Ngo’s and public policy making in Tanzania: factors determining their influence

In the midst of transition from the 1970s centralized state management system to the 1990s liberal era in Tanzania, there have emerged various typologies and forms of Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) specializing in varieties of fields. This phenomenon (of NGOs) has attracted a lot of scholarly works seeking to explore the potential of this sector that in the past two decades was generally suppressed and ignored. Similarly, this study sought to examine the extent to which NGOs can influence public policy making in Tanzania and factors behind their successful advocacy. The findings from both primary and secondary data reveal that religious NGOs that also specialize in social services provision and human rights advocacy groups are well poised to initiate, bargain and reinforce adoption of public policy agenda in their fields. These are NGOs which command massive membership and/or supporters, those which share the government’s concerns in service provision, and those which are in pursuit of sensitive undertakings that are basic for people’s livelihood. Their reputable performance in those areas and intensive lobbying on policy makers have influenced the adoption of various sectoral policies in education, health, land, and specifically the recent Land Acts (1999) and the Sexual Offenses Legislation that have been discussed this study. The study proposes that in order to harness and effectively utilize the vast potentials of the NGO sector, the government must chart out mechanisms to establish and foster sustainable development partnership with NGOs through mutual sharing of responsibilities, exchange of skills, knowledge and policy making initiatives. This would in the long run transform policy-making process to be more participatory and responsive to public demands.