The effectiveness of local governments under multiparty democracy in Tanzania: the case of Kinondoni (Dar es Salaam) and Bagamoyo (Coast).

This study is on the effectiveness of Local Government under multiparty democracy in Tanzania. It examines the extent to which village governments under newly introduced multiparty political system play a significant role in maximizing popular participation and people's empowerment. It also explores the extent to which the newly introduced multiparty democracy has increased the effectiveness of local governments in the provision of basic social services and amenities. The study also investigates the constraints which are being faced by village governments and determines the extent to which the introduction of multiparty democracy tends to alleviate the situation. This study is based on the premise that multiparty politics in Tanzania facilitate the evolution/emergency of plural/competitive politics at the village level and that competitive/plural politics in turn promote the emergence and effective provision of basic social services and amenities to the people by the village governments. The study focused on four selected villages in both Dar es Salaam and Coast regions. These villages include Mazizi and Msata in Bagamoyo and Msewe and Kibangu in Kinondoni districts respectively, both stratified, purposive and random sampling techniques were employed to select the respondents and the geographical area of the study. Interviews, documentary reviews and focus group discussions facilitated the gathering of data. The study findings revealed that the performance and efficiency of the village government under single party system was unsatisfactory due to the adherence to the principle of party supremacy. Other contributing factors included the election of village government leaders on tribal/friendly basis irrespective of their leadership qualities such as education etc, the embezzlement of public funds as reflected through collapse of various village development projects, lack of freedom of expression among the people and as well as corruption and lack of rule of law all of which led to poor performance and inefficiency of the village government under the single party system. Furthermore, the findings revealed that the performance and efficiency of the village government under multiparty system seems to be more satisfactory than was the case under the one party regime due to: (i) the existence of different political parties which provide checks and balances to the irresponsible and unaccountable leaders, (ii) That multipartism has broadened the people's freedom of expression, hence transparency in various development activities. iii) That village government leaders, ward councillors and other political party leaders are constantly cautious about their opponents which compels them to work harder to win mass support. The study also revealed that in the four villages visited there were a number of common socio-economic constraints. These included, shortages of water, hospitals/dispensaries essential drugs, desks and houses for teachers in primary schools. Other social problems cited include: inaccessible roads which led to poor communications, poor sanitation, poor nutrition status, lack of security in some villages and youth unemployment. Poor public participation in health related issues featured as a major social problem. Lack of public communication networks such as telephones were also recorded. Economic constraints that most of the villages faced include: lack of development projects, poor farming equipments and lack of markets for their produce as well as financial experts to design development projects/write-ups. Additionally, the village leaders also encountered some major constraints in the performance of their duties. These include lack of stationery and funds to execute various duties. Other problems were found to be lack of offices, lack of cooperation between village government leaders and those of opposition parties. The study concludes by making several recommendations to improve the situation. These include a call on leaders of all political parties at the village level to mobilise people to participate in various meetings and decisions pertaining to their day to day activities.