa maarifa, unafanywa kwa kutumia lugha ya
watawala tu. Hata watawaliwa nao hujitambulisha kwa kutumia lugha ya watawala.
Kwa mfano katika Afrika kuna nchi zinazozungumza Kifaransa, nchi zinazotumia
Kijerumani na nchi zinazozungumza Kiingereza. Kwa maneno mengine utambulisho
wa Afrika unategemea lugha ya yule aliyetawala nchi hiyo (Tafsiri yangu).
Aidha, Phillipson (1991) na Skutnabb-Kangas (2000), wanaeleza kuwa kwa sasa ubeberu wa
kiisimu ni kipengele kilichojipenyeza na kuheshimika sana katika tawi la isimujamii ambapo
huhusika na kufafanua ulimwengu wa utandawazi kwa mtazamo wa ubeberu wa kiisimu
unaoona kuwa:
Utandawazi
Utandawazi ni sura nyingine ya ukoloni ambapo wakoloni wanatawala, wanadhibiti na
wanaamua juu ya itikadi, siasa, uchumi na utamaduni unaotakiwa kufuatwa na kutekelezwa
na mataifa yenye uhuru wa bendera (mf. Tanzania) kwa njia isiyo ya moja kwa moja.
Mwamzandi (2005) anaeleza kuwa utandawazi imehusishwa na msukumo wa mataifa ya
Kimagharibi wa kuyatawala mataifa mengine, hususani yanayoendelea, kisiasa, kibiashara na
hata kiuchumi. Mtazamo huu ndio umechukuliwa na makala haya, kuwa utandawazi ni
mfumo wenye kuleta hasara na matatizo kwa jamii fakiri (Masele, 2005).
4
Lugha Mawasiliano, tunaitumia kwa maana ya Lingua Franca katika Kiingereza.
Sera ya Lugha
Kwa mujibu wa Wizara ya Elimu na Mafunzo ya Ufundi Tanzania WEMAU (2009), Sera
ni matamko yatokanayo na masuala ya msingi yenye dhamira ya kueleza namna ya kukabili
changamoto kwa ajili ya maendeleo katika jamii. Aidha, sera inaweka wazi dira, dhima na
kueleza juu ya utekelezaji wa majukumu ya wizara, idara, taasisi, sekta binafsi na jamii kwa
ujumla. WEMAU inafafanua zaidi kuwa, wananchi ndiyo chimbuko, walengwa wakuu,
wadau na watekelezaji wa sera. Hivyo, sera ya lugha itakuwa ni matamko ya serikali yenye
dhamira ya kueleza namna ya kuendeleza, kukuza lugha ya Taifa la Tanzania na lugha
nyingine kama vile lugha za kienyeji na kimataifa. Katika kipengele cha lugha, Sera ya
Utamaduni (2005) ya Tanzania inatambua lugha za aina tatu, yaani lugha za jamii, lugha ya
Taifa, yaani Kiswahili, na lugha za kigeni, kwa mfano Kiingereza na Kifaransa. Hata hivyo,
ingawa nchini Tanzania kuhusu lugha ya Kiswahili, tangu kupata uhuru mwaka 1961
yametolewa matamko mbalimbali kuwa hii ni lugha ya taifa, bado Kiswahili hakijatamkwa
rasmi kisheria kuwa ndiyo lugha ya taifa. Hivyo, katiba ya nchi ya Tanzania haitambui kuwa
Kiswahili ni lugha ya Taifa.
a. Wanachi kukosa haki, kwani sheria nyingi zimeandikwa kwa lugha ya Kigeni
(Kiingereza). Aidha, shughuli za mahakama za ngazi ya juu huendeshwa kwa lugha
ya kigeni;
c. Mfumo wa elimu wa ngazi ya sekondari hadi elimu ya juu kuendeshwa kwa lugha ya
kigeni.
Haya yote na mengine yanadhihirisha kuwa sera ya lugha nchini Tanzania sio nzuri.
Mulokozi akizungumzia kuhusu Sera ya Lugha ya Tanzania anasema ina matatizo mengi na
inahitaji kuangaliwa upya kwa mfano:
Katika dondoo hili tunagundua kuwa, kutokana na udhaifu wa sera ya lugha ya kufundishia,
imekuwa ni tatizo pia kwa wananchi. Kwa mujibu wa Mulokozi (keshatajwa) tatizo hili
limepelekea kuwachanganya wanafunzi badala ya kuwaelimisha. Licha ya ukweli ulio
dhahiri kuwa Tanzania imeweza kujenga na kukuza umoja wa kitaifa kutokana na matumizi
ya lugha ya Kiswahili, bado kuna hisia kwamba kutumia Kiswahili kutaifanya nchi ya
Tanzania kutokuwa na maendeleo ya kisayansi na kiteknolojia miongoni mwa baadhi ya
watu, hasa wanasiasa na wasomi. Hata hivyo, inafaa ikumbukwe kuwa hakuna nchi yoyote
duniani ambayo imekuwa na maendeleo ya kuridhisha ya kisayansi na kiteknolojia bila ya
kutumia lugha yake ya taifa katika mawasiliano ya nyanja zote ikiwa ni pamoja na kutolea
elimu. Hivyo, makala haya yanashauri na kupendekeza sera ya lugha ipitiwe upya. Pili,
yatekelezwe matamko yaliyopendekezwa katika Sera ya Utamaduni kipengele cha 3.4 (3.4.1
na 3.4.2).
Lugha ya kufundishia
Lugha ya kufundishia ni lugha inayotumika kutolea maarifa ya kitaaluma kwa wananchi wa
taifa fulani. Kulingana na wataalamu wa masuala ya saikolojia ya elimu lugha inayofaa
kutumika kutolea maarifa kwa wananchi ni ile ambayo wananchi husika wanaifahamu na
wanaielewa vyema. Kwa mujibu wa Sera ya Utamaduni (2005) na Sera ya Elimu na Mafunzo
(SEMA, 2009), lugha za kufundishia katika Tanzania ni Kiswahili na Kiingereza. Lugha ya
Kiswahili kwa elimu ya awali, elimu ya msingi na vyuo vya ualimu ngazi ya cheti, na
Kiingereza kwa elimu ngazi ya sekondari hadi Chuo Kikuu. Licha ya sera zote mbili
kutambua kuwa mtu huelewa vyema dhana anazofundishwa pindi anapofundishwa kwa
kutumia lugha anayoifahamu vyema, hasa lugha ya Kwanza, kama inavyoelezwa katika
SEMA (uk 30):
Lugha ya kufundishia Elimu ya Sekondari ni Kiingereza. Tafiti mbalimbali
zimeonesha kwamba binadamu huelewa vyema maudhui ya masomo kama akijifunza
kwa lugha anayoifahamu vizuri zaidi, na vyema zaidi kama ni lugha yake ya kwanza.
Sehemu kubwa ya dunia uzoefu unaonesha kuwa jamii mbalimbali hutumia lugha zao
kupata maarifa na stadi mbalimbali (isipokuwa Tanzania) na hufundishwa lugha za
kigeni kwa ajili ya mawasiliano (tu).
Bado hali sivyo ilivyo katika Tanzania hasa kuanzia sekondari hadi Chuo Kikuu. Katika
dondoo hili Kiingereza ndicho kitatumika kutolea maarifa kuanzia ngazi ya sekondari hadi
chuo kikuu. Kama tulivyoeleza hapo awali, hili ni jambo la ajabu kabisa kwa taifa.
