Tanzania’s development challenge is how to grow the economy inclusively
Dr Kate McAlpine kate@katemcalpine.org

These reflections emerged from a listening exercise in January 2020 instigated by the Institutions 4 Inclusive Development Programme. I4ID was designed by UKAid in 2015, as a response to the challenge why Tanzania’s decade of significant growth had left many people still in poverty. As the I4ID programme comes to an end, and after implementing several initiatives to demonstrate how actors within the system could be supported to work towards change to prioritise inclusive growth and services (with some degree of success), we decided to take a step back. The listening exercise was an opportunity to change the lens from detailed implementation challenges and consult with like-minded people about some of the bigger, structural and contextual challenges holding back inclusive development. We consulted with a range of development practitioners, political actors and businesses in Tanzania about the preconditions for Tanzania’s inclusive development and what they felt was important.

A consensus emerged that, fundamentally, Tanzania’s biggest development challenge is how to grow society and the economy inclusively. A legacy of bias towards elites, diverging visions of Tanzania’s future, and still evolving institutions, make this particularly challenging. However non-state actors also face the practical dilemma of how to navigate a complex environment in which the agenda and priorities are driven by a state in full developmental mode, with which they struggle to influence or contribute.

The following are some key take-aways from the diverse group of people who were consulted:

The country is rich, but how can it enrich its own people?
The Government faces a macroeconomic challenge of creating the conditions for economic growth that equally benefits the rural and urban poor. It must grapple with population growth in the face of limited jobs, livelihood opportunities and natural resources. The country is yet to hit ‘peak youth’, the proportion of the population under 30 years and carrying the burden of working age responsibility is already huge and growing. The national development strategy needs to do two things: invest in building skills and capacities that enable the people to be productive; and stimulate non-extractive, job creating investment that will enable the Government to increase tax revenue.

Institutional function is still sub-optimal; despite the narrative of good governance
As in most countries, vested interests still exert a great deal of influence over the system and take advantage. After Independence, the State, led by President Nyerere, aimed to re-engineer society and the economy around one language and one community. In the 1980s, President Mwinyi opened the door to capital and trust was put in the private sector. There was an explosion of micro-businesses and the State largely withdrew from the economic aspects of individuals’ lives. Many feel it did so prematurely because there were unclear boundaries. “In letting in capital, the little people were hurt.”

During the 1990’s and 2000’s, Presidents Mkapa and Kikwete opened up space for human rights discourse, civil society and economic growth. But this growth did not seem to benefit many rural Tanzanians and the market often seemed to be captured by vested interests.

Many feel the 5th phase Government, led by President Magufuli, is undertaking a necessary course correction to correct advantage taking in the past. Despite the anti-corruption narrative, the feeling is that corruption will remain embedded in the system, particularly when those with vested interests want to maintain the status quo. Anti­corruption efforts have not always improved institutional functioning, as evidenced by the divergent views of the Controller and Auditor General and Parliament in 2019.

Social progress relies on whether we can build innovative institutional capacity
We framed the challenge to participants thus: Social progress relies on building institutions that can pursue a common purpose, that embed values such as fairness, freedom and the rule of law and that combine equity of values with an efficiency of outcomes and a sense of emotional commitment (RSA Journal, Issue 3, 2019).

While the State is setting the agenda for a common purpose, it would benefit from offering more space for divergent views to meet and build consensus. However there seems to be an increasing attitude within Ministries that local government authorities are unable to deliver services better than the centre, which may undermine their sense of commitment. Furthermore, recent reforms to combat political and economic corruption and the influence of big business in political parties, have produced winners and losers which has undermined the sense of fairness.

Tanzania needs a national conversation about who Tanzanians want to be as a nation
“Nation building is a long-term endeavour with bumps, but the key thing is to define the ethic of the nation.” This sentiment was echoed strongly by many of our respondents. A nation is a joint notion that is actively created and nurtured over time. The concept of the nation is not just a functioning tax system, nor a reliable Parliament, nor just the legislation that is implemented. The nation of Tanzania also resides in more spiritual notions. For many it is a felt sense of the land; and of an individuals’ place and security in relation to their ethnic group, village, and family.

Tanzanians need an opportunity to collectively consider who they want to be as a nation. What are the civic values that motivate them? How do they want to live and develop? What is the generative vision for the future that would motivate them?

