Dar tumbles in peace standing

Prof Ibrahim Lipumba 

By Sylivester Ernest, The Citizen on Sunday Reporter  (email the author)

In Summary

Pundits say that despite its fair performance in the latest Failed States Index (FSI), the country is rife with symptoms of joining the list of weak states in the world sooner than later.

Dar es Salaam. Increasing cases of human rights abuses and escalation of inequality in society are jeopardising Tanzania’s status as a stable country.

Pundits say that despite its fair performance in the latest Failed States Index (FSI), the country is rife with symptoms of joining the list of weak states in the world sooner than later.

Some quarters have it that use of excessive force by security organs and abuse of certain fundamental freedoms put the country on the brink of a failed state. Others say that although Tanzania was better off than most of its peers in the region, it still has much to do on the many factors used to rank countries in the index.

Attributes of a failed state, according to US-based think tank, Fund for Peace, which produces the FSI, include a state whose central government is so weak or ineffective that it has little practical control over much of its territory.

Others are inadequate provision of public services, widespread corruption and criminality, uneven economic development, poverty and economic decline.

According to Prof Ibrahim Lipumba of the opposition party CUF, the recent brutality on the men in uniform in southern Tanzania was enough proof that the country is increasingly failing as a state.

“Extensive human rights abuses in Mtwara Region, the torturing of Dr Ulimboka Mwakingwe, journalist Absalom Kibanda, the explosion of a hand grenade at a Chadema political rally and other incidents may be early symptoms of a failed state,” he noted in the article in this newspaper.

That was a month after publication of the 2013 FSI which ranked Tanzania as the most stable country in the East African region and 65th in the world with a score of 81.1 points. The ninth edition of the FSI assessed 178 countries and ranked each by its total score, with 120 the maximum score a country can achieve - the higher a country’s rank and score, the weaker the state.

Tanzania was ranked 66th in 2012 meaning its position has deteriorated this year. The worst performer in the region this year is Kenya on position 17 after scoring 99.6 points followed by Burundi that has been ranked 20th with 97.6 points while Uganda and Rwanda are 22nd and 39th respectively.

Globally the most stable states are Finland, Sweden and Norway whose FSI scores are 18, 19.7 and 21.5 respectively. In Africa, Botswana and Seychelles, which are globally ranked 121st are the most stable countries followed by South Africa (113), Ghana (110) and Namibia (108).

Using 12 factors to determine the rating for each nation including security threats, human rights violations and refugee flows, the 2013 FSI ranks Somalia first as the weakest country in the world. The other countries in the top 10 failed states list are DR Congo, Sudan, S. Sudan, Chad, Yemen, Afghanistan, Haiti, Central Republic and Zimbabwe.

Tanzania’s relatively better positioning on the index comes at a time when opposition parties and activists in the country fault the authorities for increased incidents of social and political injustices.