Friends and Money

...are two things that generally don't go well together. We have a lot of sayings

in America about what happens when you lend money to friends or other people. We have a reputation for being very direct--and have a lot of sayings there, as well. We want people to "lay their cards on the table", to "face the facts", to "fish or get off the dock". We don't like it when people "beat around the bush" or "pass the buck". We are a culture of charity but not hospitality, of sharing information and ideas, but not resources, of placing independence and efficiency above personal relationships.


So says the author of a great book African Friends and Money Matters. And I think he's right. There's nothing inherently wrong with our culture and ways of interacting in personal relationships and business dealings. The author, David Maranz, makes the point that our political and economic structures make "our" ways of doing things very suitable. He also makes the point that Africa's political and economic structures have caused African cultures to develop in ways that are contrary to ours and often result in difficult situations, hurt feelings, and ongoing frustration and distrust on both sides. The author (who is an anthropologist) is writing most from his experiences in Senegal and uses those experiences to talk about most Africans, but almost everything he talks about is spot on for Tanzania as well. Some examples:

Being involved materially and financially with others is a very important element of social interaction; however, Westerners distrust frienships that regularly include financial or material requests/exchanges.

African readily share space and things but are possessive of information and knowledge. Westerners readily share information and knowledge but are possessive of things and space.

The person in need has the larger share in determining whether his need is greater than that of the donor and has a major say in how that money or resource will be used. Westerners consider it theft or corruption to take something unilaterally or change the terms under which a resource was given.

Precision in tracking financial or money obligations is generally avoided because it shows a lack of a generous spirit and a focus on the resource, not on the people. Budgeting is not a generally accepted way of handling finances. Westerners feel precision is essential in money matters. Laxity and permissiveness are dangerous for individuals and the larger society.

Africans consider their network of friends to be their network of resources. Westerners consider any friendship that includes material considerations as suspect.

Africans find security in ambiguous arrangements, plans, and speech. A promise to complete something by a certain date is often a means of maintaing a good social relationship in the present and is understood to not be a contract. It is perfectly acceptable to renegotiate the terms of an agreement at any time. Westerners are more future oriented and find security in clearly defined relationships, arrangements, and speech. A failure to complete something by an agreed-upon date is seen as unprofessional or lax. Renegotiating the terms of a contract or the amount of payment after an initial agreement has been reached is seen as dishonest.

Africans typically receive satisfaction from being asked for financial help, whether or not they can actually provide it. Westerners are largely annoyed by requests for help and find it almost impossible to understand how the situation can be enjoyable.

When in need Africans ask for money. The risk of the loan is assumed by the lender. There is the assumption that loans are actually gifts, whether they are things or money. Westerners assume the risk for repayment rests with the borrower and expect the return of the item or funds.

Inaction or delays in carrying out tasks may constitute a well-considered non-verbal message and is not necessarily the result of inaction, inertia, or incompetance. Westerners find it very frustrating to have Africans appear to be disorganized, uninformed, and unplanned.

The list goes on and on. I found I had to watch myself while reading it--I had a tendency at times to think, "Aha! See? That's why there so many thing wrong around here. All you'd have to do is..." Which of course would be MY way of doing things. And the book repeatedly emphasizes the fact that the structures in place in each system are beneficial to the values of each society. Of course there are negatives in each way of doing things. For most people in each culture, however, the positives outweigh the negatives. For Africans, it is very difficult to get ahead if you are obligated to give your family and friends anything extra you might have, but the result is the preservation of a network of family and friends that is paramount in this culture. For Americans, we expect people to plan for the future, to stand on their own, but we also often complain about the breakdown of family structure, how little time we have for socializing, etc. But it is a price we are generally willing to pay.

Honestly, if you want to get a sense of living life or doing business here, read this book. It really does cover virtually all of the areas that have caused us the most frustration, confusion, and culture shock since we've been here! I think we are making better headway with these issues in our personal lives, but trying to conduct business--to manage the construction site where we are ask people to create work schedules and timelines, to order furniture (and expect it to be done well and consistent), to require employees to submit receipts and change (OK, I struggle with that myself a bit) is ongoing hard work. I know there are many times we've come away thinking "Well, we handled that well. Not too "American" pushy, but direct enough to get the point across" and realized later for whatever reason that what we said/did really didn't accomplish our intented goal. Those that have been here for much longer clearly have a good understanding of the Tanzanian perspective and approach and somehow have managed to conduct business in such a way that the important Western needs are fulfilled but in a way that is acceptable to the Tanzanians involved as well. But they all do admit it's a constant balancing act!