TZ SITES: http://www.tzsites.com MICHUZI http://issamichuzi.blogspot.com/
Tanzania’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister, Bernard Membe, says the Dual Citizenship Act will be enacted by the end of 2010.
..When I first heard that the Tanzanian government is introducing a new law allowing Tanzanians to hold dual citizenship, I thought this was all talk and no action. The amount of Tanzanians who are leaving their country to study and work abroad is not decreasing, if anything, it’s definitely on the rise (this is just an assumption based on what I’ve seen among my peers… by the way, are there any statistics regarding this?).During our parents’ generation, who left during the 1980s-1990s, there was a sense of urgency to return back home. Look at the amount of Tanzanians who went to study in Europe and America and came back to help build their country. Sadly, I don’t find that level of urgency in our generation; I worry that our generation plans to work abroad in our most productive years (20s to mid-40s) and possibly return home later on in our careers. Or maybe that’s just some of us? Who knows.
For those of us who are abroad, we know the challenges of trying to make it in our host countries while maintaining our Tanzanian citizenship. Many opportunities are not presented to us because some employment opportunities are reserved for the citizens of those countries. There are those who seek to stay abroad (many illegally) “kupata makaratasi” so that they can make more money…the thought of returning home and giving up their “American/Canadian/European” dream is just not feasible for them.
According to a recent article, the government is regretting locking out Tanzanians overseas during the 49 years of our Independence, while some African countries have been granting dual citizenship to their people. The government did a study to examine if this law would be bad for Tanzania, and their conclusion is that it won’t be harmful to the country. But what about the disadvantages? What is the government going to put in place to ensure that the disadvantages are addressed adequately?
While I fully support this law, especially having spent the past eight years abroad, I can’t help but question a few things. When this law is introduced and many Tanzanians living abroad start getting other citizenships, how does the Tanzania government intend to “utilize our skills and wealth to push forward Tanzania’s development agenda and tap the great economic potential of the Tanzanians overseas?” How will this law enable people like us to assist our motherland without any hitch?
The Minister said his ministry worked or is working with Tanzanian embassies and high commissions overseas to register Tanzanians to enable the government have full information for nationals living abroad. I registered myself when I moved to the U.S. a year ago, but I have never heard from the embassy, not an email, not a phone call, not a letter. Ever. Are the embassies not meant to help unite Tanzanians living in various countries? Or keep us informed at the very least? When considering this new development, I think it would help if our embassies kept us informed in measures our government is taking, just to keep us involved; perhaps the embassies should involve those of us living abroad about this, so that those of us who may not know how exactly we can make a difference while working abroad, we can get a better understanding on this. I will be the first to admit that I would benefit from this kind of information sharing and brainstorming.
This is an exciting new development and I look forward to the end of 2010. I just hope that my fellow Tanzanians living abroad, myself included, do not use this new law (once it is enacted) for our very own selfish reasons of staying away from home because life seems better in the developed countries. I hope that that sense of nationalism and dedication that was deeply rooted in our parents’ generation comes over us very soon so that we too, can have the will to leave the opportunities that entice us to stay abroad and come back home and build our country because only God knows that we still have a distance to go to take Tanzania further.
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