Community based targeting in rural Tanzania: a case of conditional cash transfers in Bagamoyo District, Tanzania.

This study explored the socio-cultural factors for inclusion and exclusion errors in Community Based Targeting (CBT) in Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT) programme in rural Bagamoyo in Coast Region. The ongoing errors in determining potential beneficiaries to benefit from the programme made this study possible, in a way trying to explore the socio-cultural factors behind the errors notwithstanding the use of CBT which was believed to be effective and inclusive in determining the beneficiaries. The study employed qualitative research methodology to outfit the theoretical perspective used in this study, a social construction of reality which holds the assumption that reality is a social product. The methods of data collection included In-depth Interviews, Focus Group Discussions and Documentary Review. It was realized through the findings that, people in Bagamoyo were not satisfied by both methods used to establish CCT programme and those used to identify and validate potential beneficiaries to receive the benefits as they were not reflecting what people in Bagamoyo hold on in terms of cultural sphere. Likewise, the study revealed that, due to minimal and immature incorporation of the local knowledge into practices people of Bagamoyo received the situation of providing them with stipend in various standpoints related to free masonic beliefs, and political maneuvers. It was also realized that, people of Bagamoyo preserve some sociocultural constructed facades, speaking of gendered relations pertained in norms, values and beliefs that are influential on inclusion and exclusion errors occurring in CBT. The study concludes that, there is a strong base of socio-cultural aspects among the people in Bagamoyo which are socially created by the people themselves and maintained by norms, values and beliefs, and gender arrangement is not of the exceptional. The study therefore, recommends the need for programmers to understand the socio-cultural underpinning which are specific to a particular society as they may not necessarily be it the same to others.