Ujamaa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ujamaa was the concept that formed the basis of Julius Nyerere's social and economic development policies in Tanzania just after it gained independence from Britain in 1964. In 1967, President Nyerere published his development blueprint titled the Arusha Declaration, in which Nyerere pointed out the need for an African model of development and which formed the basis of African socialism. Ujamaa comes from the Swahili word for "extended family" or "familyhood" and is distinguished by several key characteristics, namely that a person becomes a person through the people or community. For Nyerere, an African "extended family" means that every individual is in the service of the community.[1] Thus, Ujamaa is characterized by a community where co-operation and collective advancement are the rationale of every individual's existence. According to Ujamaa, personal acquisitiveness is prohibited, thus allowing the distribution of wealth through society horizontally rather than vertically.
Nyerere used Ujamaa as the basis for a national development project. He translated the Ujamaa concept into a political-economic management model through several means:
- The creation of a one-party system under the leadership of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) in order to help solidify the cohesion of the newly independent Tanzania.
- The institutionalization of social, economic and political equality through the creation of a central democracy, the abolition of discrimination based on ascribed status, and the nationalization of the economy's key sectors.[2]
- The villagization of production which essentially collectivized all forms of local productive capacity;
- The fostering of Tanzanian self-reliance through two dimensions: the transformation of economic attitudes and cultural attitudes. Economically, everyone would work for both the group and for him/herself; culturally, Tanzanians must learn to free themselves from dependence on European powers. For Nyerere, this included Tanzanians learning to do things for themselves and learning to be satisfied with what they could achieve as an independent state.
- The implementation of free and compulsory education for all Tanzanians in order to sensitize them to the principles of Ujamaa.[2]
Eventually a number of factors contributed to the downfall of the development model based on the Ujamaa concept. Among those factors were the oil crisis of the 1970s, the collapse of export commodity prices (particularly coffee and sisal), a lack of foreign direct investment, and the onset of war with Uganda in 1978 which bled the young Tanzanian nation of valuable resources.
