This page to discover Tanzania

History

Tanzania, like other Rift Valley countries, is considered part of the Cradle of Humankind. In the Olduvai Gorge, anthropologists have found footprints of a Homo habilis, 2 million years old, which lead to the conclusion that the one who left them, walked on two feet.

The beginnings of the independence of Tanzania are made by the uprising of the Majis-Majis in 1905. After the Second World War, the progressive development of the idea of ​​emancipation spreads through Africa and reaches Tanganyika thanks to the agricultural unions and cooperatives.

It was in the early 1950s that the emergence of the TAA (Tanganyika Africa Association), then the TANU (Tanganyika African National Union) headed by Julius Nyerere, succeeded in uniting the independence forces. Independence was granted on December 9, 1961. The republic was proclaimed a year later, with Nyerere president.

April 26th, 1964, the president of Tanganyika signs l′union with l′archipel of Zanzibar, to form the united republic of Tanganyika, rechristened in October by the same year the united republic of Tanzania (TANganyika and ZANzibar form TANZANIA).

Nyerere leads the country until 1985, he cedes power to Ali Hassan Mwinyl (member of the CCM, Chama cha Mapinduzi, party of the revolution) who, little by little, liberates the economy and, in 1992, authorizes the multiparty system. The government of Zanzibar retains a certain autonomy with regard to education and the economy, but the central power decides for the defense, the internal affairs, the foreign affairs of the country.

Policy

Tanzania is a presidential multi-party federal republic born on April 26, 1964 from the merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which had gained independence respectively on December 9, 1961 and December 10, 1963 after German and then British colonization. The name Tanzania is formed from the Tan of Tanganyika and the Zan of Zanzibar.

The current constitution, adopted on October 27, 1977, was revised in October 1984.

The President of the Republic, who is also the Head of State, is elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term. The latter appoints the Prime Minister, who represents the government before Parliament, and the ministers from among the members of Parliament or from among ten non-elected persons.

The National Assembly, the unicameral parliament, has 274 seats, adopts laws applying to the whole of the Republic or only to the 21 mainland regions (including Mafia Island), the five regions forming the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar being able to adopt certain specific laws because it has its own Parliament. Members of parliament are elected by direct universal suffrage for a term of five years.

The judiciary is significantly more complicated as it has five levels combining tribal, Islamic and common law institutions: courts of first instance, district courts, Magistral Court, High Court and finally Court of Appeal.

The recent creation of Tanzania by the union of two countries constantly tends to destabilize it, but democracy is preserved thanks to the legacy of its first President, the charismatic Julius Nyerere, who remained in power for thirty years without installing an authoritarian regime. or dictatorial. This stability has allowed, for example, the installation of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, responsible for trying war criminals during the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

Geography

Tanzania is a southern hemisphere country located in East Africa. Its natural borders are formed by the Indian Ocean to the east, Kilimanjaro and Lake Victoria to the north, the Kagera River to the northwest, Lake Tanganyika to the west, Malawi to the southwest, and the Ruvuma River. South. It has land borders with Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda and Burundi to the northwest, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, Zambia and Malawi to the southwest, and Mozambique to the south.

The country is crossed by the valley of the great rift which runs through the western part of the country from north to south and in which are housed some of the great African lakes: Lake Malawi, Lake Rukwa, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Lake Eyasi, Lake Manyara, Lake Natron, etc. The center of the country is made up of a plateau drained by rivers and streams that flow into the Indian Ocean. The maritime facade of the country is made up of a coastal plain which faces the archipelago of Zanzibar made up of three main islands: Unguja, Pemba and Mafia.

Tanzania has several volcanoes of which only one, Ol Doinyo Lengaï, is still active and another constitutes the highest point of the African continent, Kilimanjaro, with 5,895 meters of altitude.

There are many natural parks such as the enormous terrain of the Serengeti, Tarangire, Lake Manyara or the magnificent crater of N'Gorongoro (7th natural wonder of the world) where one can have the chance to see lions, elephants, rhinos, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, jackals, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, etc.

Economy

Tanzania's economy is, in many respects, typical of a developing country: essentially centered on agriculture and the mining industry, it has an almost non-existent and uncompetitive industrial base. In 2009, agriculture thus represented more than 25% of GNP, more than 30% of exports and 70% of jobs. Tourism is a significant and growing source of foreign currency.

But the country is also very different from most African countries, with an Arab and Persian merchant presence on its coasts, trade dating back to the first centuries of the common era, and a city, Zanzibar, which for several hundred years would dominate the economy of the whole region. A hub for the trade in gold, ivory and slaves, at the interface of the African, Arab and Indian worlds, its hinterland extends to Africa from the Great Lakes, nearly 1,000 km from distance. The arrival of Europeans in the wake of Vasco da Gama in the 15th century did not immediately call this domination into question, as they even offered new markets for a popular local commodity, cloves.

The gradual establishment of the German and then British colonial empires, however, relegated the region to outside the main axes of development. The accession to independence, at the beginning of the 1960s, saw the young United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar (its original name) turn to an 'African socialism' of Maoist inspiration which quickly proved to be a failure. : rather than take off and modernize, the country's economy is collapsing. The questioning that will ensue, from the mid-1980s, will gradually lead the country to return to the regional economic scene. The frank liberalization carried out in the first years of the 21st century, coupled with governance efforts, allowed the massive influx of foreign investors in all sectors of the economy. For the first time in its young history, this chronically underdeveloped country seems to be reaping the first dividends of its efforts. The tourism potential of Tanzania, with its coastline made up of superb beaches on the Indian Ocean, the northern region which includes Kilimanjaro, the Ngorongoro crater and the largest animal reserves in Africa, the presence of most of the great continent's lakes and its political stability, is also very important and continues to develop.

Source : Wikipedia

When to leave?

The ideal is during the dry season: from May to October and also during the 'little rainy season' which lasts from the beginning of November to mid-December.

Transports

The main axes and the important national roads are asphalted, but if you go on a safari, it will be 4X4 with the roads that go with it.

Sleep / Eat

It is not in the lodges that you will discover the cuisine of the country. The food they serve is international cuisine. You can discover 'local' cuisine in the lodges run by the Maasai, but for non-African palates (very little spicy, in general)

Purchase

Wooden trinkets mainly representing animals or Masai shepherds.

Useful websites

• Le routard (In french)
• Lonelyplanet

Tourist Office

• Tourist Office