VI. WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

On the basis of this discussion, it is clear that both the proposed policy and the draft legislation have major shortcomings and will do nothing to further the democratization of the state and civil society in Tanzania. Indeed, they do not offer anything substantially different from what is in place at the moment. On the contrary, the authoritarian state control which has been the hallmark of Tanzanian legal, constitutional and political history since colonial times is retained if not further strengthened. In this back-sliding we see further evidence of the government's cynical repackaging of long-standing authoritarian practices in order to curry favour with donor agencies and governments while maintaining its monopoly over the real sources of power. It is a political swindle and should be seen and exposed as such! NGOs must resist this latest assault on their rights and freedoms. They can ignore this call only at their own peril.

Genuine efforts to reform the present legal and institutional system for governing NGOs in Tanzania must take our legal, constitutional and political history as a point of departure. That history, as we have seen, is not a glorious one as it bears the scars of both colonial despotism and post-colonial authoritarianism. An NGO policy which truly seeks to ensure the more efficient, transparent and democratic operation of NGOs must address the crucial question of the concentration of powers in the bureaucratic arms of the state. The starting point should, therefore, be to divest the state of the power to determine the life or death of the NGOs and to vest this power in members of the NGOs themselves. In this respect, the recommendation of the Nyalali Commission that the Societies Ordinance be amended or repealed and replaced by a more democratic legislation should be effected. Such a step is long overdue.

The government must create a conducive enabling environment for NGOs by "downsizing" its role from one of control the more mundane function of registering the NGOs for information purposes only. Disputes between the state and NGOs may be resolved within the ordinary courts of law, which have the advantage of being open to the public and relatively independent of government influence. The overriding principle in NGO policy should be respect for the rights of association, assembly and expression enshrined in the Constitution.

Similarly, the prohibition against NGO participation in politics should be lifted, therefore. As representatives of special interests and different groupings in society, NGOs have an important political role in safeguarding or fighting for the rights and aims of their constituencies and this role should be acknowledged and protected by law. NGOs will never be able to participate in social, economic and political transformation - which, ostensibly, is the main objective of the proposed policy - if their role in politics continues to be denied. (This would, of course, not cover foreign NGOs, which should not be allowed to enter the national political fray.)

Democracy should be the goal for all processes of policy-making and legislative drafting. By contrast, the government provided only a semblance of NGO input into the drafting of the NGO Policy, while not bothering even to go through the motions of participation in formulating the draft NGO Bill. To remedy this situation, NGOs should demand genuine representation in the drafting of the NGO Bill in order to ensure that it respects constitutional guarantees of basic freedoms and rights of association, assembly and expression.