Mechanisms that could foster inclusive development
State and non-state actors can come together, with their divergent views, to effect inclusive development in this time of political, social and economic complexity by:

1. Aligning political, business and ideological interests in defining and reinforcing the ethic of the nation. Hosting and diffusing a national conversation about where Tanzania is heading; recognising that achieving the national vision requires multiple means and actors.

2. Creating space, structure and process for productive interdependence by:

a. Going where there is emerging visible energy for development

b. Getting system actors in the room and building trust

c. Co-creating a shared understanding of complex systems and aligning interests in support of connected action

d. Embracing equifinality

3. Establishing more balanced power relationships with communities and fostering a variety of citizen driven development pathways. This requires citizens and their representatives to be educated about the nexus between tax paying, democracy and accountability; and centring citizens in government planning processes by decentralising and devolving power sub-nationally.

4. Innovating in the design, delivery, scaling and impact measurement of development aid. Aid modalities should make long-term bets; and reframe the question of scale to focus less on reach and more on change in complex systems which supports inclusive growth. There should be a focus on aggregating the impact being achieved and demonstrating what the multiplicity of outputs and effects add up to as a contribution to inclusive development.

5. Finally, there should be greater constructive critique and resistance to development fads that are driven by the aid industry.

by Hugh Wenban-Smith

This compilation of articles, culled from journals in the LSE library, covers July to December 2016. The abstracts are abridged versions of those published by the author(s)

“Village land politics and the legacy of ujamaa” Greco E Review of African Political Economy 2016 (Supp. 1).
The paper explores the legacies of ujamaa for Tanzanian village land management through the analysis of ethnographic data. The first section considers the ujamaa legacies for Tanzanian village administrative and political institutions and the weight of past top-down politics. In the second section, village land politics are investigated in the light of the reform of the land laws in order then to underline the role of village authorities in collective land claims and to illustrate how village land allocations occur in practice. The third section analyses data from three villages to reflect on the salience of village land politics and Village Land Use Plans. Ujamaa leaves its legacy in the continuity of a potential for democratisation from below resisting the continuity of authoritarianism and centralised decision-making from above.

“Cotton and textiles industries in Tanzania: The failures of liberalisation” Coulson A Review of African Political Economy 2016 (Supp. 1).
The article uses the story of cotton cultivation in Tanzania to analyse critically the processes of liberalisation and expose the failure of markets to reward quality production. It starts by summarising the technological requirements to grow the crop. It then shows how cotton was central to industrialisation in Britain and elsewhere. In Tanzania, cotton is grown on small farms and so the article then summarises how small farmers make choices and minimise risks. This creates the context for outline histories, first of cotton growing, and then of textile industries in Tanzania, before turning to the impact of structural adjustment and liberalisation in the late 1980s and 1990s which led to increases in production but losses in quality and price. The article draws conclusions from this about the role of agriculture in processes of economic transformation and the need for institutions which represent the economic interest of small farmers.

“‘How come others are selling our land?’ Customary land rights and the complex process of land acquisition in Tanzania” Locher M Journal of Eastern African Studies 10(3).
The recent increase in transnational land acquisition of agrarian land raises concerns about rural people’s inadequate involvement in the decision-making process, and violations of their land rights. Tanzania’s statutory land laws are comparatively progressive in terms of recognising customary land rights. According to legislation, transferring ‘village land’ to an investor requires villagers’ approval. It is therefore revealing to focus on the acknowledgement of customary rights in land deals in Tanzania. This study analyses the land transfer process of a UK-based forestry company that has acquired land in seven villages in Kilolo district. In the case of the village presented here, the investor seems to have followed legal procedure regarding decision-making for the land deal in a formally correct way. Yet, interviews with various stakeholders revealed flaws at village and district government level that have led to a conflict-ridden situation, with numerous affected villagers having lost their land rights – thus the basis for their livelihoods – against their will. Among those affected are several households from a neighbouring village, whose customary rights date back to the period before the resettlements of the 1970s (‘villagisation’). Employing the concepts of property rights and legal pluralism and unbundling the role of different actors in the host country government, this article analyses the decision-making process that preceded this land transfer. It illustrates how unequal power relations lead to unequal recognition of customary and statutory law. The study concludes that even under comparatively favourable legal conditions, there is no guarantee that local land rights are fully protected in the global land rush.

