Elections in Tanzania-What's the hurry?

THE World Bank now ranks Tanzania a lacklustre 131st in the world, dropping steadily down the league as a place for doing business. Neighbouring Uganda comes in at 112th, with Kenya in 95th place. Well ahead of the region’s big three, at 67th, is little Rwanda, a relatively late aspirant as a serious competitor. Tanzania is the laggard in a poor field. A local brand of socialism first promoted by Tanzania’s founding president, Julius Nyerere, helped give its 44m people a sense of unity but failed to equip them for the 21st century. The country still feels elephantine, its infrastructure is rickety, its electricity patchy, most of its roads unpaved and potholed.
如今，以商业环境来论，世界银行将坦桑尼亚在世界上的排名列为黯淡的第131位，在东非联盟中的地位是直线下降。邻国乌干达排名第112，而肯尼亚则排名第95。远远超过东非三大佬的是排名第67的小国卢旺达，作为一位强劲竞争者，可谓是崛起得相对太晚。坦桑尼亚在这个穷困地区处在落后的地位。坦桑尼亚国父朱利叶斯•尼雷尔所建立起来的国家堪称非洲的社会主义国家，他所崇尚的主义让人们的有了团结的思想，但却没让他们拥有迎接21世纪的武器。坦桑尼亚依旧步履蹒跚、基建不够坚实、电力供应时有时无，而国家的大多数公路都亟需修建于修补。

President Jakaya Kikwete knows how it is. On a recent trip he had to change cars twice in a day when they broke down on rutted roads. He used the waiting time to chat to locals. That may help him in elections due in October. He will probably run again for another five-year term. If he does, he is almost certain to win.
坦桑尼亚总统贾卡亚•基奎特知道所有这一切。在最近的一次旅行中，总统先生不得不在一天内换乘两次汽车，原因是他们遇上了坑坑洼洼的道路。总统先生在换乘的等待闲暇中于当地人闲聊了一二。这也许有助于总统先生在预计今年十月举行的大选中争取到更多的选票。他因此可能继续就任下一个五年任期。如果他能做到继续执政的话，那么他几乎已经胜券在握。更多信息请访问：http://www.24en.com/

His party, the Chama cha Mapinduzi (Party of the Revolution), has run Tanzania in various guises since the country was founded in 1964 after Tanganyika on the mainland merged with the island of Zanzibar. The ruling party has a small reform-minded wing and a much larger body that harks back to old-style liberation movements. Mr Kikwete stands carefully in the middle. He recently warmly welcomed in Dar es Salaam both Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and the Swiss-based World Economic Forum, a club of capitalists.
自非洲大陆的Tanganyika与桑吉巴岛合并之后，坦桑尼亚国于1964年成立，国家总统领导的革命党就一直在各种形式的伪装下统治着这个国家。执政党有着一小部分以改革为主导的力量，而其余很大一部分则大力鼓吹传统方式的自由运动。总统先生小心翼翼地屹立在两者之间。最近，总统先生在首都达娜斯萨拉姆热烈欢迎了津巴布韦的罗伯特•穆加贝与一个资本主义集团——总部位于瑞士的世界经济论坛。

Mr Kikwete may use a second term to try to integrate Tanzania and its neighbours into a revived East African Community. With rural voters behind him, he can afford to be tough on groups that might threaten him. He has denounced recent attempts by the trade unions to strike for a higher minimum wage. He may also have persuaded the president of autonomous Zanzibar, Amani Karume, to share power with the island’s opposition. That should head off violence in the election run-up.
总统先生也许会利用自己的二次任期，来试图将坦桑尼亚与其邻国整合，以重新复苏东非国家共同体。以农村选民为后盾的总统先生，能够对那些具有威胁性的团体采取强硬的态度。总统先生公开抨击了贸易协会最近以罢工的形式争取更高最低收入的行为。总统先生也许还会说服自治的桑吉巴岛总统阿玛尼•卡鲁梅，让阿玛尼与该岛国的反对党共享权力。这样的局势应该能避免选举前出现的暴力行为。

Tanzania’s economy is ticking along. This year it may grow by 6%. Inflation is edging down. Foreigners still help pay for health care and education. Dar es Salaam’s once-chaotic port is a bit better run. High gold prices boost the budget. New laws to end tax breaks for mining companies and to raise royalties may bring in more cash. Tanzania has plenty of water and abundant farmland still to be developed.
坦桑尼亚的经济仍在持续增长。今年，其经济增长率可能达到6%。通货膨胀正逐渐减少。外国人仍旧在提供资金援助为医疗与教育来买单。达娜斯萨拉姆一度混乱不堪的港口业已好转。高涨的黄金价格增强了经济预算。为矿业公司制定的取消税收的新法的终止，以及增收版税的方案也许能为国家带来更多的财政收入。坦桑尼亚有着丰富的水资源以及大量的农田仍亟需被开发利用。

Mr Kikwete has at least tried to give the appearance of curbing corruption. A Bank of Tanzania official was acquitted of puffing up the cost of building a bank from $73m to $357m but found guilty of “abusing power”. Visiting businessmen, however, say they are still deterred by red tape, a weak legal system and a lack of skilled labour. Above all, they say, Tanzanians seem to lack a sense of urgency.
总统先生至少在试图采取措施，来让人觉得坦桑尼亚确实是在控制腐败的蔓延。据悉，坦桑尼亚银行的一位官员洗脱了其罪名，即人为地将开立银行的投资金额从7300万美元增长到3.57亿美元，但被控“滥用职权”。然而，对坦桑尼亚进行商务考察的商人们表示，他们仍受到“红带制度”（一种执行力差的法律制度）的重重阻扰，并因缺乏技术型劳工而担忧。他们讲道，总而言之，坦桑尼亚政府以及其国民似乎缺乏一种紧迫感。