Contradictory development interventions in Tanzania: a case study of Pangani falls redevelopment project.

There are contradictory development interventions in relation to water resource use in the Pangani as manifested by foreign financial funding of the Pangani Falls power redevelopment project. The Pangani Falls Hydropower plant was redeveloped between 1991 and 1995 with the aim of augmenting the level of electric power in the country. The project was implemented through Nordic financial assistance. The outcome of the project work was not as expected due to inadequacy of water in the Pangani river although the prefeasibility studies prior to the project implementation confirmed that there is adequate water for the purpose of power generation. An introduction and background to the problem is made in the first chapter with brief highlight of the basis of this research as case study of a major research topic "Development Aid and the Reality of Tanzania". The chapter also lays down the statement of the problem, objectives and significance of the study. A theoretical frameworking is established in chapter two through a literature review. The theoretical framework tries to illustrate the basis and origins of the contradictions, the general overview of foreign assistance models and specifically conditions attached to the foreign Aid for the redevelopment of the Pangani Falls power station. Chapter three presents the methodological considerations followed during the study. These include the description of the study area, (Pangani river basin), research design population sample and sampling techniques as well as the data gathering procedures. Furthermore, the chapter discusses the data gathering instruments and data analysis and presentation plan or process. The main assumption of the study as portrayed in chapter four is that competition of water as scarce resource in Pangani river basin is the major cause of the poor results of anticipated power production. The competition over water in the basin in attached highly to the social historical processes inherent in basin for several decades if not centuries now. The settlement and migration patterns of the resident population their socio-cultural and socio-economic activities attached to water use are explored as influenced by changing policies and various legislatures. These issues are highly correlated to the emergence of the contradictory situation over the water resource in the basin rather than other technical ones. Overpopulation, spontaneous abstractions of water for irrigation and other uses are mere symptoms of these underlying social historical processes prevailing within the basis area. The project could just be seen as another intervention which accelerates the contradictions. Empirical testing of the assumptions is carried out by analysing the processes of allowing several water use institutions to operate according to their specific policies independently. These institutions are guided by their specific policies and the legal prioritization process of water utilization, control and regulation. Empirical testing is then directed to the rationale of the way the project was implemented particularly in relation to its modalities, volume and the omponents decided to be implemented with respect to the technical and economic viability. The results in chapter five demonstrate that inadequate water for the power plant is highly attached to the human activities upstream of Pangani river system. The causative factors being the introduction of various development interventions by accredited water use institutions, their policies and the general legal framework for water utilization, (control and regulation) in the name of priority ranking of water users. Pangani Falls power redevelopment project being one of these contradictory interventions in the country. The thesis has thus established that uncoordinated water use activities, contradicting legal instruments and the conditions attached to foreign financial aid provision as a foundation behind the episode.