“Food security in Tanzania: the challenge of rapid urbanisation” Wenban-Smith H, Fasse A & Grote U Food Security 8(5).
Urbanisation in Tanzania is proceeding apace. This article seeks to identify the challenge posed by rapid urbanisation for food security in Tanzania to 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals horizon. It is hypothesised that urban food security largely depends on the food supply systems and the rural food production potential. The analysis of these interlinkages is based on secondary macro data and own primary micro data. Tanzania has done well to achieve broad self-sufficiency in basic foodstuffs to date, but rapid urbanisation will pose a severe future challenge as regards food security, particularly for the disadvantaged poorer people of the towns and cities in terms of food affordability, stability and food safety. Whether Tanzania can avoid future deterioration in urban food security will depend on how responsive and resilient the urban food supply systems prove to be in the face of continuing urban growth, changing consumption patterns, weak rural-urban food supply linkages and production constraints in the smallholder farming sector.

“Small price incentives increase women’s access to land titles in Tanzania” Ali DA, Collin M, Deininger K, Dercon S, Sandefur J & Zeitlin A Journal of Development Economics 123.
We randomize the price urban Tanzanian households faced to purchase a land title. Price discounts increase the rate at which households adopt titles. Some discounts are conditional on registering a woman as co-owner. These conditional discounts have roughly the same effect on adoption. Conditional discounts ensure very high co-titling rates without hurting take-up.

“‘You have hands, make use of them!’ Child labour in artisanal and small-scale mining in Tanzania” Potter C & Lupilya AC Journal of International Development 28(7).
This paper examines child labour in artisanal mining through ethnographic research in Tanzania. The poverty hypothesis argues that households send children to work to bolster household income. The socio-cultural approach suggests that child mining offers valuable vocational training. This paper builds on a growing literature that complicates these approaches straightforward claims by illustrating how household fragmentation is generated through the encounter of traditional cultural practices with mining’s culture of consumption. This encounter exacerbates household fragmentation, which in turn increases child poverty and labour. These findings suggest policy interventions should also address these mediating factors rather than poverty per se.

“Artisanal and small-scale mining as an informal safety net: Evidence from Tanzania” Aizawa Y Journal of International Development 28(7).
Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is an important means for diversifying economic activities to sustain people’s rural livelihoods in mineral-rich African countries. To pursue the economic benefits, ASM workers often take physical and legal risks in mining activities. However, a question arises as to whether the economic benefits are sufficient for explaining their engagement in risky mining activities. This article examines whether ASM functions as an informal safety net that brings social benefits to ASM workers and motivates their engagement in mining. To examine an informal safety net, the article analyses the case of artisanal mining in Geita, Tanzania. The result of the analysis states that social benefits are, in association economic benefits, motivating factors for continuing the ASM activities. The analysis implies that in ASM, the more impoverished the sites are, the more functional they are in regard to exerting an informal safety net.

“‘Ulinzi Shirikishi’: Popular experiences of hybrid security governance in Tanzania” Cross C Development and Change 47(5).
This article explores the implementation of community-based or participatory policing (ulinzi shirikishi) in Tanzania. Through ulinzi shirikishi citizens are encouraged to form local security committees, organise neighbourhood patrols and investigate reported crime. In contrast to earlier forms of state-sponsored sungu sungu vigilantism in Tanzania, community police are expected to cooperate with the Tanzania Police Force and to adhere to state law. Based on 11 months’ fieldwork in three sub-wards of the city of Mwanza, this article argues that community policing has been fairly effective in improving residents’ perceptions of local safety. However, two important concerns emerge that may compromise the sustainability and legitimacy of community policing in the future. First, organising local policing entails considerable costs for communities, which disproportionately disadvantage the relatively poor. Secondly, controlling local service provision can enable individuals to pursue private gains, at the expense of the production of public goods.

“Youth poverty, employment and livelihoods: Social and economic implications of living with insecurity in Arusha, Tanzania” Banks N. Environment and Urbanization 28(2).
The youth employment crisis in sub-Saharan Africa’s towns and cities is among the region’s top development priorities. High rates of youth under- and unemployment create significant obstacles to young people’s ability to become self-reliant, a crucial first step in the transition to adulthood. It is important to explore how local and global structures and processes create the hostile economic and social environment in which urban youth search for livelihoods. Only then can we identify the ways in which urban poverty brings insurmountable constraints on youth agency. We must understand the multitude of obstacles facing youth in their quest for decent work and secure livelihoods, how these differ by gender and educational status, and the implications of this for longer-term social and economic development. This paper attempts such an exploration in the context of Arusha, Tanzania.

by Hugh Wenban-Smith
This compilation of articles, culled from journals in the LSE library, covers January to June 2016. The abstracts are based on those published by the author(s), although sometimes shortened a bit.

