7 Responses to “This is great”

• Josh

  April 5, 2010 at 8:10 pm

  Link doesn’t seem to be working, Barak.
• Elsie Eyakuze

  April 8, 2010 at 3:42 am

  Thank you, Barak. I am curious: has this kind of study been conducted anywhere? I am really interested in any kind of data that pierces the veil of darkness about what MPs in East Africa actually get up to. Any recommendations on materials I could read?
  Elsie.
• Barak

  April 10, 2010 at 8:15 pm

  Elise,

  Here is a paper on Kenya’s elections. I am not aware of anything for Tanzania.

  Barak
• Elsie Eyakuze

  April 22, 2010 at 6:12 pm

  Hi Barak- thanks for that. And yes, literature on Tanzania is noticeably scarcer than Kenya.
• Barak

  April 22, 2010 at 9:41 pm

  No kidding. Lack of transparency on political finance is a serious problem. From my discussions with the Registrar of Political Parties, I am not at all convinced they will be able to monitor campaign spending in the way that they new campaign finance law stipulates. I’d go farther to speculate that this is an intentional design since CCM has no incentive to reveal this information. Further evidence of this comes from watching the way that CCM is cracking down on how much candidates spend on internal CCM nominations.
• Elsie Eyakuze

  May 6, 2010 at 8:49 am

  Okay, let’s get all political economy on this issue. Why on earth would CCM rock the boat by making election financing transparent? the government has operated as a wonderful siphon of public funds to the party, which must be maintained at all costs.

  Secondly: Tanzania has decades of experience in appearing peacefully benevolent. the government has no interest in attracting the wrong kinds of international scrutiny. think about it.

  Thirdly: Tanzanians, unlike kenyans, have an esprit de corps that overcomes most inclinations to let the outsiders into the truth of matters. If you want real information, read the northern european researchers on Tanzania. The english and americans are thoroughly compromised, and we can see them coming a mile away.

  Finally, the iceberg principle: only 5% of Tanzanian politics is seen above the surface. Particularism works here: you either get it, or you don’t. Short-term won’t cut it.

  Sorry about the lateness of the response.

  e.
• Barak

  May 6, 2010 at 8:21 pm

  I agree with you thoroughly – and have found this a constant source of frustration (especially lack of transparency and people’s reluctance both in print and in person to give names as oppose to saying “some people”). I think we have done a pretty good job in describing these points in the current report my colleagues and I are writing. While we probably have not gotten to the bottom of all the issues, we raise the points you make and shed light on them where we can (e.g., the real political fight behind the Richmond scandal).

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• Barak: I do think it's a bit much to say that
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