dunxd.com

Ok, I didn’t make it to Zanzibar, and I still don’t have the residence permit, which is seeming increasingly pointless as we approach the time when we will leave Tanzania. I can’t believe the process has taken so long. I can’t help but be amazed at the patience of Tanzanians who have to put up with such bureaucratic procrastination much more frequently. I am probably even getting special treatment because I am wazungu. The whole thing is nuts though. The system has clearly been designed to prevent abuse by the people trying to get immigration status, but I fear that many of the delays are points where the desparate might try offering an “expedience fee”. In other words, people within the system are the ones screwing things up. I discovered that Tanzania lost a large amount of aid from the US in the form of donated wheat because the last time it was donated the Tanzanian government decided to tax it – ie the donors had to pay to donate it, and of course they refused, so the wheat is still sitting in some warehouse somewhere… Nuts… These things happen with so many people watching…