“Development and progress as historical phenomena in Tanzania – Maendeleo? We had that in the past” Ahearne RM. African Studies Review 59(1).
Academic discussions of development continue to grow, yet critical engagement with communities affected by development interventions remain limited. Drawing from life history interviews conducted in Southern Tanzania, this article details the varied experiences of development interventions among older people and how these affect broader understandings of progress. Many juxtapose their negative views of ujamaa villagisation with more positive recollections of previous interventions (esp. the Groundnut Scheme), which are infused with what is described here as ‘development nostalgia’. Perceptions of the past clearly inform the social, political and economic aspirations of today, with the richness of the constructed narratives adding further nuance to existing depictions of Tanzanian historiography.

“Artisanal frontier mining of gold in Africa: Labour transformation Tanzania and the DRC” Bryceson DF & S Geenen. African Affairs Vol 115(459). This article studies the transformative nature of ‘artisanal frontier mining’ in view of SSA’s mining history. Artisanal gold production has generated livelihood earnings for millions of people in SSA. Yet we must go beyond a study of artisanal mining as an individual livelihood choice and considers the sector’s internal dynamics. In this sense, the concept of ‘labour transformation’ is helpful. It refers to a process in which individuals’ skill acquisition, economic exchange, psychological reorientation, and social positioning evolve towards a shared occupational identity, and collective professional norms, leaving considerable scope for self-governance amongst artisanal miners.

“The scramble for textbooks in Tanzania” Languille S. African Affairs Vol 115(458). In 2014, the Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) government in Tanzania decided to discontinue the market-based systems for textbook provision that was established in the early 1990s and revert to full state control. Drawing on the theory of political settlements and the literature on Tanzania’s industrial politics, the article examines the political economy of textbook provision in this country in order to generate new insights into the relations between the educational, political and economic spheres. It shows how donor ideology and practices, while subjecting textbooks to generic market principles, also promoted the interests of western publishing corporations. It then argues that the distribution of power within the state, and the ambiguous relations between the CCM ruling elites, bureaucrats and the capitalist class, prevented the consolidation of a textbook industrial policy geared towards supporting the local publishing industry. Finally, the article explains the elite’s diverse corrupt practices to capture public funding for textbooks at the national and local levels.

“We are not farmers: Dilemmas and prospects of residential suburban cultivators in contemporary Dar es Salaam, Tanzania” Owens GR. Journal of Modern African Studies Vol 54(3).
Today a majority of citizens of Dar es Salaam participate in suburban and ex-urban growth and development much like urbanites throughout the world. Unlike the garden suburbs of North America or Europe, Dar es Salaam’s suburban residents often engage in multiple income-generating activities, the most common and conspicuous of which are cultivation and animal husbandry. The presence of urban farming has suggested that Dar es Salaam’s residents represent peasants incrementally transitioning to urban life. This article however contends that everything from the varieties of cultivation, access to land and work, to the definition of what it means to be a farmer is shaped by decentralised private interests controlling access to land and resources in suburban neighbourhoods. The varieties of cultivation and animal husbandry instead reflect socio-economic class distinctions emerging from a new suburban political economy, enabling a clearer perspective on the prospects of cultivators as these suburban districts transform.

“Turbulent times: Fighting history today in Tanzania’s trophy hunting spaces” Wright VC. Journal of Contemporary African Studies Vol 34(1).
The paper discusses the turbulent times facing trophy hunting in Tanzania. It reviews the industry’s contentious history, and illustrates the ominous politics that are emerging out of the country’s recent neo-liberal schemes, Wildlife Management Areas. Through the decentralisation that accompanies WMAs, the rural communities who co-inhabit trophy hunting spaces are finding new ways to limit, resist and, sometimes, eliminate it.

“The formal divide: Customary rights and the allocation of credit to agriculture in Tanzania” Stein H et al. Journal of Development Studies Vol 52(9).
It is generally held that one mechanism to enable inclusive growth in Tanzania is enabling farmers to access credit to raise productivity and incomes. The formalisation of property rights in Tanzania is being undertaken by a multiplicity of actors at great expense to donors, individuals and the government. While there have been a variety of different justifications for allocating Certificates of Customary Rights of Occupancy (CCROs) to farmers in Tanzania, perhaps the most prominent argument is that it will enable farmers to finally overcome the divide between ‘informal’ customary rights and the banking sector. CCROs would provide the collateral that would induce banks to lend money to small scale farmers. As part of a 6 year investigation in Manyara, Mbeya and Dodoma regions, our research team evaluated the impact of formalisation on farmers’ access to credit. The paper will present the results while pointing to the continuing institutional and market imperfections that perpetuate the formal divide.