Watanzania asilimia 5% pekee ndio wanaomudu vyema lugha ya Kiingereza na asilimia 95
hawajui lugha hii. Hapa ni vyema ikajulikana kuwa sio wanafunzi tu ndio hawajui lugha ya
Kiingereza, hata baadhi ya walimu pia. Kwa mazingira haya unaweza kubaini ni kitu gani
kinaendelea madarasani ikiwa kiungo muhimu kabisa cha kuwaunganisha mwalimu na
mwanafunzi ambacho ni lugha, hakieleweki baina yao. Kwa maneno mengine kiungo hiki
Momanyi (2005:137) anasema lugha ya Kiswahili ambayo imeenea na inazidi kujitanua kwa
kasi mno ndiyo itakayoweza kutafsiri utu wetu, falsafa na mitazamo yetu, na kusambaza
mambo haya kwa mataifa mengine. Aidha, anaeleza zaidi asasi hii (Kiswahili) inaweza
kueneza fasihi zetu, sanaa na maarifa yetu kwa upana kama zilivyofanya lugha za
kimagharibi, mathalani Kiingereza, Kifaransa na Kijerumani. Hivyo, ni mtazamo potofu
kudhani kuwa ipo siku nchini Tanzania tatupata wanasayansi wengi bora, madaktari bingwa
na wahandisi bobevu ikiwa tutaendelea kufundisha vijana wetu kwa kutumia lugha ya
Kiingereza. Pia, ni dhahiri kuwa uhuru uliopatikana mwaka 1961 haujatekelezwa kwa
vitendo, kwani katiba ya nchi haitambui kuwa Kiswahili ni lugha ya taifa. Aidha, kwa mujibu
wa Momanyi (keshatajwa) hatujatambua utu, falsafa n.k. hoja hii inadhihirisha kuwa
hatujitambui kama taifa. Kama hali hii itaendelea basi tutarajie kuendelea kuwa (taz.
Chachage, 2005). Kauli hii inaoana na kauli iliyowahi kutolewa na Ngugi (2009) aliyewahi
kusema:
Ikiwa unataka kumnyima maarifa au uelewa mtoto wa Afrika eleza katika Kiingereza
au Kifaransa. (Tafsiri ni yetu).
Na ikiwa Watanzania wengi hawajui lugha ya Kiingereza vizuri, hivyo ni kutokuwajali,
kutowajibika, kutokuwatendea haki ya kikatiba ya kupata maarifa, kuwapuuza kuendelea
kutumia lugha ya Kiingereza. Hii ni sawa na mzazi ambaye hajui wajibu wake na kimsingi
hana malengo maalumu na watoto wake, kama Ngugi (2009) anavyoeleza:
Halliday (1973) anaeleza kuwa lugha ya mawasiliano katika jamii ndiyo ifaayo kuwa lugha
ya kufundishia kwa sababu ndiyo lugha ambayo wanafunzi wanaifahamu vyema. Tukiangalia
Tanzania lugha ya kufundishia ni Kiingereza, ambapo kwa asilimia kubwa haikubaliki na
wadau wengi wa elimu, yaani wanafunzi, walimu, wazazi na jamii. Hivyo, swali lililoulizwa
ni je, Tanzania itapata maendeleo endelevu ikiwa utaratibu wa sasa ungali unaendelea? Jibu
ni hapana kwa sababu elimu itolewayo kwa lugha ya Kiingereza haiwawezeshi wajifunzaji
kuyakabili mazingira yanayowazunguka. Kujifunza kwa kutumia lugha ya Kiingereza
kunafanya mada nyingi kuwa ni za kidhahania sana, hali inayowafanya wajifunzaji
kushindwa kuhusisha nadharia wanazozipata darasani kukabili mazingira yanayowazunguka.
Hivyo Watanzania licha ya kuadhimisha miaka 50 ya uhuru, bado hawana uwezo wa
kuugawa ulimwengu kwa kutumia lugha yao. Kwa mujibu wa Edward Sapir (1921)
tunaumega ulimwengu kwa kutumia lugha, yaani tunaufasili ulimwengu na kuuelewa vizuri
kwa kutumia lugha. Aidha, Watanzania wanashindwa kufikiria juu ya mazingira yao kwa
sababu wamepokwa nyenzo kuu ambayo ndiyo yenye kuwawezesha kufikiri, yaani lugha (La
Page 1964) wamepokwa. Pia, ni vigumu sana kuwapata Madaktari bingwa, Wahandisi bora,
Wanasayansi na wataalamu wengine, ambao ni bobevu wenye kuweza kufanya ugunduzi
wenye kuleta maendeleo yenye tija katika nchi kwa kuendelea kufundisha watu wetu kwa
lugha ya Kiingereza. Tanzania kama nchi ipo haja ya kubadili mtazamo sasa.
Aidha, katika kujadili suala la lugha ya kufundishia imebainika kuwa mpaka sasa kwa
Tanzania licha ya SEMA kutambua kuwa mtu anaelewa vyema dhana anapofundishwa kwa
lugha anayoifahamu na kuimudu vizuri, ambapo katika muktadha wa Tanzania ni Kiswahili,
bado Kiingereza kinapewa msukumo wa kutumika kutokana na ukosefu wa utashi wa kisiasa.
Pia, katika hili imeoneshwa kuwa, Kiswahili kina uwezo wa kufanya kazi kama zilivyofanya
lugha nyingine za kusambaza maarifa ndani na nje ya bara la Afrika. Makala yamebainisha
kuwa ni vigumu kupata Madaktari bingwa, Wahandisi na Wanasayansi bora ikiwa watu
watafundishwa kwa kutumia lugha ambayo hawaielewi. Aidha, makala haya yametoa
tahadhari kuwa rasilimali za nchi zitaendelea kupokwa na mabepari, ikiwa mfumo wa utoaji
elimu hautabadilika. Aidha, makala yamebainisha, kuwa ikiwa hali hii haitabadilika, basi
Tanzania na Watanzania wataendelea kuwa Makuadi wa Soko Huria katika ulimwengu wa
utandawazi, hivyo imetoa wito wa kubadilisha mfumo ili kuwa washiriki na si watazamaji wa
soko hili.
Mwisho, Makala yamejaribu kuonesha kwa ufupi athari za kuendelea kutumia mfumo huu,
kuwa ni kutuama5 kimaendeleo katika nyanya zote na kuendelea kupoteza rasilimali zetu
kutokana na ujinga, ujuha wa lugha au kutoka kukomboka kifkra. Aidha, makala haya
yamependekeza mahala ambapo kama taifa tunaweza kuanzia kufanya mabadiliko ya mfumo
huo wa elimu na lugha ya kufundishia. Katiba mpya inayofikiriwa kutungwa kwa sasa.
5
Neno kutuama tumelitumia kurejelea dhana iliyozoeleka katika kiingereza Static
Momanyi, C. (2005). Kiswahili Kama Wenzo wa Kueneza Falsafa ya Kiafrika. Ktk Makala
ya Kongamano la Kimataifa la Jubilei ya TUKI Kuadhimisha Miaka 75 ya Taasisi
ya Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili, TUKI, Dar es Salaam.
Timoth, R. G. (2002). Language, Education, and Ideology: Mapping the Landscape of U.S.
Schools. Praeger Publisher, United States of America.
