What has not always been grasped is that only when market forces are free to work can democracy work, since freedom does not work because all of us are good people, but rather, the law decides for us all. And the law has to have limits.
When the law is unlimited in the manner in which it operates, there will be little freedom for citizens or subjects in that country, in which case there will be a veneer of violence always regulating relations among people.
That is how countries descend to dictatorship because they can't afford to tolerate those who use freedom negatively for own benefit, and this is what we are experiencing now.
The government wants everyone to act rightly and feels it can't tolerate those who seem to be acting negatively, and indeed, purposely.
A preliminary illustration of this situation is the refusal by the parliamentary leadership, and eventually supported by the CCM wing of the legislature, the overall majority, that proceedings of the House should be held in camera.
When some pieces are released by a House press office (as it were) it lacks contributions by opposition MPs, which are then gathered by way of mouth from reporters in the vicinity, and after a while, they might also be banned.
MPs are having to register in the morning and afternoon like school pupils.
There was a sugar supply and pricing debate that was being pushed by a section of MPs, including Nzega MP Hussein Bashe (CCM), which Deputy Speaker Dr Tulia Ackson refused to allow.
The debate has now taken another turn when President John Magufuli made specific pronouncements in that regard in a village impromptu speech in Manyara Region. He pointedly told those hiding sugar to beware, allowing police to distribute the sugar freely if found stacked in godowns,
That is what happens in a revolution, popular rule. The trouble with truly popular government is that it puts the market at bay and soon everything has to be regulated by some militia, etc. Harsh penalties are inflicted on those who break the rules, and political loyalty is paramount.
Such a situation would bring about a state of affairs similar to what many countries are now seeking to abandon, and it amounts to putting the clock back as such measures failed early 1983 and Mwalimu started allowing the gradual liberalisation of economy, pending his exit from State House.
Then proper economic reform proceeded, and we have had a free economy up to now, but vengeance by the socialist camp has been lying low for years. In seeking to favor local products, and using harsh measures on those who wish to exploit the usual rules of supply and demand to make a profit, we shall put harmony at stake. The government can't abolish both imports and inflation.
The president said that the government was on the way to purchasing sugar to fill in the gaps that come up due to inadequate local production.
But why did it ban sugar imports in the first place, saying there was sufficient local sugar?
The president also complained that importers take sugar from Brazil that is close to expiring and land it in our shops; but where were inspection organs when it arrived at the port? It is alright to feel for local producers but trying to carry them on the back, shouting at everyone else to fall in step is too risky. The president could remove taxes from sugar producers if he wants, that's all.
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