Effect of Central-Local Governments’ Relations on Local Government Financial and Administrative Autonomy in Tanzania: A Case of Selected Municipal Councils

Paul Mtasigazya

Paul Mtasigazya Department of Management Stidies, Tanzania Institute of Accoutancy, Tanzania.

Abstract

The fiscal and administrative decentralization have been under academic discussion and empirical knowledge is scant in local government management literature. The focus of this paper is to examine the financial and administrative deentralization and the extent and the manner in
which they undermine or promote the local government autonomy in Tanzania.Therefore, this paper was guided by the following research
objectives i. To examine the extent to which financial decentralization undermine or promote local government financial autonomy. ii. To
explore the power of the local councils on hiring and firing staff) under administrative decentralization. This paper selected purposively a sample
size of 50 respondents and data were collected through interviews and documentary reviews. The data were analysed using thematic
data analysis. In this paper, the findings indicate that Central-Local Government relations have contributed to limited autonomy in financial
resources and administrative matters such as recruitment, selection and the local government financial resource capacity is weak. it is
recommended that the central government should cede powers to local government authorities so that they can exercise full autonomy in their
areas of jurisdictions. The local government finance and administrative autonomy should be strengthened by through legal framework which
empowers LGAs in financial and administrative matters.

References

1. Mutiangpil J. Government sector outsourcing: transformation of public services with the IT services. Advisory, Investment and Research. New York; 2010.
2. Hood C. A public management for all seasons. Public Adm. 1991 Mar;69(1):3-19.
3. Alonso JM, Clifton J, Diaz-Fuentes D. Did new public management matter? An empirical analysis of the
outsourcing and decentralization effects on public sector size. Public Manag Rev. 2015;17(5):643-60.
4. Larbi GA. The new public management approach and crisis states. United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) Discussion Paper 112. Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development; 1999.
5. Sekiziyivu R. Public private sector partnership in Uganda’s local government: a case study of revenue collection in Makindye division, Kampala [dissertation]. Makerere University; 2009.
6. Pollitt C, Bouckaert G. Public management reform: a comparative analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press;
2004.1-334
7. Pollitt C, Geert B. Public management reforms. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2011.334pp.
8. Hughes J, Gwendolyn S, Gordon E. Dataset from economic social research council research project on
elites and institutions in regional and local governance in Central and Eastern Europe 1999-2001 L213252 (grant). United Kingdom: North Star Avenue; 2003.
9. Kettl DF. The transformation of governance public administration of twenty-first century. America, Baltimore MD: Johns Hopkins University Press; 2002. 205pp.
10. Osborne D, Gaebler T. Reinventing government: how the entrepreneurial spirit is transforming the public sector. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley; 1992.
11. Turner M, Hulme D. Governance, administration and development: making the state work. Basingstoke:
Macmillan Press; 1997 May.
12. Economic Commission for Africa. Public sector management reforms in Africa: lesson learned. Addis
Ababa: Economic Commission for Africa; 2003. 13. Rugeiyamu R. Impromptu decisions: Tanzania’s local government authorities’ challenge in establishing and managing the women, youth, and people with disabilities fund. Local Adm J. 2021;15(4):345-61.
14. United Republic of Tanzania. Poverty and Human Development Report 2009. Dar es Salaam: REPOA on behalf of the Research and Analysis Working Group under the Ministry of Finance; 2009.1-220pp.
15. Kessy AT. Local Government Reform Program (LGRP) and the challenges of local governance in Tanzania: local autonomy, participation, accountability and transparency [dissertation]. University of Manchester, UK; 2008.21-48pp.
16. Kessy AT. Decentralization, local governance and path dependency theory. Utafiti. 2018 Mar 18;13(1):54-76.
17. Mukandala R. Public administration in Tanzania. Dar es Salaam: Embassy of Sweden, Development Cooperation Office; 1991.
18. Liviga A. Local government reforms in Tanzania. Proceedings of the 17th State of Politics in Tanzania Conference. Research and Education for Democracy in Tanzania (REDET), 5th-6th October. Nkrumah Hall:
University of Dar es Salaam; 2009.1-66pp.
19. Kessy A, Mushi R. Institutional and legal analysis of D-by-D in Tanzania: rhetoric vs reality. REPOA Brief;