Neema Kibona
Mbeya University of Science and Technology
Email: nekibona @gmail.com
Abstract
This research aimed at exploring the naming system and gender construction in
Safwa ethnic group. The study was conducted through the interviews and focus group
discussion which provided the primary data. The findings of the study show that
Safwa people give names which are typically meaningful and are depending to a
certain reason. It was also discovered that, there is a big relationship between the
meaning of the name and the behaviour of the person called that name, especially
when the name is given during adulthood. Apart from this it was revealed that naming
system and language can not be separated because there are no names without
language and through names one can get a certain meaning and know the culture of
the area where the name is used.
It is clear that language is intertwined with culture and identity. Language develops according
to the particular needs of the people who live in a certain location at a certain period of time.
Naming and language can not be separated as they are connected to traditional knowledge
and culture. A name is an identity and a window on your culture and self. A name links one
with past, the ancestors and is part of spirituality (http://www.namesite.com/).
In Africa as in the rest of the world, the birth of a child is an event of great joy and
significance. Much importance is attached to the naming of the child. The hopes of the
parents, current events of importance and celestial events that may have attended the birth are
all given consideration in naming the child. It is believed that the name chosen will exert an
influence for better or for worse on the life of the child and on the family as well. Names are
given with regards to the sex of the child.
In the Safwa ethnic group, names are given to the child with regard to the way the child has
born, events, place, time and general situation of the parents during pregnancy and birth.
Elders are also given names which replace the first names depending to what he /she has done
or has happened to him /her. In the Safwa community there are individuals who are given
names like Mbotwa which means the failure, after failing to get the wife whom he loved
just because he was unable to convince her. Yilongo which means soil is a name given to the
girl child and Malongo to the boy child born after others have died, and a baby boy is called
Kaburi, meaning that there is a possibility of his death, while her mother is called Manzozi
meaning tears. This name can become famous and replace her first name. Also Mbozyo
meaning traditional medicine, is a name given to a girl who was always sick during her
childhood, this is to show that, if not traditional medicine the child could have died. This is
supported by Batibo (2005:37) that knowledge is often invested in people in a given
community, who as traditional healer, be knowledgeable of plants or who may have power to
get rid of evil spirits call for rain in time of drought, prepare charms for those in need or
carry out special divinations. Names are seen to have certain meaning and given either to a
female or male with regard to the certain reasons. They are to be investigated to see if those
names contribute to gender construction.
Names indicate social allegiances, that is which groups there are members of and which they
are not. Names are used to identify persons, places, things, and even ideas or concepts though
the system of naming differs from one society to another.
In Song of Lawino and Ocol Bitek (1989:81) has used Ocol and Lawino to potray Africans.
He has shown Lawino lamenting that, my husband rejects me because I have no christian
name and my name Lawino is not enough. He said Acoli names do not sound good, they are
primitive, and they belong to sinners who will burn in everlasting fire. This attitude has made
many people not using their traditional names and they are gradually disappearing. The
absence of these names is the absence of evidence on how Safwa language uses names to
construct gender. This has prompted the researcher to work on naming system and gender
construction in Safwa ethnic group so as to keep in writings the importance of names as a
means of cultural transmition, so as we can know where we are from, where we are going and
what is the position of our culture.
In this study the researcher generally intended to explore the naming system in relation to
gender construction specifically in Safwa ethnic group. Specifically the study intended to
identify common names in Safwa ethnic group and their relation to gender construction, to
find out if the meaning of the name reflects ones behaviour, and finally to examine the
relationship between the naming system and language
Research Methodology
The study was conducted in Mbeya rural District which is in Mbeya Region, one among the
Regions in south western Tanzania. Mbeya Rural district has three divisions and twenty five
wards. The researcher collected data in two divisions Usongwe and Tembela. She left
Isangati division because there is a mixture of Safwa and Malila ethnic group, so the
researcher feared to collect the data there as it could be easy to mix Malila and Safwa names.
In this study the data collected during the study were analysed by summarising the key
findings obtained from the field. Responses from the interviews and focus group discussion
were noted down by categorising them into various classes. The researcher made some
explanation from the particular responses and finally the interpretation.
Bitek, (1989) in his book Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol that African names are
meaningful, in Acoli community the first born may have a name but he is always called
Okang, he is the first to listen to the songs of birds. He is a proof that the woman is not
barren. He is the owner of the shrine that shall be built in honour of his father and he is
respected. The one who follows Okang is called Oboi, he is always jealous as he fights with
his brother and fights for his brother. The third son is called Odai and the last son is called
Cogo.
Thomas & Wareing (2003) define gender as a social category, which is associated with
certain behaviour. It is the personal traits that a society links to being female or male, and
thus why gender differs from one community to another. Since language develops according
to the particular needs of the people who live at a certain area, the findings show that, names
reveal the need of the society by showing gender differences between male and female in
Safwa society in different ways as it is explained below.
Ndele Si - ndele
Nsolo Si - nsolo
Nsungwe Si - sungwe
Shungu Si - shungu
Mwadada Si mwadada
mwadala Si - mwadala
Mbwiga Si - mbwiga
Mwanjelile Si mwanjelile
Mwambenja Si - mwambenja
Mazuluzuta Si - mazuluzuta
Nzunye Si - nzunye
Mpenga Si - mbenga
In these names the morphology of the male name changes by adding si which is a prefix to
form a female name. This causes the change semantically since morphology and semantic are
depending to each other. When the researcher asked the respondents on why si is put to
make female names, most of them said that a prefix si means of somebody. For example;
It is put to show that females are possessed by male and therefore they are addressed that
way, to show that they belong to a certain person. They went on explaining that si shows
that female are not permanently member of the family as they will be married and join
another family and therefore they will not belong to the clan. Safwa as a patriarch society,
female are displayed being owned and regarded as the pass by people while men are the ones
who are permanent in the family and in the clan. Gender construction is seen here when a
female is considered as a pass by person since she will be married and join her husbands
clan. In real situation, we can say that even the man shifts from his family and join his wife.
Therefore there is no need to say the woman is not a member of her parents family since it
can also be applied to the man who has started his family.
Moreover the prefix si is seen to be used for the names given to the bride during the
wedding ceremony. Here it is not associated with the clan name but these are names given to
any bride to welcome her to the husbands family. A name Sijanga derived from the prefix
si (of) and a noun ijanga, means a kind of local medicine. Also Simbwiga from the prefix
si (of) and a noun imbwiga means medicine, so (of medicine), are given to the bride
during the wedding day and some few days later. The prefix used in this environment does
not show possession but it shows that the bride is the medicine to the bridegroom. These
names are used in the songs sang to welcome this bride. These names are only given to the
females, thus women are associated with medicine especially in marriage relation. One of the
interviewed man said, Mfano wa wimbo mmojawapo ni (an example of the song is)
In short we can say that both prefix si and mwa means of but si is used to construct
female gender and mwa is used to construct male gender.
The woman who appears different from the society perspective is also given offensive names
like Sigwa or Mwolo which means lazy, Tobhi which means squanderer, who does not have a
stock of food to be used during hunger time. Also the name like Ntundusu which means
careless is given to a woman who is rough in everything, she cannot keep well her food, she
does not clean her house and put things in order. Another name is Simbeyu, which is a
combination of a prefix si (not) and the noun imbeyu (seeds) then meaning not of the
seeds. This name is given to a woman who has eaten the seeds. This indicates that the woman
is responsible to keep seeds and not a man. The respondents explained that polygamy is
common in their community due to their culture. Having many wives is a prestige and a
resource. A woman is the one who produces and cares the family for food and other needs
like school fees, clothes, exercise books and all the child needs. The duty of the father is to
divide the piece of land for a woman to cultivate, after the harvest each wife takes some of
the harvest to put in their husbands barn. This means that the man is not cultivating but at the
end of the day he has harvest which is not for food but for sell in time of his needs. This is
different from other societies where a man is responsible to care the children and his wife.
