Abstract:
The decisions to re-establish co-operative societies and unions to which culminated in the
enactment of the Co-operative societies act,1982 following their dissolution in 1976 was
reached after realising that the Government had committed a serious blunder. It is necessary
to quote the exact words of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere on this aspect when he was
interviewed by the Editor in Chief of the London-based Magazine “South” ALTAF
GAUTTÄR where he said, inter alia, on the major mistakes which he would have wanted
to avoid that:
First of all, let say that when started we were simply doing things on a
day-to-day basis. There are certain things I would not do if I were to start
again. One of then is abolition of local government and the other is the
abandoning of the co-operatives. We were inpatient and ignorant. We
couldn’t have done that because it was completely contrary to our own
basis.
The President is admitting that in the early days of independence there was no planning. Things
were done on more or less ad hoc basis. Secondly, because of 'lack 'Of planning, the
Government was contradicting itself, there was no concrete co-ordination of the decisions and
the general policy. Thirdly, the people were not involved in matters which affected them. The
question is whether the situation is different today particular1y in view of the implementation
of both the local government (District Authorities) Act, 1982 and the Co-operative societies
Act, 1982. Both the party and government realised that not only was there contradictions
within the policy enunciated by the Arusha Declaration, but also that there was a drastic fall of
production. The graph of development was actually declining in a geometrical progression
