Tanzania’s constitution is
one of the surviving few that make a natural born citizen revoke his/her
citizenship upon naturalization in another country. Ironically, foreign
nationals from other countries can naturalize as Tanzanians and maintain their
origin country’s citizenship, but the same is not permitted for natural born
Tanzanians.
My fellow Tanzanians need
to know this:
A person could be born in
Tanzania, then leave Tanzania to go to England, and then become a British
citizen. If something goes wrong, while in Britain, he/she could be
stripped of the rights he/she is enjoying at the moment and be deported to
his/her home country. In this case, back to Tanzania. This tells you that
the citizenship you obtained by naturalization is temporary. And the only
citizenship that matters is the one you get at birth.
It's very surprising to see
such a paramount matter being politicized while disregarding the scientific
proof of tremendous benefits brought about it. I can guess that some of our
brothers and sisters in Tanzania are a bit afraid of the influx of foreigners
seeking Tanzanian citizenship. Actually the topmost benefits in favor of
the country are from Tanzanians living abroad who would invest more “back home”
if they remain citizens.
In the last decade or so,
Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and the Dominican Republic, suppliers of some
of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in America, have allowed their
nationals to become citizens elsewhere without losing their original
nationality. New leaderships in South Korea and India have expressed support
for the same idea. Australians in the United States have been pressuring their
government to allow dual citizenship so they can become Americans without
losing their native status. Economic advantage is the main motivation here:
avoiding the stiff estate taxes that the U.S. government imposes on foreigners
operating in the United States. There is a large degree of evidence of
naturalized UK and US citizens operating in official capacities in their former
country of origin.
As society becomes more
global and integrated, the value of Dual Citizenship and a second passport is
increasingly becoming a necessity. The comforts of being a Canadian or European
Citizen, at the same time maintaining one's original nationality, provides an
individual with an abundance of benefits and set of liberties. Economically,
Tanzania stands to benefit. Dual citizenship provides access to financial
investment rights (property, securities, retirement, social security benefits,
etc.). British citizenship for instance, provides access to adequate medical
benefits, including potentially free healthcare, especially for those reaching
the age of retirement. Access to educational benefits, including higher
education, are all possibilities within the reach of Tanzanians who enjoy dual
citizenship. The need for international assistance has never been so critical.
The need to seek, identify and maintain individuals whose expertise and
experiences transcend the day-to-day norms of the Tanzanian society is a
responsibility which all Tanzanians cannot afford to ignore. And we must also
maintain such talent within Tanzania.
The development and
sustenance of a strong middle class is essential to attaining stability and
growth in Tanzania. Dual citizenship has the ability to bring this about. The
future seems to provide a great promise. Dual citizenship will help to
democratize the politics of Tanzania, without a citizen in fear of losing
citizenship of the country of birth. Democracy indeed, is built on informed
citizen participation, especially for those who have lived and continue to
practice it in developed countries. The ideal of Democracy is meaningful
participation of an engaged and informed citizenry. Dual Citizenship, for all
including registered citizens, is without doubt, one of the ways to foster
Tanzania's future economic development.
The financial goals of the
country can also be positively impacted by Dual Citizenship. Consumption brings
about demand for more, and supply and demand is one of the most basic theories
of economics and the core of any market economy. It is also not the role of the
Diaspora to replace government in providing basic services to its people. Yet
the Diaspora is helping the economy.
Remittances have been
criticized as having a negligible impact on national development with no
noticeable impact except for consumption. Regarding the question of remittances
providing delivery of basic services or building needed infrastructure, I
assert that indirectly it does. Such critics are missing an essential element
- Household consumption
grows economies
- Shopping creates jobs in
all sectors of the country
The World Bank estimated
that in 2012, remittances totaled $250 million in Tanzania. Nearly 82 percent
of those surveyed said they sent money to Tanzania, of which 84 percent was for
family members, 3 percent for friends, and 13 percent for investments. This
further strengthens the push for dual citizenship as Tanzanians in the Diaspora
have a vested interest in the wellbeing and security of the country.
Where not only their relatives reside, but also where their money is sent and
at times invested.
While there is proven
evidence that Dual Citizenship’ can develop a country; I should add,
it is a proven fact that ideas and innovation are fuels that drive
the economies of industrialized and developed countries worldwide. In
Tanzania, our orientation, education and training are primarily political
and need new ideas and innovation. If bringing people from overseas
can transform the Tanzanian economy, then we already have what we
desire.
We believe this issue of
dual citizenship should not come down to job availability because Tanzanians in
the Diaspora who want to go back home are not going back home to take jobs.
