Dual citizenship is Good for Tanzania

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