Rural Cooperation: In The Cooperative Movement in Tanzania

5. Cooperatives During Independence and The Rise of Socialism

5 Cooperatives During Independence and The Rise of Socialism 44 Rural Cooperation: In The Cooperative Movement in Tanzania This chapter analyzes the cooperative sector during independence and the rise of socialism. We explore the rapid expansion of the cooperative movement and the problems encountered. We also examine the rise and implementation of socialist policy and the elusive role of cooperatives in villages and Ujamaa Villages. 5.1 Expansion of the Cooperative Movement After Tanganyika (Tanzania Mainland) became independent in 1961, the government decided to embark on a systematic crash program for organizing cooperatives in areas of the Tanzanian mainland which, until then, were untouched by the movement. They targeted the central and coastal regions, Mtwara and Ruvuma in the south, and the west, even in areas where no cash crops nor surplus food crops were produced for sale. The government thought that cooperatives could help in achieving economic independence by having Africans control the economy through their cooperatives (The United Republic of Tanzania. 1966: 5; Hyden, 1976: 11). With the expansion of the cooperative movement, the government established the Cooperative Union of Tanganyika Ltd. (CUT) which was registered on 27 November, 1961 as a national cooperative organization. Membership to CUT. was open to all cooperative unions in the country and suchprimarysocietiesorothercooperativesocietiesaswerenotaffiliatedto any other cooperative union. The general aim of the CUT. was to encourage the growth of the cooperative movement and promote the well-being of its members in accordance with cooperative principles and practices through the collection and dissemination of cooperative information. The Cooperative Union of Tanganyika Ltd. (CUT), as an apex organization, had the following responsibilities: a) To promote various types of cooperatives by educating the affiliated members on all matters pertaining to the cooperative movement as well as carrying out publicity work on behalf of the affiliated cooperative unions and societies; b) To arrange the audit and supervision of affiliated societies and unions as may be authorized by the Registrar; and c) To promote the well-being of cooperative unions according to cooperative principles. This was done through carefully examining all legislation affecting the movement with a view to influence it for the benefit of the cooperative members, and by providing them assistance in legal matters (CUT, 1961: 2). Chapter Five 45 During the 1960s the government had the intention to promote cooperatives in many parts of the country because the government saw cooperatives as tools for economic development for the mass of small peasants. Importance was given to cooperative development to the extent that after independence one of the first ministries formed was the Ministry of Cooperatives and Community Development. The intention of the government to promote cooperatives in the farming sector was expressed in the Five Year Plan for Economic and Social Development 1964 -1969. To facilitate a rapid expansion of the cooperative movement, the governmentchangedtheCooperativeSocietiesOrdinancein1963togive power to the minister responsible for cooperatives to permit registration of a cooperative society if he found it desirable, even if registration of such a society had been refused by the Registrar of Cooperatives because he was not satisfied as to the cooperative’s viability (Tanganyika, Government (1963) Section 67). The registrar’s decisions were subject to reversal by the minister on political, rather than economic grounds. With government initiative, cooperatives were started in Dodoma, Singida, Mtwara, Coast, Morogoro and Kigoma regions4 . The number of registered societies increased from 857 in 1961 to 1,533 in April 1966 (Cooperative Development Division, 1966: 41). Many of these cooperatives were started with very weak economic foundations as noted later: The political pressures (after 1961) were considerable. Societies were organized from ‘on top’, without genuine local demand or even understanding, but in their enthusiasm in the first flush of freedom, people went along (The United Republic of Tanzania 1966(a): 5). It is argued that this rapid expansion due to government intervention led to inadequate preparation and members being uninformed as to the nature of their cooperatives (Minde, 1982: 43). Moreover, with this rapid cooperative expansion, there was a startling growth in the movement’s demands for skilled manpower, and an equally great dilution in the government’s skilled supervisory personnel (The United Republic of Tanzania 1966(a): 6). The government gave cooperatives the monopoly to buy certain cash crops from peasants. The Agricultural Products (Control and Marketing) Act 1962 gave the Minister of Agriculture power to establish 4 The political decision to establish cooperatives without consideration of their economic...