James Mathew Mgaya – Art in Tanzania internship
GDH is new terminology to many, but it bears the most important value in many countries. Gross National Happiness (GNH) is a measurement of the collective happiness in a nation. Gross national happiness (GNH) is a measure of economic and moral progress that the king of the Himalayan country of Bhutan introduced in the 1970s as an alternative to gross domestic product. The kingdom of Bhutan’s first legal code, written at the time of unification in 1729, stated that “if the government cannot create happiness for its people, there is no purpose for the government.”. GNH has nine domain pillars of measurement, which currently work internationally. These pillars provide the foundation for happiness, manifest in the nine domains of GNH: psychological well-being, standard of living, good governance, health, community vitality, cultural diversity, time use, and ecological resilience. In simple understanding, it is a country that prefers people to self-government interest by living with peace and harmony towards its citizens.
The value of GNH?
Encourage investment; a country with good gross domestic happiness will attract more foreign direct investment, contributing to the country’s GNP (gross domestic product). FDI means more foreign investors will start their business in Tanzania and increase our national revenue. Moreover, it encourages entrepreneurship and the establishment of new companies and enterprises that residents own (Tanzanians). Valuation of currency: an increase in the currency’s value, like Tanzanian shillings, depends on the interest rates, exports and imports, the purchasing power of the currency internationally, and foreign exchange reserves, which means the amount of currency held by foreign governments. Simply, the value of currency increases according to its circulation of money within international borders by good diplomatic relations through international trade/financing/business. GDH can give you a good standard of living, which means an available market, consumer purchasing power, and sound money circulation. Good diplomatic relations internationally; GNH provides good governance and psychological well-being. This means the government can have good relationships with neighbouring countries and international collaborations economically, politically, and socially. Psychological well-being means that the government, through its resources, can ensure a satisfactory life in some degree of its services, creating peace and harmony among the citizens. A mentally stable country brings relief to nearby countries. It allows friendship due to the available labour force and no political unrest, which attracts more investment to multinational companies and international relationships. Increase of production nationally; GDH allows the government to build into its public policy decisions like good governance and sustainable development. This is when the government focuses on the public good to boost the citizen economy and infrastructures in Tanzania, and strategic city projects give formal and informal employment to the citizens. Building transportation means the citizens to increase production from the farmers toward the producers, availability of water and electricity to the rural areas, which stimulates production and leads to urbanisation of the rural regions, which brings closure of factories to available raw material due to the availability of public goods. Increase of national income: for citizen to enjoy their government, they need sustainable income; for example, in Tanzania, they use strategic projects to build infrastructure of public goods like roads, railways, bridges, aviation and marine transports. This is life satisfactory to the citizens using transportation, but it has income good side to government and individuals. It creates formal and informal employment to the citizens and at same time create income through toll like bridge toll at Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam creates income, air Tanzania can create national income, also marine transport in lake zones create employment and national income. If citizens are happy with their government, it means no political unrest, and its national income will thrive.
The verdict
There is much to talk about regarding gross domestic happiness and what it can offer if considered. It is an alternative to Gross Domestic Product, which is that rather than focusing strictly on quantitative economic measures, gross national happiness considers an evolving mix of quality-of-life factors. The centre provides an overview of national performance across these pillars. It provides the foundation for happiness, manifesting in the nine domains of GNH: psychological well-being, standard of living, good governance, health, education, community vitality, cultural diversity, time use, and ecological resilience.