The difference is there because gender construction differs from one society to another. This
is argued by Jule (2008) who states that difference theory argues that people are primarily
defined by their gender as males and females, while social constructionism appreciates that
there are a range of cultural and power factors at work which both reinforce and undermine
our gender identities. Our subject positions develop in the activities within the particular
institutions where we participate.
There are also names that show that women are the ones to cook and receive the guest in the
family. The findings display that women are to be settled with one husband and they should
like to cook. It is revealed in the name Simwalyashi made by the prefix si (of), the verb
alye (to eat) and the suffix shi (what) brings the meaning what are you eating? It is a
question the woman called Simwalyashi asks the guest. This is a name given to a niggard
Female names show that women are affected with love affairs in the marriage. Gender
construction is seen in the name like Mwegu from the verb ega which means a prostitute or
a woman who is always divorced and gets married to another man. Simanga means sneer, it
is given to the woman who has no peace in her marriage. Her in-laws are always talking
negatively to this woman, it may be because of being late to get the child or any thing else.
And Mpozi which is from the word apole means to snatch. It is given to the woman who
has been snatched by another man from her husband. This was very common because women
were very few due to a polygamy system as a common phenomenon in Safwa ethnic group.
This action embarrasses the man whose wife has been taken and praise the one who has
snatched that woman. They are offensive names given to a woman who has not settled with
one husband while in the same society there are men who make love with the women who are
Also Mayimba is a name derived from the verb yimba which means regret, and added a
plural prefix ma to mean remorse. It is given to a woman whose marriage has problems.
She is beaten by her husband and there is no peace in the family and therefore she regret to
get married. Other names are like Malabha which is made by a plural prefix ma and the
verb labha (suffer), so the name means suffering. It is given to the woman who has
problems in marriage. Shela which is a name derived from the verb nashela meaning I
regret. It is given to a woman who is regretting for her decision of being married by a certain
man. Though sometimes the name can be given to the woman who is saying nashela (I
regret) most of the times when something has happened. These kinds of names are not given
to the male though it can happen that the woman is a problem in the family and the man is
tortured and he regrets to marry that woman.
Moreover it was discovered that women are the ones who lose much when their children die.
They are given names like Gwidu which means who is missing. It is given to a woman whose
all children have died. The name Nshilanye which is a combination of a prefix n (3rdps), the
suffix nye and the verb shila (pass), thus Nshilanye means who passes. This name is given
to the woman whose children die after birth. No name is given to the man just because
polygamy is dominant in Safwa tribe, so the man can possibly be having children to his other
wife. Munditile which is a combination of a prefix mu (2ndpp), ndi is a prefix to show
present time and a verb lita (tired), thus Munditile means you are tired of me. It is another
name given to a woman who has got frequent funerals. This is to show that either people who
have died are tired of her and thus why they are dying or people who go to the funeral are
now tired because they always attend her funerals. According to their belief they know that a
person die because he/she is tired of living. Gender construction is revealed here because the
child belongs to two parents (father and mother), so if a child dies both parents will lose
him/her.
Apart from these names, Howosheye which is from the verb howoshela which means forgive
and a prefix ye a 3rdps, therefore the name means forgive me. It is given to the woman who
is asking forgiveness most of the time or a woman who has converted, then the name shows
how this person is repenting. Also the name Imwajile is a combination of a prefix I 1stps
and a verb mwaje which means find or meet, thus the name means I have found him. It is
the name to the Christians converts to show that they have met God. Mfwiluwila is a name
composed of a prefix mfwi which is a 3rdps and a noun wila which means sympathy, thus
the name means have mercy on me. It is given to the woman who has a problem and she
prays so that God can help her.
The researcher came across the female names which are associated with beauty. These names
are names of the beautiful birds found in Safwa area. These names are Halenje and Nsalu
which are birds having different attractive colour are given to the beautiful woman who is
compared with those birds. Another name is Zihondiye which is a combination of a prefix
zi a (3rdpp) and the adjective hondiye (attractive), so Zihondiye means they are attractive.
This name is given to the woman who is beautiful and attractive.
The researcher discovered also that a woman works at farm and home. She is expected to do
all domestic work and most of the farm work. And if there is a shortage of food in the family
a woman is to be blamed. Due to this responsibility she is expected to be sharp and creative
so that her family has enough food for the whole year. If a woman who appears to be
different from the societal expectation is given the names to laugh at her and to discourage
that behaviour. The name given is Nzyungula derived from the word zyungula which means
Kyeremeh (2000) explains that names can have a certain communicative attributes that
inspire a society to select a specific name for a person. There is an implicit assumption of
some degree of intention on his part to communicate a message or messages that might be
embedded in that name. A person thus becomes a medium through whom a society sends
message in the form of a name into which meaning is formulated for the consumption of
others who interact with that person.
Most of the above names are given to replace the previous name after the identification of a
certain behaviour or situation. One could have a name which reveals the situation during birth
but after being grown up the current situation is considered much and suppress the first name.
In Safwa ethnic group male names are associated with taking alcohol, sleeping and dancing.
A name like Mwashahombwa which is made by a prefix mwasha (of) and a noun hombwa
(alcohol) means of alcohol. This is a man who is always drunkard, he is not working but
leaving depending on what his wife has earned. Mwangonele made by a prefix mwa (of)
and a noun ngonela which means a skin or a mat used to sleep on, is given to a man who is
lazy and sleep most of his time. The resembling name is Mwangonela which comes from the
prefix mwa and a Safwa noun ngonela. It is a name given to a man who goes for drama and
sleep there. The respondents said that male are powerful in the family and therefore do what
they like and nobody could ask them. Knowing that the man went for drama it is assumed
that he decided to sleep there. The respondents explained that, through these names we can
observe gender construction because a woman can not get these names as she is to be at home
caring the family and the society does not allow her to sleep wherever there is drama. Despite
the society perspective there are women who are drunkard and irresponsible in the family on
the other hand there are men who are responsible to care the family and they feel proud to do
that.
The researcher discovered that some male are given names to show that they behave like a
female and they are dull. A name like Kwesu which means always dumb, is a man who like
to sit in the kitchen and his big company are women. Nsyobhe which is a combination of a
prefix n (2ndps) and a verb syobha (deceive), then the name means deceive him. It is a
name given to the fool and dull person who cannot defend himself. He is ill treated by
everyone and no response against the harassment he is facing. For example when men are
hunting or eating together, this person will get fewer amounts compared to others.
Fulila which means a pot is a name given to the man who is eating the ugalis scurf from the
pot made of metal. It is given to despise a man because he is not expected to eat from the pot
but this is normal for the women. Another name is Nsonda which means a pot made of clay
soil. It is given to the man who eats the small amount of vegetables left in this kind of a pot.