There are not enough jobs in Tanzania to absorb everyone. The majority of Tanzanians
want to go back home to establish businesses. So, my message to my fellow
Tanzanians is that this issue is not about jobs; it’s about the development of
our country.
The arguments against dual
citizenship continue on front pages of Tanzanian newspapers, where one of the
writers cautioned Tanzanians that dual citizenship is too “important of a
policy issue for Tanzania to rush the process”. Others claim that “Tanzania
does not have reliable statistics on its Diasporas, and its embassies abroad do
not keep comprehensive databases. So that in the absence of verifiable numbers,
the estimates range from under 1.5 million to over 2.5 million. Without an
accurate sample size, it is difficult to capture how many Tanzanians actually
naturalized in other countries
or have children who were born outside of Tanzania. Why is this important? The
floodgates in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and other African countries have not been
deluged by requests from Tanzanians.
None of them, including
Ghana, Uganda and Kenya, have been flooded with requests. The only people who
really desire Tanzanian citizenship are those with emotional ties to the
country. Is an exact number now necessary before we can begin to
deliberate dual citizenship? Are we still going to wait until all things become
equal and by some divine providence, statistics, and data alignment, we become
a number in a larger data set to be able to claim dual citizenship? And
when will this occur, a year from now, ten years, a hundred? We are in the
midst of drafting a new constitution! One that hopefully will not take us
back to what was before. We cannot wait for statistics and numbers that may or
may not be possible.
The objections continue
that it is “impossible to verify how many people would immediately be affected.”
But in Tanzania we do know how many foreign individuals become naturalized
citizens and the ease with which they acquire Tanzanian citizenship. Why would
other countries not know the exact amount of Tanzanians who have naturalized in
theirs? We know that foreign nationals from other African countries can easily
naturalize as Tanzanians and maintain their original country
citizenship, but the same is not permitted for Tanzanians born in
Tanzania.
So a Ghanaian can live for
five years in Tanzania, and as the requirement states ‘be of good moral
character” and then become a naturalized citizen. We also know that, unlike
present day Tanzania, dual citizenship with Ghana still affords Ghanaians equal
rights no matter the circumstances of their birth and whether or not they
reside in their place of origin. And they retain their citizenship even when
they become naturalized Tanzanians.
Opponents of dual
citizenship propose that there “exists the fear that dual citizenship will
increase in Tanzania and that another special, privileged class of elites will
be created by law.” This is an absurdity. So would those against dual
citizenship welcome back diasporic Tanzanians if they returned educated? Are
Tanzanians to live in other countries and not take advantage of the
opportunities for advancement that exists? Given the slowly growing educational
system in our country at present, are Tanzanians at home so afraid that they
would rather have an uneducated citizenry than dual citizens who can help
propel the country forward?
Furthermore opponents cite,
that complications may arise in prosecuting an official/professional who
allegedly embezzles government money or commits crimes and flees to the
sanctuary of the country where he/she has citizenship, as another solid reason
why Tanzania should not recognize dual citizenship.
I don’t agree.
Tanzania is a country with laws and a stable judicial system. Anyone who
commits crimes will have to face the law to its fullest. I am sure those
Ghanaians and Chinese who are naturalized Tanzanian citizens are also subjected
to these laws, so will be the Tanzanians born with a dual citizenship.
Tanzania leaders and fellow
Tanzanians, we all know that nationals who acquire another citizenship do so
for economic reasons, and that does not make them less nationalistic. Nothing
can change your birthright.
Many Tanzanians of the
Diaspora ask to be given the opportunity to reclaim or retain their status in
the country of their birth as a means of fostering development at home.
What needs to be noted is that those with dual citizenship have the potential
to transform the country but can not do so with the current limitations
regarding their citizenship status. “They are born Tanzanians [as are]
their children. They sometimes encounter problems with Tanzanian immigration
when they travel [because of] the passports they carry. They are just citizens
by paper in whatever countries they reside, but they consider Tanzania their
own birth place.
I argue that Tanzanians
should be receptive of their brothers and sisters who left the country to seek
opportunities in other countries, and because of circumstances, took up
citizenship in those areas but still want to maintain their original status as
Tanzanians.
As we commemorate 50 years
of union, let us all, Tanzanians at home and Tanzanians abroad, Tanzanians in
high places and Tanzanians in low places, renew our love for and dedication to
our country by executing individual covenants with Mama Tanzania, committing
that our actions and inactions will always solidify, not weaken, the bulwark of
peace and progress in our nation for many more decades.
Iddi Sandaly
isandaly@watanzaniadmv.org
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