INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY - Essay Example To this date, the islands are semi-autonomous with their own president and legislature and are mainly inhabited by Arabs and Africans with Islam as the main religion (Cunningham, 2010). Tanzania’s first president was Julius Nyerere who led a single party state and nationalized all core industries and formed Ujamaa. This was a rural-based collective movement of African socialism and self-reliance (Tripp, 1997). The movement faced increasing popular discontent and was slowly abandoned in the 1980s (Green, 2003). Nyerere was succeeded by Ali Mwinyi. Under Mwinyi’s leadership, the country underwent various reforms and a slow and gradual transition to a market economy, partly due to economic downturn brought on by Ujamaa and centralized economic management (Tripp, 1997). Tanzania’s Economy Tanzania’s economy depends greatly on agriculture, which accounts for 50% of GDP of which 10% is contributed by livestock (Cunningham, 2010). Agriculture accounts for 85% of Tanzania’s exports and employs more than 80% its working population (Cunningham, 2010). Topography and climatic conditions however, limit cultivated crops to merely 4% of the total land area (Green, 2003). The Industrial sector is mainly characterized by processing of agricultural goods and light consumer products. Currently, Breton wood institutions and international donors have offered funds to revitalize the country’s obsolete economic infrastructure and reduce poverty. Growth in the last two decades characterized a lift in industrial production and a considerable rise in output of minerals led by gold (Cunningham, 2010). Current banking reforms have also facilitated an increase in private sector growth and investment (Green, 2003). Sustained donor aid and sound macroeconomic trade policies and regulations supported real GDP growth to around 6.4% annually in 2010 as noted by Cunningham (2010). The populace of Tanzania is concentrated along the coast region and islan ds, the fertile northern and southern highlands as well as areas bordering Lake Victoria. The arid and semi-arid central region is sparsely concentrated (Buchert, 1994). Likewise is much of the fertile and well watered far west, comprising of the shores of Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi. Nearly, 80% of its population lives in rural communities (Green, 2003). Tanzania’s Educational sector Tanzania recognizes the role of the education sector in realizing the overall growth and development goal of enhancing living standards of its citizens. Numerous policy and structural reforms have been started in the country to enhance quality of education and ensure universal primary education for all (Cunningham, 2010). Abolition of primary school fees through PRS1 was the first step toward this goal. This was to reinforce the relationship between education offered at all levels and the socio-economic development of the country (Buchert, 1994). In mid 1990s, the government undertook to dev elop the Education Sector Development Programme (ESDP) to tackle the existing problems and face the new challenges emanating from on-going socio-economic reforms initiated earlier and the rising demand for manpower development in line with rapidly transforming technological advancement (Buchert, 1994). The government adopted PRS1 that led to introduction of Complimentary Basic Education in Tanzania (COBET). COBET addresses educational needs for the out-of- school children and youths who