“Water availability and reliability in Dar es Salaam” Smiley SL. Journal of Development Studies Vol 52(9).
Dar es Salaam’s water landscape is unjust, inequitable and uneven. Water rationing and electricity outages affect water availability alongside an overall shortfall in water supply. Using household surveys and interviews, this paper shows that a majority of respondents lack a consistently reliable source of water. To cope with poor access, households alter their daily routines, consume less water, and identify and use back-up sources of water. It is crucial to understand the problems of water availability in the city in order to make more informed policy decisions and more justly provide water access.

“Weather shocks, agricultural production and migration: Evidence from Tanzania” Kubik Z & M Maurel. Journal of Development Studies Vol 52(5).
We analyse whether Tanzanian rural households engage in migration as a response to weather-related shocks. We hypothesize that, when exposed to such shocks and a consecutive crop yield reduction, rural households use migration as a risk management strategy. Our findings confirm that for an average household, a 1 per cent reduction in agricultural income induced by weather shock increases the probability of migration by 13 percentage points on average within the year. Hoever the effect is significant only for households in the middle of the wealth distribution, suggesting that the choice of migration as an adaptation strategy depends on initial endowment. What is more, the proposed mechanism applies to households whose income is highly dependent on agriculture, but is not important for diversified livelihoods.

“Food culture and child-feeding practices in Njombe and Mvomero districts, Tanzania” Mwaseba DJB, R Kaarhus & ZS Mvena. Journal of Eastern African Studies Vol 10(2).
This article explores food culture and child-feeding practices, focusing on children below five years, among the Bena and Luguru ethnic groups located in Njombe and Mvomero rural districts in Tanzania. This article is part of a larger research project whose overall purpose was to investigate the outcome of milk-based nutrition interventions involving dairy goat and cattle-keeping with the aim among others to improve health and nutritional status of family members. Methods used included participant observation, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews. Findings show that early pre-lacteal feeds are commonly introduced in both societies and the most common complementary food includes plain maize porridge. On the other hand, milk consumption among children was rather limited. Existing food habits and feeding practices do not always meet the current international recommendations on child feeding. Besides, recommendations and nutritional information on child feeding have largely not been used as suggested and this paper argues that, for the successful introduction and implementation of nutrition-based interventions targeting children, it is important to identify and improve upon the indigenous child-feeding practices, reflecting existing food habits, food-related beliefs, and their meanings.

by Hugh Wenban-Smith

Since starting this column a few years ago, there has been a noticeable increase in research interest in Tanzania. This compilation of articles, culled from journals in the LSE library, covers July to December 2015. The abstracts are based on those published by the author(s), although sometimes shortened a bit.

“A refugee in my own country: Evictions and property rights in the informal economy” Brown A, C Msoka & I Dankoco. Urban Studies Vol 52(12).
Normative approaches to urban governance and planning and idealised versions of city space too often result in relocation or forced eviction of street traders and other informal economy workers from public space as a policy of choice. Often a response to a short term political imperative, clearances take place with little understanding of the interconnected nature of the urban informal economy or widespread poverty impacts that result. Drawing on a property rights perspective and the ‘legal empowerment’ paradigm, this paper compares the major clearances of street traders that took place in Dar es Salaam in 2006-2007 and Dakar in 2007, with very different outcomes for traders. It explores the political initiatives behind the clearances, the dual property rights regimes in both countries and the different roles of social movements, resulting in emerging political power in one city and passive marginalisation in another. Finally, it argues that the conceptualisation of public space as a hybrid ‘public good’ would allow for a more appropriate property rights regime for the urban informal economy.

“How economic empowerment reduces women’s reproductive health vulnerability in Tanzania” Westeneng J & B d’Estelle. Journal of Development Studies Vol 51(11).
This article uses data from Northern Tanzania to analyse how economic empowerment helps women reduce their reproductive health vulnerability. It analyses the effect of women’s employment and economic contribution to their household on healthcare use at three phases of the reproductive cycle: before pregnancy, during pregnancy and at childbirth, which remains robust after controlling for bargaining power and selection bias. This indicates that any policy that increases women’s economic empowerment can have a direct positive impact on women’s reproductive health.