Mwandoje which is a name derived from the verb adoje meaning to support. It is given to
the man whose houses are nearly to fall and so he uses the bamboo tree to support the wall
It was discovered that names attributed to the transport and the aim of travelling are given to
male adults according to the transport one used or the work he went to do. The name like
Mwinzanindege which is derived from three words a verb mwinza (you have come), a
preposition ni (by), and a noun ndege (aeroplane). So mwinzanindege means who have
come by aeroplane. This name is given to the man who have used an aeroplane as his
transport when coming back home. Other relating names are like mwinzanihala which is a
combination of a verb mwinza (you have come), a preposition ni (by) and a noun hala
(air). Thus the name means who has come by air transport. Wenela which means an
aeroplane, it is another name given to the person who has used an aeroplane when coming
back to his motherland.
Other names are given according to what one is going to do after arriving somewhere. The
name like Manamba was given to the people who were working as migrant worker during
colonialism. Nzungu or Mwanzungu is from the prefix mwa (of) and noun inzungu which
means tobacco. These names are given to the male who went to work in tobacco plantation in
Tabora and Chuya, and those who went in Tanga are called Shauritanga. Females are not
given this name because culturally women should stay at home looking after the children and
doing other domestic works.
Apart from this it was found that males are given names attributed to power and leadership.
The names like Mwala which means a rock and Lyalawe which is a big stone are given to the
male because they are believed to be strong. Females are not given these names because they
are considered weak. The man who is seen to be weak is laughed and given a name
Mwantwinsi. This name is a combination of a prefix mwa (of) and a noun ntwinsi (sweat),
thus Mwantwinsi means a person who is always sweating. It is a name to despise a man who
is weak.
It was also discovered that males are given names which shows that they are support and
depended. They are given the names like Lusuvilo which is from the prefix lu and the verb
Men are given names according to the hunting work in Safwa ethnic group. These names are
Ntondi which means a person who has target. This is given to the person whose arrow or
stone does not miss the animal. Nyonyi is another name meaning a bird. This is given to the
person who is hunting birds. Other names are Lembe which is from the animals name
Ilembe a wild cat. It is given to the person who hunts the wild cat. And Mpenga derived
from the animals name imbenga which is a wild animal bigger than the rats. Again this name
is given to the person who is good in hunting this type of animal. This kind of names is given
only to the men because women are not hunting.
It was also discovered that males are given names depending to their morphology. Examples
of these names are Ndagamsu which means giant. It is given to the person who is extremely
tall and strong man. Ntuta is given to the man who is very short or a dwarf man. Ngonzo is a
name derived from an adjective ungonzo which is used to modify a goat or a cow which has
become thinner. It is given to the thin person who is compared to these kinds of animals. All
these names are given to the male to show that the morphology is more considered to the
male than to the female. The ideal man is the one who is tall enough and strong one in Safwa
ethnic group and if a woman is weak that is not an issue to them.
Men are also given names associated to leadership. They are names given for leaders due to
the work they are doing. A male name Nyalanga is which derived from the verb langa
which means show. It is a name given to the person who shows or directs other people what
to do in the community. He leads people in doing different activities taking place in their
area. Mwankuga which is a combination of a prefix mwa (2ndps) and a verb kuga (call),
thus Mwankuga means have you called him, it is a name given to the person who is selected
to call and inform people about the funeral which has happened. He is the one who has a
good voice which can be heard to the long distance because he has to shout telling one who is
near to him so that the message will be sent to another person who is near to the informed
one. This is the way of communication which can reach very far for a short time, it helps
Aje Mbwiga aje Mbwiga weee.., (calling Mbwiga) he can repeat until
Mbwiga reply, eeee..(yes) afwile umwana wa Mengo ukugaje u Ndele
(Ndeles child has passed away give information to Ndele. And Ndele will
inform another person, they will do the same way until the message is
known to all people.
All these two works are being done by the male just because it is like that from long time ago
and even women themselves think that these are not their work and they are not able to do.
But this is not true because there are good female leader and those who have good voice.
Gary (1997) argues that it is obvious that no society can achieve its maximum strength unless
each individual makes his or her maximum contribution. There is one group which exhibits
feelings of disenfranchisement in every region of the world and that is women. Women all
over the world feel that they are second-rate and that only men can reach their full potential.
This discrimination begins while the baby is still in the womb, so that a female baby is often
considered of less value and the pregnancy terminated. This discrimination continues
throughout the life of a woman. This discrimination is confirmed by tradition, by educational
institutions, by the legal system, within the family, and, sadly, even by religion in many
cases. As a result, women are often at a disadvantage in terms of education, job opportunities,
and economically. Martinez (2013) argues on the perspective in South Africa where
traditionally, women have held second-class status to men. African social structures are
centered on men, leaving women powerless. This is mainly the belief throughout the entire
racial and ethnic population of South Africa. Patriarchal societies remain prevalent today in
South Africa.
Mwanibhanza is a name derived from the possessive pronoun mweni (owner) and the noun
ibhanza which is a round house made so that all male of the house hold meet and sleep
there. It is a place where males talk how to leave with their wives, youth are being taught to
be brave and they do different works like making axe and winno-wing baskets. These men
had their houses where his wife and girls stay and a man is allowed to sleep in his house
secretly only when they need to get a child. So the name Mwenibhanza was given to the
leader of ibhanza.
It was discovered that in Safwa ethnic group only men get new names according to the food
they like to eat. These names can be given to the newly baby just because names can be
inherited from the grandparents, aunts, uncles and other relatives. These names are like
Nyondo which means a gizzard. It is given to people who like to eat gizzard. Hoswe is
another name given to the person who likes to eat rats. Gogi is a person who likes to eat
maize stem which looks and tests like sugarcane. Nyenze means cockroach, it is a name
given to the person who likes to eat cockroach. Zelende and Mwahalende are derived from
the word ilende which is a type of sleepery vegetable. Mwantinda which is derived from the
name of vegetable called shindinda, which is made by grinding the fried pea and mixed with
boiled warm water ready to be used as vegetable. So this name is given to the person who
likes to eat this kind of vegetable.
Mbaule is another name given to the man who likes to eat the food like fresh maize or irish
potatoes which has been pealed off its skin with fire. Nsungwe is a name derived from the
noun sungwe which is the kind of vegetable in Safwa ethnic group. This name is given to the
people who like to eat this vegetable. These names are given to the person who likes to eat
this kind of vegetable. According to the culture women do not deserve to e selective thus why
these names are given to the men only.
There are also names which are given to the skilled person. Shalanda is a name derived from
the word landa which is an instrument used by the carpenters to make the wood smooth and
the prefix sha (of). The name did not exist before as they were using the sharpen iron to
carve wood things. This name emerged after the advancement of technology when they
started to use this advanced tool and the name was given to the user of this tool. Mponzi is a
name for a person who makes different things by using iron and therefore is called
blacksmith.
Ntabhi which is from the word atabhe to plait, is a name given to the man who makes mats
and baskets. In Safwa ethnic group this works are being done by men. Mpunzi which means
Mwalyego is a name derived from the noun ilyego which means a ladder used when
climbing to the ceiling and it is added a prefix mwa (of). In a Safwa ethnic group a ladder is
made by a big bamboo tree which is put the holes for footsteps. Because it is a single tree
people can drop down sometimes as a result a good climber is given this name. Apart from
this even the good maker of this ladder is also given the name Mwalyego. Mwansope is name
derived from the verb asope means to make especially the musician instrument called
impeta and indudwe which is made by connecting horns and bamboo tree and mwa (of) is a
prefix. The skilled person on making these instruments is the one called Mwansope. Women
have no these names because they are not engaged in these skilled works.