13/2018. 2018 Apr.
20. Likwelile S, Assey P. Decentralization and development in Tanzania [Internet]. Economic & Development Institutions; 2018 Dec [cited 2024 Jul 21]. Available from: https://edi.opml.co.uk/wpcms/wp-content/ uploads/2018/09/05-TID_Decentralizationdevelopment.
pdf
21. United Republic of Tanzania. Country report on the review and progress made in implementation of the Beijing declaration and platform for action – Beijing; 2019. p. 1-102.https://www.unwomen. org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/ Sections/CSW/64/National-reviews/United-Republicof- Tanzania-en.pdf accessed on 28th October, 2024.
22. United Republic of Tanzania. United Republic of Tanzania Annual Country Report 2023 - Country Strategic Plan 2022 – 2027. 2023.https://www. wfp.org/operations/tz02-united-republic-tanzaniacountry- strategic-plan-2022-2027 accessed on August, 2024.
23. Kessy AT. Local government reform in Tanzania: bridging the gap between theory and practice. Proceedings of the 17th State of Politics in Tanzania Conference. Research and Education for Democracy in Tanzania (REDET), 5th-6th October. Nkrumah Hall: University of Dar es Salaam; 2011. p. 21-48.
24. Kisuule T. Case study: improving the implementation of livelihood programmes through youth-led accountability in Uganda [Internet]. Restless Development; 2021 [cited 2024 Jul 21]. Available from: https://restlessdevelopment.org/wp-content/ uploads/2022/06/2130_CaseStudy_Uganda_2.pdf
25. United Republic of Tanzania. Tanzania’s 2023 Voluntary National Review (VNR) Report on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels. 2023. https://www. mof.go.tz/uploads/documents/en-1689095112-
Tanzania%20VNR%20FINAL%202023%20including%20 statistical%20annex%20(1)_compressed.pdf aacesssed
on 26th October, 2024.
26. Shangali T. Recruitment and selection in the public service: the case of Tanzania. Proceedings of the CAPAM Conference on Governance Excellence: Managing Human Potential, 2nd-5th March, 2009. Arusha: Tanzania; 2009 Mar. p. 1-28.
27. Massoi L, Norman AS. Decentralisation by devolution in Tanzania: Reflections on community involvement in the planning process in Kizota Ward in Dodoma. Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research. 2009 Nov 1;1(7):133.
28. United Republic of Tanzania. Policy Paper on Local Government Reform, Government Printer: Dar es Salaam. 1998.https://www. tamisemi.go.tz/storage/app/uploads/public/5b6/ ff2/9e3/5b6ff29e34417145911620.pdf accessed on October 2024.
29. Ngware S, Haule M. The forgotten level: village government in Tanzania. Dar es Salaam: Institute of
Development Studies, University of Dar es Salaam; 1992.
30. Mniwasa E, Shauri V. Review of the decentralization process and its impact on environmental and natural resource management in Tanzania. 2009. pp 1-27. http://www.tanzaniagateway.org/docs/ decentralization.pdf accessed on 13 October, 2024.
31. AAPAM, Report on AMDIN Roundtable on Wednesday 6 December 2006, held during the 28th AAPAM
Roundtable Conference in Arusha, Tanzania, 2006. [cited 2024 Jul 26]. P.1-3 Available from https:// amdin.africa/archive/documents/d00050/AMDIN_ roundtable_margin_AAPAM_conference.pdf
32. Max M. The development of local government in Tanzania. Dar es Salaam: Education Publishers and Distributors Ltd; 1991.1-208pp.
33. Kessy A. Decentralisation, Local Governance And Path Dependency Theory, UTAFITI, Vol. 13, No. 1, 2018 54
2018. 1-76pp.
34. Kessy A. Decentralization and administrative discretion in Tanzania: An analysis of administrative discretion on human resources, finance and service delivery. Social Sciences & Humanities Open Volume 8, Issue 1. 2023;8(1).
35. African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Democracy and political governance in Tanzania. Consultancy Report by Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Dar es Salaam; 20091-464.
36. United Republic of Tanzania. Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977. Dar es Salaam:
Government Printer; 1977. 1-91
37. Atenchong, T. N. (Developmental nationalism?’ Political trust and the politics of large-scale land investment
in Magufuli’s Tanzania Journal of Eastern African Studies Volume 15, 2021 - Issue 378-399pp.
38. Iliffe J. A modern history of Tanganyika. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1979 May 10. 1-240 pp.
39. Kigume R, Maluka S. Decentralisation and health services delivery in 4 districts in Tanzania: how and why
does the use of decision space vary across districts? Int J Health Policy Manag. 2019;8(2):90-100.
40. Matete RE. Forms of decentralization and their implications for educational accountability in Tanzania. Heliyon. 2022;8(5):e09436.1-11pp.
41. United Republic of Tanzania. Transforming decentralization for improved public services and socio-economic development June, 2023. Regional and Local Government Strengthening Programme. Dodoma, Tanzania; 2023.1-42pp.