“Agricultural production and the nutritional status of family members in Tanzania” Slavchevska V. Journal of Development Studies Vol 51(8).
The paper studies the effect of crop output value and livestock ownership on the nutrition of children, adolescents and adults in agricultural households. Using anthropometric data to measure nutritional status, this paper finds that both crop values and large livestock ownership have positive and significant effects on the nutrition of children under age 10. The effect persists after controlling for household socio-economic status. Higher crop values and ownership of livestock are linked to better long term indicators of nutrition (height-for-age) among the youngest children and better short term indicators (BMI-for-age and weight-for-age) among older children. The effects also vary between boys and girls.

“Economy wide impact of maize export bans on agricultural growth and household welfare in Tanzania: a dynamic CGE model analysis” Diao X and A Kennedy. Development Policy Review Vol 33(4).
Export bans have been frequently used by developing countries in recent years in an attempt to ensure domestic food supplies and to insulate domestic market prices from international price hikes. This article uses Tanzania to examine the impact of export bans using a CGE model. We find that banning cross-border maize exports has very little effect on the national food price index and that the benefits from lower maize prices are captured primarily by urban households, while maize producer prices decrease significantly. The export ban further decreases the wage rate for low skilled labour and the returns to land, while returns to non-agricultural capital and wage rates for skilled labour increase, further hurting poor rural households and thus increasing poverty for the country as a whole.

“A less gendered access to land? The impact of Tanzania’s new wave of land reform” Pedersen RH. Development Policy Review Vol 33(4)
Contemporary land reforms in SSA tend to be evaluated based on the state-centric reforms of the past, which disadvantaged women. However, this article argues that the new wave of land reforms and their decentralised administrative institutions and anti-discriminatory legal frameworks may be different. Based on field research on the implementation of Tanzania’s 1999 Land Acts, it identifies an institutional reconfiguration in which the formal institutions are gradually strengthened and the customary institutions slowly changed. This does not in itself pose a threat to women’s access to land and some women, who are otherwise perceived to be weak, are left better off. Nevertheless, access to land becomes socially more uneven.

“Reworking the relation between sanitation and the city in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania” Pastore, MC. Environment and Urbanization Vol 27(2).
Africa is at present one of the most dynamic continents. It will play a key role in the next decades in relation to the growth of cities, and environmental conditions will be of primary importance. The structural lack of water and sanitation infrastructure affects the environment of growing African cities. This paper analyses the status of the sanitation and drainage systems of Dar es Salaam, a city with structural lack and general deterioration of the existing infrastructure, and with high annual growth, which has contributed to increasing water demand and strained the water and sanitation system. In particular, the paper describes the water and sanitation condition of the city, and examines three areas in the city that highlights the relation among the evolution of the city’s growth, sanitation system, and the type of settlement. Secondly, both on-site (boreholes, wells, on-site latrines, etc) and off-site (pipes) systems should be considered for the provision and safe discharge of water. Finally, local governments need to take a major step in the water and sanitation sectors in relation to the city.

“Fifteen years after decentralisation by devolution: Political-administrative relations in Tanzanian local government” Hulst R, W Mafuru & D Mpenzi. Public Administration and Development Vol 35(5).
One of the professed goals of the 1998 Tanzanian Local Government Reform Programme (LGRP), entailing substantial decentralisation, was to provide for a democratic administrative set-up in local government. Elected local councils were invested with responsibilities for a wide range of policy sectors and services; the local administrative staff, formerly recruited and instructed by central government, would be appointed by and accountable to the local councils. A well-functioning politico-administrative system was considered paramount to improve service delivery and to ensure control of decision-making by the local community. This article reports on research into the relations between councillors and administrators in two Tanzanian municipalities (Kinondoni MC and Mvomero DC). Overall, these relations were found to be tense and full of discordance, caused by clashing role perceptions and mutual distrust. The research suggests that the main factor underlying the behaviour and attitudes of councillors and administrators is the very system of public administration, which – despite the ambitions expressed in the LGRP – remain very centralistic in character.