The researcher discovered that some names are inherited from the ancestors. Sir names seem
to be inherited from the grandfather and all members of the clan are addressed by that name.
For example; the children from the clan name Mwalyego, will all be called Mwalyego for
males and Simwalyego for females. And the children from the clan name Mbwiga, will all be
called Mbwiga for males and Simbwiga for females, from the clan name Mwasaka will all be
called Mwasaka for males and Simwasaka for females. Other examples have been explained
in number 4.8 above. Apart from the clan name personal names can also be inherited, one
child was given the name Zelende, which is the name of his grandfather who was given it
because he was eating the kind of vegetable which is mlenda. Bruckner & Chakkrit (2006)
argues that concept and rule system of names such as surnames are the most important as
they are used in many processes such as identifying people and genealogical research.
The relationship between the meaning of the name and the behavior of the person called
that name
The researcher discovered that most of the adults names are given depending to the
behaviour or the situation the owner of the name have faced. From there we see that one can
call him/herself a name resembling to what has happened or other people can give him / her,
a name which reflects the behaviour or a certain situation which has happened. Names which
have the meaning which reflects ones behaviour are like Mwasaka which means the
innocent. This is a name given to the person who is blamed and he reply mwasaka Iam not
the one. And because the blames are always sent to him and he is replying the same then gets
the name Mwasaka.
The researcher discovered that language is very important in the naming system since there
are no names without language. The respondents explained that there is a big relationship
between a name and language, since there is no way a person can express his/her culture
without using language and names is among things which reveal the culture of a certain area.
If you pass through a meaning of many names you can identify the culture of place where the
name is used. In Safwa ethnic group there are names for people who have married from the
same family just because the man is to pay the bride price before marriage. These names
reflect the culture which is going on in Safwa area. Examples of these names are Lyandosa
which is a name derived from the word ndosa meaning a cloth made by skin and is put on in
the dance while lya means two people who use to call each other, due to the same
background or something they shared. And therefore Lyandosa means people who have
married from the same family. Lyandama is a name derived from the word lya two and
ndama calf. This name is used by the men who married from the same house because they
all paid calves as the bride price to the same family. Lyangole which is a name from lya and
Apart from these names there are names which show women as the user of adornment. These
names are like Simwambela which is derived from the word mbela means a back of snail. It
is given to the woman who use a chain made by the back of nails connected together by a
string. Ntoga which is derived from the verb atoje is given to the woman only because in
Safwa ethnic group only women are using adornment. Ngonde which its verb is agonde
means to decorate. Is a name given to the woman who was wearing the clothes which were
made by skin and decorated by beads. Men were putting on the undecorated skin and
differentiate the outlook of these two skins appearance. These names reveal the culture that
women use to decorate themselves while men are not. Through the use of these names the
society maintains and transfers the culture from one generation to another and this is a role of
language. Bomgbose in Batibo (2005:45) explains that language is a powerful symbol of
society, particularly if its potential is fully recognized and exploited. Through language we
are able to communicate our feelings and ideas. Language is never the entity which has been
invented or scripted in isolation. It certainly has evolved gradually with the continuous
development of a culture. A culture being a building made of social behaviours, human
emotions, or way of expressing feelings, the language has continually adapted accordingly to
accommodate these identified notion and gesture of human activity (http://wiki.answer.com).
It was also discovered that language as a medium of communication it uses names to send a
message from one person to another. Safwa people use language to inform people why a
certain person has a name or is given the name used to address him/her. There are names that
indicate a woman with bad relation with others to inform people concerning the bad habit
observed in the society and it is discouraged. Good relationship was discovered to be very
important in the society. A woman who does not share with others in problems like funerals,
diseases and other ceremonies is isolating herself from others and they call her names. Names
like Sinsagala which is made by a prefix si meaning not and the verb sagala meaning
remain come out with the meaning I am not remaining. This is a name given to a woman
who always says sinsagala when others are sleeping in the funeral. Sleeping in the funeral is
very important because it is one of the ways used to console the bereaved person. So the
person who is against is not agreed in the society. Jila is another name which means a person
who do not participate in others problems. She does not attend different societal activities and
therefore isolating herself from the community. Good relationship is very important in many
Moreover through praising names one can know the behaviour appreciated in the society.
These names show the contribution of a person in the family and community in general.
Examples of these names are names according to the work done by somebody in section 4.11.
The reasons on why Safwa people are using other names and not Safwa names
Research findings from the focus group discussion show that religion is the cause of stopping
these Safwa names because it came with a different perspective on naming. When the
researcher asked that, why dont they use the Safwa names but having the Christian meaning
like Ndiwela meaning I will be back, reflecting that Jesus said he will be back or Mponde
means shape him/her, to show that Jesus can shape or change a persons behaviour. The
answer was the Roman Catholic does not allow other names except those which are chosen
from the list of the saints name or Italians Christian names from which every Roman
Catholic member is required to choose.
Another reason given is concerning the bias which was in the selection of the students from
primary school to secondary school. The respondents explained that Safwa and Nyakyusa did
not love each other, and Nyakyusa were many in the selection so they were not selecting the
Safwa because through their names Safwa can be identified. As a result Safwa people
decided to use the names like Rashid, Ashura, John, Hawa, rebeka and other names from
which it is difficult to identify the tribe.
Neocolonialism was also explained to be a big problem which makes Safwa people ignore
their names and use the names from outside. They think using the traditional names is to be
primitive and not educated. This is due to the concept brought by colonialists that our
tradition is useless and less value. Bitek (2005:81) in his book Song of Lawino and Ocol
My husband rejects me
Because, he says
I have no Christian name.
He says
Lawino is not enough.
He says
Acol names are jok names
And they do not sound good.
They are primitive, he insists,
And he is a progressive man.
Ocol wanted me
To be baptized Benadeta,
He has christened
One daughter Martha
The other took the name of the mother of Hunchback!
This is a big problem facing Africans as everything from Europe is respected and considered
to be good even if it could carry some effects in our environment.
As stated earlier in the proceeding chapters, this study analyzed the naming system and
gender construction by focusing on the common names, criteria which are used to name a
person, the relationship between naming system and gender construction and the relationship
between naming system and language in safwa ethnic group. The study has discussed the
views expressed by respondents, who were the female and male elders of the Safwa people
and give out how other people talk about the contribution of names to gender construction.
Despite the coverage of this study there are other aspects which have not been studied and
this will provide an interesting topic for other scholars. The linguistic creativity of Safwa
personal names have not been studied, therefore future scholars can make a study on it.
Achebe, C. (1958). Things Fall Apart, London: Heinermann Educational Books Ltd.
Agyekum, F. (2006). Nordic Journal of African Studies, The Sociolinguistic of Akan
Personal Names, Vol. 15, no: 2
Davies, D. (2005). Varieties of Modern English: An Introduction, Harlow: Pearson.
Education Limited.
Gary I. A. (1997). Maximizing the Contribution of Women to Society, Statement
delivered to a group of diplomats at the U.N. 3 April 1997.
www.christianmission-un.org
Sabbath M. Uromi
Tanzania Public Service College-TABORA
E-mail: sabatouromi@yahoo.com
Abstract
The development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and private sectors like
companies and institutions is very important to the National Economy and Public
Procurement can be an important source of business for SMEs and private Sector.
