with relative efficiency (given its goals), in the sense that it secured
products in demand and got them into the hands of consumers
and producers, regularly, and with a minimum of delay. While
profits of large importing houses tended to be repatriated, the sur-
pluses of small firms remained in the country and found their way
into either direct investments or the banking system, for the most
part. The significance of these points is that the policy object of
socialising internal trade has often been seen in Tanzania simply in
terms of appropriating surpluses accruing to the commercial sec-
tor; but since these profits were small and scattered (and in many
cases depended upon the small size of operations) little positive
national impact was possible with socialisation. That is not to say
that other goals are not possible and worthwhile pursuing. The
Second Five Year Plan articulates many such goals for internal
and import trade. However, these aims were stated in terms of
new areas of activity (more efficient location of processing, chan-
nels for the expression of concumer tastes, clearing-house
facilities, etc) but almost all changes in the internal trade field in
fact have been directed at existing and it is precisely these where
little needed to be done at this stage.

This led, in turn, to a lack of a clearly stated objective function
regarding the trade sector in general and S.T.C. in particular;
among the consequences was a continual divergence of national
and corporate goal.

S.T.C. and the Tanzanian Economy

S.T.C.’s impact upon the Tanzanian economy was extremely
mixed, nearly polar. On the one side it was as if S.T.C. were a
minor phenomenon. Because most of its 65,000 items were im-
ported (its local produce was dominated by agricultural tools, fer-
tilizers, cement, tyres, matches, sugar, steel, radios, batteries, soap
and detergents, ghee, margarine, razor blades and iron roofing
material it had a relatively small direct effect upon the vase
majority of people in Tanzania, who consume almost exclusively
local products. For the most part the large National Development
Corporation subsidiaries had their own distribution networks
(beer, shoes, cigarettes, for example). Imports for Government or
parastatal project construction came through non-S.T.C. channels.
The Corporation’s role as an exporter was minimal.

The costs of S.T.C.’s capital programme were surprisingly low.

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