Reforming Tanzania’s Public Sector

Reforming Tanzania’s Public Sector: Assessment and Future Direction

In the last three decades, most African countries have embarked on comprehensive public sector reform programs. These have aimed at improving efficiency, accountability and transparency, for better delivery of public services and poverty reduction. Tanzania has, in addition, focused on tools, systems and processes in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in order to remove the bottlenecks that have hindered effective public service delivery in the first place.

These reforms have inevitably had great or limited success and even failure. But in all cases, important insights and lessons have been learned. The reforms might have been more successful had they not been obstructed by factors such as inadequate capacity, deficiency in accountability, ineffective management practices, excessive dependency on donor funding, and corruption.

The positive message from the explication and analysis of the reforms carried out in Tanzania is that when successful, they have delivered to the public clear benefits. Where the reforms stumbled there still has been an abundant political will to pick the pieces and move on. The leadership and people of Tanzania hope that in the Fifth Phase government when, more than ever before, the fight against corruption has been greatly accelerated, there will be even more evident gains from continuing reform efforts. It is hoped that Tanzania can count on continued support from the Development Partners in future reform programs.

This book will be useful to public policy practitioners, government administrators, students and teachers of public administration and management; development partners and others interested in discussions and debates about public sector reforms in Tanzania and Africa in general.

About The Authors.
Gelase Mutahaba, PhD (Berkeley, US) is Professor of Public Administration, University of Dar es salaam and Extraordinary Professor Public Management, University of Pretoria.

Benson Bana, PhD (Manchester, UK) is Senior Lecturer, at University of Dar es salaam, specializing in Public Administration, Human Resource Management and Political Science.

Ernest Mallya, PhD (Manchester, UK) is Associate Professor, specializing in Public Political and Administration, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Dar es salaam.