However, access to public sector contracts by smaller entities is often seen as a
problem, at National and Global level, for many in the sector. This Article attempts to
outline factors that impact on the SMEs and Private sectors in accessing public
procurement opportunities, particularly in the light of a new National public
procurement policy framework, to identify possible obstacles and, in consultation with
the relevant stakeholders, to consider possible ways of appropriately encouraging /
facilitating that sectors participation. In the context of promoting whole of
Government objectives, the document points to the possibilities for stimulating
innovation, for example, in the context of SMEs participation in public procurement.
Many problems exist in developing and transition countries that keep local suppliers from
taking advantage of the local country level marketplace opportunities. Most public
procurement systems address in one way or another issue of how to provide support for the
domestic supplier base. While in Tanzania the procurement system has in one way or the
other tried to address the problem of increased participation by SMEs by providing support
for the domestic supplier base, support for this sector has remained weak and the actual
participation of SMEs in public procurement continue to be limited. Government
procurement is mainly undertaken mostly by larger firms, both local and international. The
SMEs are facing major challenges due to the lack of access to information, credit, skills and a
supportive institutional arrangement. Given the fact that SMEs can be enabled to grow into
bigger enterprises and that they constitute a substantial section of the national economic
management, there is a need for the country to institute affirmative action to support this
sector. For example In Germany, there is no single centralized bulletin or any other official
nationwide information source on public tenders. Most Lander used to publish their own
There study established that there are already many ongoing reforms in the policy and
regulatory framework for SMEs. However, there are many issues that still need to be
addressed in terms of reviewing policies, regulation or accelerating their implementation or
improving the way they are administered to enhance SMEs access to markets.
The SME sector plays a crucial role in the economy, generating about a third of the GDP.
SMEs have the greatest potential for generating widely shared growth and contributing to
poverty reduction. This is because they create employment at relatively low levels of
investment per job, tend to be more effective in the utilization of local resources and use
simple and affordable technology. With only 40,000 of 700,000 entrants in the labour market
in Tanzania able to find jobs in the formal sector, SMEs development is seen as the main
source of jobs in the future.
The sector is however dominated by informal micro enterprises with an extremely low
incidence of graduation to formal small and medium size. The enterprises remain marginal
players, creating and sustaining low quality jobs and unable to effectively contribute to
economic competitiveness, exports, tax revenue and economic growth. Among the main
reasons for this poor state and performance of the sector are unfavorable policies, laws and
regulations and attitudes of responsible public officials and limited capacity of the operators.
The strategic importance of public procurement has been recognised in the National Public
Procurement Policy Framework, which now requires public bodies to adopt a more strategic
approach to purchasing goods, supplies and services. As a response to that need, the
government, beginning in the mid 1990s, has initiated a number of procurement reforms in its
public procurement system with the aim of making it more efficient and transparent in line
with requisite and basic procurement guidelines and best practices, but in many ways, trying
to make it more focused on economic development and poverty reduction with apparent
limitations that this policy tries to address. One of the driving forces to this initiative was the
urgent need for strengthening institutions involved in public procurement, as these
institutions lacked technical and human resources capabilities. (Kaspar & Andrew, 2012),
As SMEs are considered to face the most barriers, the policy focus is directed at their needs
in terms of simplification, information and support (UE directives 2004/17/EC and
2004/18/EC).
The government has moved fast with the reforms to the extent of putting in place a legislative
framework for public procurement. Aside from public procurement been more associated
with business i.e. the acquisition of goods and services on the best possible terms, it also has
broader social, economic and political implications which can only be appropriately
addressed through a National Public Procurement Policy. Unfortunately reforms on public
procurement in the country have not been as focused as intended (Olomi, 2005).
The public sector includes a wide range of organizations which outsource most of the goods
and services they need. They include: central government ministries, government agencies,
parastatal organizations and local government authorities. These procure a range of products
and services. They include acquisition, construction, repair and maintenance of different
kinds of structures and equipment; use of various support services, including cleaning,
consultancy, catering, decoration, organization, etc. The areas with the greatest government
procurement potential for SMEs vary by capacity of enterprises as reflected in their size. The
Table1. Area of government with procurement potential for different size types
Substantial reforms in the public procurement arena have taken place in the recent past.
Public Procurement in Tanzania is now governed by the Public Procurement Act of 2011 and
(Act of Parliament No 7 of 2011). It is underpinned by the Public Procurement (Selection and
Employment of Consultants) Regulations of 2013 (No. 48) and the Public Procurement
(Goods, Works, non-consultant services and Disposal of Public Assets by Tender Regulations
of 2013.
The former Central Tender Board (CTB) has been disbanded and in its place two institutions
have been set up. These are the Public Procurement Regulatory Agency (PPRA) and the
Public Procurement Appeals Authority (PPAA). (Olomi, 2005).
The role of the former is to regulate public procurement, which is now decentralized to
various ministries and other semi-autonomous public entities. This role includes ensuring
fairness, harmonizing systems and practices, setting standards and ensuring compliance.
PPRA is also charged with the task of developing local procurement capacity in the United
Republic of Tanzania. However, both of these bodies are still in the process of being
established. Under the PPA 2011, several provisions have been made to enhance local
companies access to government procurement. These include:
Works 1,000,000.000
Goods 200,000,000
This preference is applicable for local firms and associations of local firms and foreign firms
in which the contribution of the local firm is more than 75% (Olomi, 2005).
Furthermore, the competitiveness of the whole tendering process will be enhanced as more
SMEs bid for contracts. Public sector procurers are currently missing out on the range of
benefits that SMEs generally, and small suppliers specifically, can bring to the table.
(International Trade Forum - Issue 1/2001).
The research by World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 3510 European
Commission policy documents 2005, indicate the main problems experienced by small and
medium sized firms interested in the public procurement market as follows:
ii) Lack of awareness amongst SMEs: The SMEs are not always aware of the opportunities
offered by public procurement markets . There is an implicit assumption that a serious
business (which can potentially successfully bid for a public contract) should be able to
communicate and transact in English. However, in Tanzania, only a small minority of people
can read and clearly understand technical information which is presented in English. Yet the
transition rates from primary to secondary education have, until recently, been less that 20%.
This means that the policy and regulatory framework is seriously biased against the majority
who cannot read and transact in English. This is inappropriate because as seen before, some
micro enterprises can supply goods and services to local government or other government
agencies, either singly or jointly. They also need to be aware of the opportunities availed by
the reforms.
Some sources indicated that there are problems and disadvantages in doing business with
SMEs according to Tanzanias SME Policy in FES/SADC; Chambers of Commerce and
Industry as Small Business (Kirumba, 1999).
i) Preference for dealing with one large supplier rather than a number of smaller ones
ii) Perceived lack of resources (personnel, organisational, technical, financial)
iii) Inability to provide adequate ongoing support, back-up or service levels
iv) Lack of track record/reputation
v) Continuity of the enterprise/uncertainty of deliveries and supplies
vi) Inability/unwillingness to hold stock (presumably for draw down contracts)
vii) Narrower product range than larger companies
viii) Lack of knowledge of the tendering process.
i) Register and check tenders for opportunities, sign up for appropriate alerts
ii) Check for published prior information notices or contact purchasing personnel in public
bodies and obtain information about upcoming contracts and / or purchasing and
tendering policy
iii) Ask to be put on tender lists, where kept
iv) Form consortia /group together, where appropriate, to bid for contracts that one enterprise
might have difficulty in fulfilling
v) Identify and pursue opportunities for sub-contracting on larger contracts
vi) Request debriefing on outcome of tendering procedure.
