We have come to the end of something

IT leaves a lot wanting when a country concurrently faces a power and fuel crisis at a time of relative peace. Surely, we cannot blame God for every one of our woes, not in these times. Mankind has made so many strides over the years that all one needs is enough stash of money and a comfortable living is guaranteed.

When, in this era, your money is not good enough, then you are in some serious trouble. It is either the powers that be, or people who have assumed that role dislike you or the system has plunged into depths of sub optimality beyond recovery.

I do not wish to believe that our institutions have utterly failed. Failed institutions reflect governance failure which in turn amounts to anarchy. As a country we have not come to that. But states do collapse, at times out of mere idiocies.  

But certain individuals have definitely failed us, leading to the current unpleasant state of affairs. Anticipating, averting, and responding to a crisis requires more planning and better organization. Such are the qualities we need in individuals managing the affairs of the state. Yet we keep getting less than we bargain for.

Because those guiding us fail to foresee crises in the making, unsurprisingly they fail to avert them before they occur. Further down the road, responding to crises after they have occurred remains one of the greatest challenges, at times leading to irreversible consequences. This is how we got here today.

Decisions by individuals against expert advice are largely attributed to the failure of organizations such as ATCL, TRL, UDA and others. There has been evidence showing that one of the main reasons public corporations failed was due to government interference, mostly based on political calculations than business acumen.

Such decisions were reached by individuals with little regard for the greater public good. Similar decisions are reached today with similar implications, but it does not seem to bother any. And those who are bothered, unfortunately, are tethered in one way or another. It is as though they've got no incentive to do things right even when it's in their best interest.

This is a product of unaccountability. We fail not because we have to, but because we want to. We fail not because we are incapable of getting goals accomplished, but because we know nothing would happen to us even if we do nothing. Such laxity sires an even more dangerous attitude, indecisiveness!

Since we do not have the practice of holding people accountable for their misdeeds, we never see the need to man up when and where we err. As a result contrition is not known to be a strong disposition amongst my people.

Tanzanians for a while lived like a death row inmate serving two death sentences. We are waiting to be executed [again] after we are dead, never ever to come back! But when reality checks, how can anyone figure that we can survive as a nation with irregular power rationing and unnecessary fuel shortages? 

When it was decided that load shedding was is inevitable, we took it and smiled. But when the government decided to lower fuel prices and a handful firms decided to blatantly defy government orders, most of us were shocked, angered but most importantly, we suffered.

The defiance resulted in fuel shortages, hurting many individuals and businesses in the process. What angered most of us was the fact that someone out there took to long to react. As stated earlier, someone did not anticipate a crisis, thus failed to avert it and the response after the fact was questionable, still is as a matter of fact. 

As for the oil marketing firms that defied compliance orders, where do they get such guts and arrogance? Flagrant disregard of state orders is no trivial matter. This goes to show that concerned firms do not feel responsible for their actions despite far-reaching consequences and repercussions. They are least concerned about the general welfare of Tanzanians. And they probably learnt from the best!

There is more than what meets the eye here. If my take on things mattered I would say we can do without them. There are many more where they came from. It is time for change and we could always start afresh. Let us start by making sure that anyone who wants to do business here understands that he is dealing with a serious lot, not just a bunch of buffoons and lame ducks.

We need to take back our lost dignity and respect inasmuch as we are poor. Even sweet dreams come to an end. Recent events are a clear sign of the times; we have come to the end of something. But it wouldn't kill if we look at it as a prospect for a new beginning.