Media Strengthening
The following excerpted article was the winning entry in the Second Investigative Journalism Contest under the MCA-BONGA program.
Caught Between Rock and a Hard Surface: Rural Girls Trapped Into Prostitution as Politicians Distract Development Funds
An investigation by THISDAY has uncovered increasing sexual vice in the city of Dar es Salaam. Staff Writer SIMON MKINA narrates the pathetic tale of how young rural girls are lured into prostitution by city greedy citizens as a means of running away form-striking poverty back home. Meanwhile, politicians are abusing taxpayers' money and other development funds that could better the lives of these poor girls and boys in the country.
The sudden sight of two 'women' pushing through the crowd of revelers had a more luring effect than music bellowing out from the huge speakers in the bar. Unperturbed by the shoving and pushing, two 'women' dragged each other out of the bar where, through the window I could see them talking, apparently in a harsh manner.
Possibly they were arguing over money, I thought as I made out to somewhere close so that I could grasp some bit of their conversation.
"You have to go now the man is waiting for you at the house or else there will be no food, no money for you," said the older woman to the other who only turned out to be a young girl, probably in her late teens. "But I have just had another with that old man who gave you some money and you never gave me anything today…," retorted the girl.
But before she could say one more word, the elderly woman slapped her on the cheek at least twice before dragging her past where I was and headed straight into a nearby alley. I ran after the two, keeping a close but safe distance. They went into a big, nice dura-walled house. Outside was a huge man manning the gate. I approached the security guy and told him I was a client from the bar. He reluctantly let me in.
That was how I met Mariam. Mariam said she came to the city some six months ago after her mother handed her to a woman, famous by the name of Mama, who is their neighbour at their rural village in Singida Region, who said she could land her a good job in town after passing her primary exams. Because shehad no money to proceed to secondary school, she agreed, hoping to work for a year, save and then finance her studies and look after her mother and six brothers.
"I only discovered when I came here that the job was to get me satisfy the lustful desires of her clients. For the past six months now that is what I have been doing. "But I have learnt to accept the job because sometimes she gives me money and poor as I am I think I am starting from somewhere," she said, apparently in a forgiving tone.
A good client can pay her boss at least Tsh 10,000/ ($8) - for short time, while the lowest amount Mama accepts is 5,000/-, says Mariam, adding that her god-mother would never accept all night service because it doesn't pay well. Every morning Mama gives her 25,000/- no matter how many clients she honored the previous night.
When Mama was approached, she refused to give out her full name as well as went down saying she is not 'selling' girls, but helping out to make them live well in town. "Those girls you see here are my relatives, they were rotting in our villages, now they are here waiting for my business to start, I will
employ them here," she says, failing also to spot what business she is planning to do.
The threat of HIV and Aids does not disturb Mariam as she was assured that the 'medicine' she was getting from Mama was strong enough. She says she was given some 'tablets' to use every morning, probably contraceptives! She also often uses antibiotics each time she develops genital complications due to sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Capitalizing on striking poverty in most rural areas, some diabolic business women in Dar es Salaam have resorted to luring such innocent girls with false promises of money in the city. But not all of the girls are taken for prostitution purposes. Some are hired to do menial household chores, while some are used in petty trades such as selling vegetables at the markets.
According to a recent government report, more than 230 girls are trapped into prostitution in the Kinondoni District area alone, and more than 9,200 countrywide each year due to poverty related problems. In addition, recent studies have also indicated that in rural Tanzania, one out of every three children between the ages of 10 and 14 works outside the family.
In Dar es Salaam there is also an increasing number of very young children, mostly below 15 years old who are employed as houseboys and girls. Some are employed at surrounding estates, in mines and other labour intensive industries often under very abusive and dehumanizing conditions.
There are laws of course, but is there anyone following up on implementation? More so, a lot of money has been channeled towards rural development; but it, as is always expected, ends up fattening pockets of the "blessed few".
The Government is the biggest culprit in this regard and it needs to work around the clock to save the young generation from this plight. You wonder a big number of those girls and boys from remote areas had passed their primary school examinations but failed to join secondary schools just because their parents don't have small financial muscles to pay for their meager school fees.
This is absurd as Tanzanians understand that our political and technocrats are swimming on wealth that comes from all tax payers, including those who a languishing in poverty. Those politicians are driving on posh big cars – like 'mashangingi' (VX, GX Benz and the like) which are guzzling petrol on the expense of Tanzanians who fails to pay a peanut for his/her own commuter transport.
Recently, a Member of Parliament from Kigoma spit fire on the government for buying more mashangingis while a good number of Tanzanians are dying of malaria and tuberculosis just because they don't have meager money for medications.
Apart from that, those politicians in collaboration with greedy tycoons are swindling public funds for their own ends. A good example is of the External Payment Account (EPA) at Bank of Tanzania (BoT) where that said relationship saw the government loosing funds to the tune of 133,000,000,000/ ($106M)- which is enough to build some 1,000 primary schools with all the necessary equipment.
That money embezzled was also enough to pay for teachers’ salaries and their long delayed benefits that could have stopped Mariam (and her parents of course) to be deceived by greedy citizens and could have joined school for the benefit of the entire country.
It is now high time that the sitting government squeezes all embezzlers to return the money and direct them to building more schools, paying teachers' dues, building more health centers and putting up nicer infrastructure in villages that could enlighten lives of our fellow Tanzanians. And after returning the money, all embezzlers should face the music.
Stinking poverty sweat that wears a great number of Tanzanians while few politicians swim in wealth is an open indication that good governance is by all means 'sleeping' in books and lips of our leaders, a trend worthy changed immediately. 
