Legal challenges in revenue collection by local governments: case of Temeke municipal council and Kisarawe district council, Tanzania

This study is about Legal Challenges in Revenue Collection by Local Governments; The case of Temeke and Kisarawe Councils, Tanzania. It has centered on the hypothesis that the legal framework on LGA revenue collection system does not provide adequate guidance on sources of revenue for LGAs. And that there is ambiguity in the legal provisions empowering central government to exercise control over LGAs and that the Councilors and Council staff violate law governing local government revenue collection. The study is divided into five chapters. Chapter one comprises of the introduction and background information to the study. Chapter two gives the overview of local governments system from pre-colonial to date. It has been shown in this chapter that the functioning of the LGAs has never been recommendable since then. LGAs face various problems including fund due to lack of liable sources. Chapter three looks at the legal framework governing local government. The findings establish that, although LGAs have legal authority to impose and levy taxes, their tax bases tend to be frail. The main reasons are attributed to the limitations embedded into the existing legal framework on revenue sources and collection. The Local Government Finance Act (Cap 290 R.E 2002) that was intended to be a cornerstone for collection of revenue does not give LGAs sufficient powers to that effect. It has shown that the Temeke Municipal Council and Kisarawe District Council have failed to collect revenue as targeted. The main reason attributes to it is the weak legal framework regulating revenue collection. Therefore, it is argued that there is a need for immediate measures to amend the Local Government Finance Act.