Community participation in development programmes: a case study of health through improved sanitation and better and more water (HESAWA) in Muleba district

This work is a study of involving the people in decision making from planning to evaluation of the programmes in light of political, economic and social changes that have been taking place in Tanzania. Included in this study is the role of the state in shaping democratic institutions in the country. Furthermore the study looks into the effectiveness of those institutions that were once participatory before they were put under the control of the state and the role of the party in shaping them. The study is also founded on the economic problems that were facing Tanzania from mid 1970's to 1980's. Those problems had an impact on the abolition of democratic institutions and their re-establishment from early 1980's. Thus, the essence of participation was on how to return power to the people. HESAWA programme began during this period by putting emphasis on participation by beneficiaries. As a case study, Muleba district has given a clear picture on how the programme has been implemented. The findings of the study indicate that the target group was not involved from the initial phases of the programme. The contribution of money mainly by Swedish government has played a key role in the success of the programme rather than the people. This automatically defeats the assertion that the programme has been successful because of community participation. Eventually, the study shades light on important points that would have been taken into account before and after the inception of the programme. It is therefore concluded that the commitment of officials was required from village to zonal levels. Secondly, the beneficiaries of the programme should have been allowed to set their own priorities before its inception. Lastly, the decision to select the location of installations would have been done by the community instead of officials if the programme were to be successful