In My Humble Opinion Maria Sarungi Tsehai

“We are a donor country”- are we really?
So here I was pondering statements made by powers-that-be that Tanzania is rich and does not need foreign aid, in fact, it could be a donor country! I am not an economist and definitely numbers are not my cup of tea! So I did what 99% of us do with internet connection – I Googled! This is what I stumbled on - a list of countries by nominal GDP on Wikipedia. At USD 62.2 billion Tanzania stood in 74th place on the list comprising of 185 countries. There you have it – proof! Tanzania was in the wealthiest half of the said list, just a few positions away from Luxembourg (69th) and well ahead of Bahrain (94th), both often mentioned as being super rich.

NO ACCOUNTABILITY WITHOUT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
As a communication expert, I value highly our ability as humans, to communicate. And in order to
ensure that communication is effective, freedom of expression is essential. But let me rush to say
that I am also not a lawyer. So it does become important to step back, reflect, start from basics and
argue my views and perspective.

**ADAPTABLE, INDESTRUCTIBLE: WHY WE NEED TO BE LIKE WATER**
The word “change” always fills us with fear even if we do not acknowledge it. As humans, we love the perception of continuity, of everything remaining as they are. Thus, when with time we realize that changes have occurred we reminisce for “those good old days”. But the reality is that life is change. And change is perpetual. So the Maria of today is not the Maria of yesteryears – and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Of course for vanity purposes, we would all like to remain ‘young’ but again that is not really a good thing. So what does this have to do with water and leadership and politics?

**IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO – KEEPING PREGNANT GIRLS IN SCHOOL**
Pregnant school girls should go back to school and should not be expelled. Why? Because* “Tanzania needs skilled and well educated women and men to take part in the development of the country, so it cannot just stand aside while it is losing the most precious contribution of many young Tanzanian women to the development of the country because of early marriages and pregnancies” *– these are not my words but the words of the Ministry of Education of the United Republic of Tanzania.