Tanzania and the foreign policy in 2014

TANZANIA may not be part of negotiation for Iran’s nuclear or peace talks for the Syria conflict, but in the world of foreign policy, actions and events happening in Dar es Salaam matters thousands of kilometres away.

The visit by the US President, followed by the Chinese leader, and of course, one decorative speech of President Jakaya Kikwete at Nelson Mandela’s funeral last year, gave a clear reference of Tanzania’s relevance in regional and global affairs

From security to integration and partnership with super powers, below are a couple of issues among many major ones that should be closely monitored this year in regard to the East African country’s foreign policy

Constitution

The constitution making process is often looked at with a local perspective, but this is equally an international affair.

By far and large foreign policy is an extension of an internal policy, and so the document will simply reflect the true colour of a country.

How does a country defines the rule of law, how does it value human rights, press freedom and the like are the reasons the globe is closely monitoring this process.

Mentioning all these issues in a document is one thing and implementing them is another, but even how the country handles the whole process speaks volumes about the place these major issues occupy in the society.

The question of separating the sovereignty of Zanzibar and Tanganyika on international affairs also hints on the pattern of the country’s relationship with the globe. The international community should be interested to know what is going to be the posture of Tanzania’s ties

East Africa

In November, President Jakaya Kikwete made it clear that Tanzania will never abandon the block even as there is a disturbing development among member states.

Last year saw opinion sharply divided on whether Tanzania’s sluggish mode in the regional block was wise or simply frustrating.

The community has already rolled out its projects and policies to be handled this year. In the first quarter of 2014, integration officials are expected to fast-track the implementation of the Political Federation, the Customs Union, and the Common Market protocols.

There are infrastructure projects and the ratification of the East African Monetary Union protocol signed in November 2013 is set to be accomplished by July 2014. 

President Kikwete’s stance on Tanzania’s status at the community might have been highly lauded, but, as crucial as Tanzania is in the block, if the country cannot lead, it should be ready to follow or step aside altogether.

China

Forget about what this country is doing in Botswana or Zambia, China is up to something huge in Tanzania.

The Chinese know what they want, they know what they are doing, and they are ready to pay any price possible to get it. It’s just sad how unaware Tanzanians are about this truth.

For instance, in the construction sector alone, according to information from the Tanzania National Roads Agency (Tanroad), 14 Chinese companies have in the past 10 years entered 58 road construction projects of 3,140.85-kilometre long worth $1.75 billion.

China sees this continent as an almost limitless business opportunity. One can only hope that Tanzania would look at China in the same perspective.

It is not surprising when on March last year, Beijing and Dar es Salaam signed 17 deals worth $13.355 billion which authorities say the huge funding will cover many strategic economic areas and have a direct impact on the national budgets at least for the coming two fiscal years. It’s time Dar es Salaam took China seriously this year.

Terrorism

The sad truth about regional integration is that it doesn’t come with economic advantages exclusively; it also brings some credible risks. And terrorism is one of them.

About a fortnight ago, US National Intelligence director James Clapper warned that Somali militants wanted to launch a fresh attack in the East African region.

Although the officer praised countries’ efforts to improve their security and counter-terrorism efforts since the attack on the Westgate Mall in September, he warned on difficulties in protecting the wide range of potential targets.

Although this may not be a priority in Tanzania’s foreign policy docket, the increasing level of terrorism risks call for the country’s policy to be even clearer on its stand and strategy for itself, its regional partners and allies alike.

General Election

The 2014 is just one year ahead of General Election year. The international media like The Economist magazine had even last year predicted who will be the president. Surely, the big brothers are watching.

The country can bank on its good poll records. The transitions are predictable and the results are pretty satisfactory, of course, by the continent’s standards.

But the international community would still be interested in knowing who they are going to deal with in proximity.

 by  Sammy Awami,The Citizen Foreign Editor
Source @The Citizen