By Adonis Byemelwa
Every 14 October, Tanzania remembers Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the founding president associated with independence, dignity and the belief that Tanzanians could shape their future. The day should be more than wreaths and speeches. It should be a national audit: how faithfully have we lived his ideals, and where have we abandoned them?
Nyerere died on 14 October 1999, but his questions remain alive. He did not urge Tanzania to shut its doors to the world. He argued that cooperation must help the country stand on its own feet, not teach its people to wait indefinitely for someone else to carry them. That distinction should guide this year’s remembrance.
In villages, school water tanks may carry donors’ names, desks may bear project logos, and dispensaries may display plaques identifying who financed their electricity. Such support can improve lives, particularly where public resources are stretched. The problem begins when assistance replaces local initiative instead of strengthening it, leaving communities convinced that progress cannot begin until a donor arrives.
A tank, desk or toilet is not evidence of national failure simply because a partner helped pay for it. The question is whether communities with local skills, materials and labour are encouraged to act. When a roof leaks or a pump breaks, the first response should not always be another funding proposal. Residents, local authorities and domestic institutions should work together to sustain what has been built.
This is the spirit of the Arusha Declaration of 1967, which placed self-reliance at the centre of Tanzania’s development philosophy. Nyerere argued that development is brought about by people, not money, and that money is the result, not the basis, of development. He identified people, land, good policies and good leadership as essential foundations. The message was practical: build from resources and abilities the country can command.
The Declaration did not demand isolation. It recognised that Tanzania would need outside assistance, but insisted that support should reinforce domestic effort rather than weaken independence. In a 1987 address, Nyerere criticised seeking aid for a village school or maize mill, warning that assistance should help people’s efforts, not put them to sleep. His target was dependency, not partnership.
The figures show why the debate matters. World Bank data record about US$3.06 billion in net official development assistance received by Tanzania in 2023. This includes external development assistance, not just direct budget support, but shows the scale of the country’s relationship with development partners. External finance has supported services, but should also build domestic capacity.
The Ministry of Finance’s 2025/26 budget projected Sh7.12 trillion in grants and concessional loans, alongside Sh40.47 trillion in domestic revenue. These are distinct financing categories, and concessional loans must be repaid; they are not all donations. The figures nevertheless underline a central point: external financing remains significant, while domestic revenue is the larger foundation of public spending. Tanzania must make that foundation stronger.
These numbers do not prove that Tanzania has failed, nor that externally funded projects are undesirable. Assistance has supported health, education, water and infrastructure. The test is whether each project leaves stronger institutions, skilled Tanzanians, maintenance plans and capacity to finance future needs. Aid that builds capability can help; a facility that fails when funding ends is unfinished.
Nyerere’s distinction between the foundation and fruit of development matters when donor logos become more visible than local ownership. A project may be completed on paper while a community remains dependent in practice. If residents are excluded from planning, local artisans are bypassed and maintenance budgets ignored, a new building can conceal an old weakness. Success should be measured not only by what is opened, but by what still works years later.
Self-help must never excuse government from providing essential services or allow wealthy citizens to evade taxes. Communities cannot build functioning clinics through goodwill alone when medicines, trained staff and equipment are missing. Nor should parents carry costs that public budgets are meant to cover. Self-reliance means mobilising people and resources responsibly, with government leading, financing services and remaining accountable to citizens.
At national level, kujitegemea requires a fair domestic revenue system. Tanzania must broaden the tax base without crushing small traders, reduce waste, curb corruption, review tax exemptions and show that public money produces results. When citizens see maintained roads, equipped schools and staffed health centres, taxation becomes easier to defend. When they see waste or unequal treatment, patriotic appeals lose force.
Nyerere insisted that development must serve people, not merely produce impressive statistics or grand buildings. World Bank data estimate Tanzania’s population at 68.6 million in 2024, increasing demand for classrooms, jobs, health care, housing and reliable water. A growing population is also a source of talent, labour and innovation if young people gain useful education, practical skills and opportunities to build enterprises.
Education is central to reclaiming his legacy. Nyerere’s Education for Self-Reliance challenged a system that prepared learners mainly for salaried employment rather than contribution to their communities and economy. Schools and colleges should connect learning to agriculture, engineering, digital services, manufacturing, health and entrepreneurship. Young people need more than certificates; they need competence to solve problems and create decent work.
Tanzania should welcome investment, scientific cooperation and concessional finance when the terms are transparent and benefits clear. Agreements should be assessed against national priorities, local skills development, technology transfer, environmental safeguards and the ability to maintain projects after external funding ends. The objective is not to reject partners. It is to negotiate with confidence and ensure cooperation serves Tanzanian people.
His ideals also demand integrity from leaders. Self-reliance cannot thrive where public resources become private opportunities, procurement is opaque, or connections matter more than competence. Good leadership, one of Nyerere’s foundations of development, means stewardship, restraint and service. It requires leaders to explain decisions honestly, accept scrutiny and ensure that national resources benefit the public rather than a privileged few.
Honest remembrance must also acknowledge history’s complexity. Nyerere’s government made choices that remain debated, and policies associated with Ujamaa had mixed outcomes, including serious economic difficulties. Respecting his legacy does not require pretending every policy succeeded. It means examining what endures in the principles of dignity, public service, equality and self-reliance, while learning from past mistakes.
On 14 October, Tanzania should turn remembrance into measurable commitments. Councils should publish annual maintenance plans for community assets. Every externally funded project should disclose its cost, responsible institution and maintenance budget. Schools should support practical learning, while universities and research centres develop solutions suited to Tanzanian conditions. Media organisations and citizens should track whether projects continue working after launch and ask leaders clear questions about budgets and services.
The measure of dignity is not whether a donor’s name appears on a wall. It is whether Tanzanians have the capacity, resources and confidence to decide what their communities need and sustain the results. Sometimes a partner is essential for a railway, hospital or advanced water system. In other cases, domestic procurement, public funding and community participation can deliver. Wisdom lies in choosing honestly, not rejecting help on principle.
Nyerere’s legacy is betrayed when citizens are trained to wait, leaders mistake announcements for outcomes, and institutions seek external funding before examining their capacity. It is honoured when public money is protected, local skills respected, communities heard, and assistance expands rather than replaces national capability. This 14 October, let us engage the world with confidence, clear priorities and resolve to build institutions that endure.