Incoming investments will help change village social dynamics

One is a born to a cattle herder and will remain that way, but with education that is no longer the case. A major conservation stakeholder working in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) said last year that the most important objective for the company’s work in the surrounding communities is building secondary schools so that every child can attend; that way they will not remain herders in future.

By extension, the fifth phase programme of constructing a secondary school for each village and a vocational training centre for each ward, while it isn’t easy to achieve, is being implemented and will take transformation to another level. The challenge is that when youths who have a good educational exposure are ready for other challenges than inheriting village roles, those opportunities will be available. That is the premise for seeking an upsurge of local and foreign investments, for it isn’t true that only foreigners have investment capital; locals have it as well but are less capable of taking risks compared to foreigners.

One of the most important side effects of mining and manufacturing projects that are now reportedly coming in by the dozen each month since the start of the sixth phase government is purchase of land or replacement of traditional dwellers after substantial compensation. This component of investments is important as it creates instant surpluses to household incomes that can be put to investments, for instance creating trading space, eventually also plenty of residential and office space. Depending on the character of consumption at a particular moment, some investments are favoured, changing at a different moment.

Of late there was news that the Arab Bank for Economic Develo0pment in Africa (BADEA) was putting in around seven trillion shillings in loans and some grant components for issuance to banks, via the Treasury and the central bank, for soft loans. By a cultural interpretation, intended beneficiaries for such a loan can’t be those who invest almost entirely in mammoth projects for that would be the focus of multinational banks, etc. This initiative seems targeted as outreach to trading communities with low value collateral, who can be considered for loans in commercial banks when funds targeting them actually exist.

When the impact of multitrillion shilling series of small loans (despite a measure of recycling funds where the cash doesn’t actually touch the ground), adding to minerals sector projects, the multibillion dollar pipeline projects (one to Tanga and another to Mombasa) prospects are good for trading land in scores of districts. Such a situation assures the country of market needs for plenty of industrial products for new constructions for displaced people,, and then they start projects where each beneficiary employs a few other people. That looks small scale but combined, it takes our industrial society vision to a higher stage.