World Cup; less value for our money, and yes our time too!!!

For Africans world cup is a big disappointment.Among Four African countries only one, Ghana has narrowly escaped early exit to enter into second round. Our teams have failed to deliver, period. It is another blow to Africans as we're getting on 'business as usual' always getting lower valued outcomes.

Yes, as we move closer to globalization not only goods and services are of poor quality but also do not reach customers on time.On the other hand fans as well do not enjoy fully potentiality of the talents bestowed by their players.

Entertainment is truly part of the economy; businesses reaps billions out of the world cup as poor folks dishes out a fortune to watch the beautiful game in the bars, and lots of vijiwe in urban and rural areas. Moving around suburban DAR es salaam, bars charges minimum of 500/= as the entrance fee. Again one is expected to drink while watching the game. Even the build up before the first whistle in South Africa, we're already bombarded by marketing strategists from the likes of cellular phones companies,and other fast moving merchandising businesses, Pepsi included. personally I drank lots of Pepsi chancing to win a trip to south Africa.

After all these, we( Africans) have wasted our hard earned money. Our teams, notably South Africa, Algeria, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast did not perform to our expectation, and as customers demanding good value for our bucks we have to moan.

Hang on, we are used to lower quality good and services, and this one should not be the first or the last. Time in memorial, our quality of customer care have been wanting to say the least. Observing the world cup, one mark luck of goals though our players seem to be at par on technical side with their opponents.

Think about it, the issue is not delivery but how we deliver goods and services.End should justify the means, and loosely in almost every African game the final whistle throws sorrows to the esteemed African customers,( fans). Our teams play hard, but at the end fans need to celebrate, but still Drogba,Etto etc did not deliver.

I am not good in football, but looking at deliverance on this beautiful game, its easier to compare with other side of the economy. As producers of goods and services do we soothe our customers thirsty? Take supply of food as the case on hand! is the quality at its best? With much talk about Tanzanian 'Kilimo Kwanza', can we deliver food to customers with highest quality and timely? Or is this the case of 'business as usual'? For example, for years Africans have been used in consuming unprocessed foods with no complains whatsoever. Avocado, tomatoes,oranges, eggs, banana etc have been eaten on their raw forms for years. Just like Didier Drogba, African petty bourgeoisie have failed to add value on these items and thus miss the potential African market.

Africa is booming, and indeed the rapidly emerging African middle class could number as many as 300 million, out of total population of 1 billion, according to development expert Vijay Mahajan, author of the 2009 book Africa Rising. This newly big number of middle class hunger for higher standards of living is not met by African goods and services but shamelessly by imports outside the continent thus causing strain in our balance of payment.According to Newsweek( March 1 2010)in the last four years, the surge in private consumption of goods and services has accounted for two third of Africa's GDP growth. In Tanzania 80% of her citizens depend on agriculture for livelihood and yet their growth has been negligible not supported by the growth of the middle class. In other words what middle class consumes is not originated from African soil but foreign lands.

It is this failure of the system to nurture our own resources that enrich businesses outside the continent while accelerating poverty to our poor peasants in the rural areas.

Take Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest black entrepreneur who has cashed in on this consumer culture with a net worth of $2.5 billion, according to Forbes. Guess what he imports? his empire imports baby foods,cement and frozen fish among other stuff. Then one wonders!!! Is Africa short of fish??? why should my kins around Lake Victoria die miserably while missing 18 million people's market from Lagos?? And this is only Lagos.

Do we deliver goals in football, the answer is Big NO; On the equal proportion do we deliver goods and services to the middle class market, again the answer is NO.

MUNGU IBARIKI TANZANIA, MUNGU IBARIKI AFRIKA.