Old dogs and new tricks

It was quite refreshing to visit the University and see students studying, thinking and empowered to create change. The university we visited is the oldest University in Tanzania. It started in the early 1960's. The Entrepreneurship center began in 1999. We listened to presentations from faculty and discussed business challenges with the students. There is a great need for people in the Marketing, Human Resource Management and Accounting fields.

A lof of what we discussed at the University contradicted some of the information we had heard previously. They discussed the amount of corruption in the government and the disadvantages of the land act. Previously, we were told that event though a person cannot own land in Tanzania, they could own their house and use it as collateral for the bank. Today, we were told that wasn't so because banks didn't consider the home sufficient collateral. The group spoke about the difficulty of switching from socialism to capitalism.

Previously, capitalism was viewed as evil and anyone who wanted to make money was viewed as an animal. The government moves slow in licensing businesses. It takes 145 days to complete your paperwork. That's more than 1/3 of a year! It seems there is a great need for a mindset change. The majority of people in Tanzania still believe that things should be given to them, the idea of working hard is not common. This is why we are having so much trouble with our customer service during our stay. It's taken close to 2 hours to get food! The people at their Shoprite have refused to take our credit cards and both times I have used cash, they have tried to steal from me. Today I was given incorrect change and then I was looked at like I was a liar. Once she saw that I wasn't leaving without my money, she gave in and gave me part of the cash not even all of it. I wasn't going to bother about the 20 cents but still its a joke.

They speak of a ready work force but what I don't know about many investors and foreign companies that would want to hire these kind of people. The staff at the banks move very slow and the customer service desk is always empty or the person is sleeping while sitting there.

The consensus of the group is that most people are stuck in a different mindset. They want all the advantages of capitalism but don't want to do the work or follow the rules. The professionals at the table do believe that they can be taught and that things will change quickly.

. . . I hope they can teach an old dog new tricks.