Lately I have been thinking about the arbitrariness of life in Tanzania.  Why do things happen the way they do?  Who makes the decisions and why?

Today we went to the official opening, by the Prime Minister of Tanzania, of a refurbished hospital at Izimbya.  The hospital is owned jointly by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) and the Bukoba Rural Council.  It is close to Josiah’s shamba so it was an opportunity for us to visit his family and for him to avoid a crowded minibus ride home.  We visited Josiah’s 80 year old mother and talked to some of her grandchildren including one, a human rights lawyer, who is visiting home between finishing work in Geneva and starting a project in Jamaica.

We came to the opening expecting loud music, traditional dancing and long speeches.  There was none of that!  The PM, Mizengo Pinda, walked around the complex, with the local ELCT Bishop, talking to employees, clients and lookers-on.  He cut the ribbons without fanfare.  I don’t know how he felt about the gifts of bananas, dried fish and a goat.

I was standing with a group of ladies who had brought their babies to be vaccinated.  He shook my hand, and then chatted to the ladies standing near me.  It was all very calm and relaxed.  The police who were with him also looked calm and relaxed.  We chatted to the cameraman from the Tanzanian Broadcasting Corporation who was travelling as part of the PM’s retinue about how stable Tanzania is compared with much of Africa.  This is a nation with much to be proud of and thankful for!  And the people of Izimbya, including Jenny (below) have a beautiful new clinic and hospital that they can now officially use.

Yesterday, unannounced, a pile of printed documents appeared on Josiah’s desk.  They were from the Examinations Board of Tanzania announcing a change in the format of the Standard VII National exams.  All are to be entirely multiple choice.  There was no consultation and no warning, at least in this part of the republic, that this decision was likely.  It means the Practice Exam in my book is less useful as a trial exam and I will have to rewrite the exam I had written for my Wards in the new format.  Teachers have 5 months to prepare themselves and their pupils for this unexpected change.  I can understand the reasons – easier marking and instant improved perceived performance (with A, B, C & D to choose from each candidate should at least get 25%!)  It will now look as if my efforts have improved standards; whether there is improved learning will be harder to judge.  I don’t know if anyone thought about the increased cost to schools of printing the inevitably longer revised exam format.

Over the last week or so someone has been busy in Bukoba with a spray can of red paint.  Every second shop or dwelling, some quite new and substantial, on the two main roads has a large red X and the word BOMOA painted on the front wall.  ‘Bomoa’ means demolish.  Someone, probably in Dodoma, Tanzanian’s capital, has decided to enforce a law about how close a fence or building can be to a main road. 

Immigration Office

Now many buildings, including the Magereza Club (Prison Bar) and the Immigration Office are slated to be removed!  So far no demolition has occurred and we have heard that the people affected are planning to fight the decision - it’s a bit crook when overnight you can lose your home or business because a law changed after you built it.  It’s also a bit silly as most of the buildings are not a danger to the flow of traffic (the traffic manages to be a danger without any help from the buildings!) and the economy cannot afford to rebuild perfectly serviceable buildings.  It will be interesting to see what happens next.

Lina's Night Club - where will the public phone go if the fence is demolished?