The Devils are in the Execution
All week, Moses and I have been debating how to charge and collect the payment for the vegetable seeds. Moses felt that the seeds were partly to help farmers practice farming w/ compost so they should be free of charge. With many issues I have seen in Tanzania, I insisted on charging a nominal fee for the seeds so the farmers have a stake in the success of the program.
Moses didn’t want to be the one to charge or collect the money from the farmers, fearing that he would be perceived as someone profiteering from the program in my absence. If the farmers lost their confidence in him, it would make it difficult for him to manage the program going forward. His concern is understandable as corruption is so rampant in Tanzania that most people in leadership roles are presumed guilty. In fact, Tanzanians have a harder time believing that someone is honest than someone would use his position to his own advantage. And I can't blame them. I had seen corruption/greed up and close many times.
I did not feel comfortable letting the treasurer of the farmer’s group collect and keep the money for future use. We finally got rid of the village chairman who tried repeatedly to get involved in our project and benefit himself from it. With the treasurer's integrity not yet proven, I would hate to create a situation where the newly elected group leader has more power and privilege over the rest of the group that would allow him the chance to exploit the rest of the group. This is the part that I enjoy the least - making decisions based on distrust of others. I always find it stressful and distressful.
What's the right thing to do? I am leaning towards having the treasurer collect the money in conjunction with Moses. Perhaps I will write a letter for Naomi to read it to the villagers for me so they understand that I am inviting them to be stakeholders in the program so it would eliminate suspicion that Moses could profit from the vegetable seeds program.
Finally, we decided to take up on Moses' suggestion and let the farmers propose their share of the cost for the seeds in the upcoming meeting. If everything is out in the open, they may have a better chance to scrutinize their own leaders.
Moses didn’t want to be the one to charge or collect the money from the farmers, fearing that he would be perceived as someone profiteering from the program in my absence. If the farmers lost their confidence in him, it would make it difficult for him to manage the program going forward. His concern is understandable as corruption is so rampant in Tanzania that most people in leadership roles are presumed guilty. In fact, Tanzanians have a harder time believing that someone is honest than someone would use his position to his own advantage. And I can't blame them. I had seen corruption/greed up and close many times.
I did not feel comfortable letting the treasurer of the farmer’s group collect and keep the money for future use. We finally got rid of the village chairman who tried repeatedly to get involved in our project and benefit himself from it. With the treasurer's integrity not yet proven, I would hate to create a situation where the newly elected group leader has more power and privilege over the rest of the group that would allow him the chance to exploit the rest of the group. This is the part that I enjoy the least - making decisions based on distrust of others. I always find it stressful and distressful.
What's the right thing to do? I am leaning towards having the treasurer collect the money in conjunction with Moses. Perhaps I will write a letter for Naomi to read it to the villagers for me so they understand that I am inviting them to be stakeholders in the program so it would eliminate suspicion that Moses could profit from the vegetable seeds program.
Finally, we decided to take up on Moses' suggestion and let the farmers propose their share of the cost for the seeds in the upcoming meeting. If everything is out in the open, they may have a better chance to scrutinize their own leaders.
posted by Nancy at 2:16 AM
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