Conclusion
The Government recognizes that the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector is very
important to the economy and that public procurement can be an important source of business
for
SMEs. The government of Tanzania on Transforming the Public Service recently considered
issues that face SMEs in the public procurement market. In the present economic climate, the
competition for public contracts has intensified and some SMEs are finding it more difficult
to win such business. In these circumstances, it is particularly important that small and
medium enterprises are not hindered in competing for contracts that they could perform
effectively.
Recommendations
First, Public authorities should set individual targets for public sector procurement contracts
to be awarded to SMEs, with a specific focus on micro enterprises. These targets should not
be binding, but should give public authorities an ambitious basic figure to aim for.
Fourth, more innovative measures should be considered to address the perceived risk
associated with SMEs, which is an unfair bias against them. Reducing the perceived risk
would result in an increase in procurement from these companies. Fifth, Constructive and
clear feedback should be provided on unsuccessful bids. Feedback is often not provided to
SMEs, which makes improving their future chances of winning bids more difficult.
Sixth, Public sector procurement professionals should receive more support and training to
increase their understanding of SMEs and the way they operate. The greater the skills and
experience that procurement professionals can apply to their job, the more likely the process
is to be transparent and appropriate. Seventh, the procurement process should be made more
transparent. Many SMEs are concerned about procurement bias towards lower cost options.
Selection should be on the basis of value for money
References
Masue, O. (2012). Empowerment of School Committees and Local Communities in
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World Bank Policy Research Working Paper (2005) No. 3510.
The argument of the book is built upon seven chapters. The first chapter introduces the book
by discussing comprehensively the issue that manifests itself when oppression emerges in any
society, the issue of resistance. According to De la Torre, resistance is not a current issue. It
has been vivid in biblical stories and in the history of the church. He also discusses the origin
of liberation theology within this first chapter of his book. He introduces the lives of the first
committed liberation theologians in Latin America such as Bartolome de las Casas who stood
in solidarity with the disenfranchised Indians (p. 13). He clearly states that Liberation
Theology is a kind of Theology that says Basta (enough) to oppressions and subjugations of
any kind. Its main task is to raise consciousness about the oppressive structures that
eventually leads to resistance. It lives and acts on the promises of God for abundant life to
both the oppressed and the oppressors (p. 20).
Chapter two describes the United States economic supremacy and the bases for liberation
theology. Emphasizing on the US economic supremacy as a cause for Latin Americas
poverty situation, De la Torre argues: Without a doubt, a major cause of poverty throughout
Latin America has been the foreign and economic policies of the United States and the
multinational corporation whose interest the United States protects. (p. 23) This poverty and
Chapter three introduces the message and main theme of Liberation Theology. The message
of Liberation Theology, according to De la Torre, is abundant life for all people, rich and
poor, as described in John 10:10 not in the future but here and now. This means that the
theology stresses liberation from all forms of human oppression, be they social, economic,
political, racial, sexual, environmental, or religious. (p. 43) In this chapter De la Torre
strongly emphasizes that Liberation Theology is not only one theology agreed by all
theologians. There are many of them. The reason for this, De la Torre asserts, is that all
theology is contextual (including Eurocentric theologies); all theology is rooted in the social
location of those seeking faith-based responses to their situation. (p. 44) It is also pastoral in
the sense that liberation theologians are not only academicians, but also pastors working with
oppressed groups of people. Its methodology is different from Eurocentric theology. In
Eurocentric theology, theory which is regarded as universal truth is the bases for action. This
means that Orthopraxis (correct action) flows from orthodox (correct doctrine). The opposite
of that is what is embraced by liberation theology: theology, or theory is the second step. In
liberation theology, orthodoxy flows from orthopraxis, from the real life experiences of
people in their real lived situations. This means that liberation theology, as any other
contextual theology, begins with the analysis of the social reality of the people that then helps
formulate theology, instead of formulating teachings that guide peoples daily lives. It is
doing theology in the perspectives of the poor and marginalized groups of people.
Chapter three highlights some of the proponents of Liberation Theology in Latin America.
Several prominent figures, their significant contributions, and the fate they encountered have
been highlighted: Rutilio Grande, Oscar A. Romero, Gustavo Gutierrez, Leonardo Boff,
Chapter five recognizes the existence of liberation theology in other places of the world apart
from Latin America, especially North America. De la Torre argues: We would be mistaken
in assuming that liberation theology started in Latin America and then spread in North
America. (p. 85) He then discusses Feminist Theologies, Black Theologies, Hispanic
Theologies, and Asian American Theologies as forms of liberation theologies in North
America. He contends that since liberation theology is contextual, it existed everywhere in
the world where people struggled against oppressions. Some proponents of Liberation
theologies in North America include: Elizabeth Candy Stanton, Elizabeth Schussler, Fiorenza
Phyllis Trible, and Rosemary Ruether (Feminist Theology); James H. Cone (Black
Theology); Orlando Costas, Maria Pilar Aquino and Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz (Hispanic
Theology), and Chaong-Seng Song, Jung Young Lee, Roy Sano, David Ng, and Kosuke
Koyama (Asian-American Theology). All the above theologies and their proponent scholars
are a clear witness of the rampant spread of liberation theology in North America.
Chapter six provides a reflection of the liberative spiritual impulse found in other religious
locales and traditions. It explores liberation theology in Abrahamic tradition (Judaism, Islam
and Christianity), Asian Traditions (Minjung, Buddhism, Hinduism and Dalit), Philosophical
Tradition (humanism) and other Americanbased traditions (Native Americans and African-
based). He concludes the chapter by asserting that liberative impulse is not only found in
Christianity, but also in other religious traditions. This is because most of the disenfranchised
and oppressed people are found in all faith traditions.
Chapter seven moves the reader beyond liberation theology. It moves him/her to the
encounter between liberation theology and the fast emerging globalization. At this era of
globalization, liberation theology seems irrelevant. However, the chapter provides an
exploration of how theological perspectives are contemplated today from the margins of
De la Torres book is a timely introduction to the history and practice of liberation theology.
The book is wellpresented and wellargued. The illustrations provided therein help provide
a clear line of the argument of every chapter. Frankly speaking, the book is wellreadable
with a clear focus on what it means by liberation theology. However, despite the balance of
its argument, the book pays little attention to liberation theology in the African continent,
especially South Africa where apartheid regime was known worldwide. De la Torre discusses
liberation theology and proponents of this theology in all other continents except Africa as if
no oppressive structures ever existed and no resistance ever happened. The existence of Black
theology in South Africa and its great proponents, such as Bishop Desmond Tutu, have not
even been mentioned in this book. The lack of such mention weakens its strength and makes
it exclusive. The book and its argument could have been stronger and inclusive if he also
considered the initiatives of the poor and marginalized groups towards searching for abundant
life in the midst of oppressive structures in Africa especially South Africa and its resistance
to apartheid regime.
Despite this weakness, the book remains a valuable resource for students of contextual
theology in seminaries, theological colleges and universities. Moreover, the book can be
useful in discussions of liberation issues in small communities within various religious
traditions apart from Christianity.
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The references should be listed in full alphabetical order at the end of the manuscript.
8. No abbreviations for journals will be accepted.
9. Copyrights of all paper that will be accepted and published shall belong to the journal
unless agreed otherwise.
10. Contributors of the published articles will receive one free copy of the journal.