We went through the process of trying to recruit locally someone who would take over from me'

We went through the process of trying to recruit locally someone who would take over from me'

Frank remembers leaving Tanzania

Frank Gaynor

Trinity College Dublin

1996

This item is protected by original copyright

This content may be downloaded and used (with attribution) for research, teaching or private study. It may not be used for commercial purposes without permission.

Frank Gaynor

Work and Employment

Life Story

Tanzania, Africa

1990's

By the end of year 2 the PMUP project was making great progress. We had materials prepared and tested for the lower primary grades. Team spirit was at an all-time high. Then DFA got an external consultant to have a look at what we were doing. The consultant spent over a week with us in Korogwe. Before returning to Ireland he briefed us on his findings. We were happy with what he had to say. A week or two later we received a draft copy of the consultant's report and were surprised to find that it differed on a number of points from the briefing we had received from him. From there on it became increasingly clear to me that DFA was not happy with the way the project was being run.When DFA brought all the Irish Technical Assistants (TAs) in Tanzania together for a meeting the question was posed: What added value does a TA bring to a project? When I said: 'A TA can get things done' I was almost lynched. I had not hit the correct chord. Sometime after that my job title was changed from Project Manager to Project Coordinator.Soon after I arrived in Korogwe, with the help of Pauline Conway, a PMUP bank account was opened in the Korogwe branch of the National Bank of Tanzania. I was asked to manage this account. A couple of years later the bank manager said to me that, as far as he could see, the PMUP account was the only donor or NGO account in his branch that was free from corruption. During year 3 DFA seemed to become a bit uncomfortable with this arrangement, and started talking about channelling all PMUP funding through the college Principal's office. I expressed strong reservations about this suggestion. We went through the process of trying to recruit locally someone who would take over from me. No suitable Tanzanian came forward, and the Tanzanians said they would not work under a Kenyan boss - something to do with a belief that the Kenyan capitalists considered themselves to be superior to the Tanzanian socialists. No appointment was made.In December 1996 I went to the PMUP office for the last time. As I flicked through the main file I was reminded of how, during the first year, we had progressed from an Olivetti 22 typewriter and Banda duplicating machine to a word processor and a colour laser printer. With the funding stopped and nobody appointed to take my place, I said farewell to the PMUP team members, locked the buildings, handed the keys to the college Principal, and made a quiet exit from Korogwe. I was disappointed with the way DFA had allowed the project come to a halt. Difficulties that arose between HEDCO and DFA certainly did not help. The following year a Tanzanian lady, who was a retired civil servant, was put in charge of the project, and the funding started to flow again. Some years later I was delighted to hear that books produced by the project had been approved by the ministry of education in Dar es Salaam for use in Tanzania's primary schools.

Irish Research Council for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)