and had to decide how to manage the rest of its rapidly expanding
factory programme.

An easy solution would have been to sign further management
agreements with George Williamson, Brooke Bond, Bombay Bur-
mah or other major tea companies. This solution was rejected.
The officials of the Tea Authority were aware how vulnerable
they would be if management and control of their factories was
handed over to any outside organisation.

So instead they decided to recruit management locally. But the
citizens they could recruit would be inexperienced. The factory at
Mponde, for example, was opened under the direction of a
manager trainee who had been an agricultural field officer
working on tea for three years, and who had subsequently been
sent to England for a nine month course in tea machinery. On his
return he had to start up and run a 3 4 million shilling tea factory
with a variety of complex machines (the skillful operation of
which would make all the difference to the quality of tea produced
and hence the profitability of the factory) in a location ten miles
from the nearest village and three hours’ drive from Tanga. In the
normal way the manager of such a factory would have worked in
a similar factory for several years prior to his appointment, and
once appointed he would depend heavily on his experience to
make a success of the factory. This man took on the job with very
limited experience.

The Authority therefore developed the idea of visiting agency
agreements. In the case of Mponde, the management of a nearby
tea estate has agreed to visit the factory regularly — twice a
month during the start-up period, then once a month for twelve
months, and less frequently thereafter as required. During each
visit the visiting agent discusses any problem with the manager,
and afterwards he presents a report to the manager and to the Tea
Authority headquarters. In addition he is available to give advice
by telephone whenever he is asked. The visiting agents are paid
the costs of the visits, a fixed retainer, and a bonus at the end of
each three month period if the tea produced fetches good prices.
The arrangement costs the Tea Authority substantially less than
the costs of one junior expatriate.

The Tanzanian manager is learning by doing. He is a trainee
and yet he is largely on his own and responsible, and he does not
have some domineering expatriate breathing down his neck and

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