“Going back home: Internal return migration in rural Tanzania” Hirvonen K & HB Lilleor. World Development Vol 70.
While reasons for out-migration are relatively well understood, little is known about why people return to their rural origins. We contribute to filling this gap in the literature by using 19-year tracking data from rural Tanzania to estimate the patterns and determinants of return migration, and we find that return is largely associated with unsuccessful migration. For men, return is linked to poor job-market outcomes at the migration destination, and for women, to the ending of marriages. Female migrants who exchange transfers with relatives at home, and men who are financially supported by their families, are more likely to return.

by Hugh Wenban-Smith

This compilation of articles on Tanzania, culled from journals in the LSE library, cov­ers January to June 2015. The abstracts are based on those published by the author(s).

“Regulatory compliance in Lake Victoria fisheries” Eggert, H & RB Lokina Environment and Development Economics Vol 15(2).
This paper analyses the causes for regulatory compliance, using traditional de­terrence variables and potential moral and social variables. We use self-report­ed data from 459 artisanal fishers in Lake Victoria. The results indicate that the decision to be either a non-violator or a violator, as well as the violation rate – if the latter – are influenced by changes in deterrence variables like the probability of detection and punishment and also by legitimacy and social variables. We also identify a small group of fishers who react neither to normative aspects nor to traditional deterrence variables but persistently violate the regulation.

“Households’ income-generating activities and marginal returns to labour in rural Tanzania” Nerman, M Journal of African Economies Vol 24(3).
This study uses detailed household-level data to assess whether rural Tanza­nian households seem able to allocate labour so as to maximise their incomes, and what factors determine if they do. In contrast to much earlier work on in­come diversification I use crop-level data to explicitly evaluate marginal returns within agriculture. The integrated household survey used allows me to then link these returns to household characteristics and broader labour supply deci­sions and consumption behaviour. In line with expectations, agricultural wage work seems to be a last resort option, as agricultural wage labourers have lower marginal returns than others due to a higher labour allocation to own agricul­tural production. Furthermore, wage rates are much higher than the shadow wages, implying that there are gains to be made from expanding the non-farm side of the rural economy.

“Rural policies, price change and poverty in Tanzania: An agricultural house­hold model based assessment” Tiberti, L & M Tiberti Journal of African Econo­mies Vol 24(2).
The main objective of this study is to develop a robust and comprehensive tool to evaluate the effect on household welfare of different agricultural policies in Tanzania and food price changes. A two-stage estimation strategy is adopted: the shadow price of labour is first estimated and then used to estimate produc­tion and demand systems as well as labour market functions. These models are subsequently used to simulate the effect on household welfare of a hypotheti­cal 40% increase in the price of cereals and other crops and a hypothetical 10% increase in the hectares of arable land and in the use of ox-ploughs. The results are finally compared with the case in which a separable model is adopted.

“Inter-temporal and spatial price dispersion patterns and the well-being of maize producers in Southern Tanzania” van Campenhout, B, E Lecoutere & d’Exelle B Journal of African Economies Vol 24(2).
We revisit a methodology to gauge the short-term effect of price changes on smallholder farmer’s welfare that is popular amongst policy makers and aca­demia. Realising that farmers face substantial seasonal price volatility over the course of an agricultural year, we pay particular attention to the timing of sales and purchases. In addition, we depart from the implicit assumption that all farmers scattered across rural areas face the same prices when interacting with markets. Using maize marketing during the 2007-2008 agricultural season in a sample of smallholders in Tanzania as an illustration, we find that especially poor farmers face greater losses than what a standard analysis would suggest. We also relate our methodology to factors that are likely to affect potential ben­efits or costs from inter-temporal and spatial price dispersion, such as means of transport, access to price information and credit.

“The role of credit facilities and investment practices in rural Tanzania: A comparative study of Igowole and Ilula emerging urban centres” Larsen, MN & T Birch-Thomsen Journal of Eastern African Studies Vol 9(1).
Small urban settlements or small towns in rural areas represent the fastest ur­ban growth in most of the African continent. Along with a renewed political interest in African agriculture, the role of urban settlements has gained a promi­nent position in poverty reduction in rural areas and as an alternative to out-migration. Based on data collected between 2010 and 2012 covering more than 60 business operators in two emerging urban centres (EUCs) and their rural hinterlands, the article explores development trajectories in two EUCs in Tan­zania, both of which have experienced rapid population growth and attracted new investments in business by both migrants and the indigenous population in an effort to exploit new opportunities in the centres. The initial urbanization has not been driven by the state or by new institutional interventions such as microfinance but rather by the ‘market’. This paper argues that microfinance plays a role in facilitating possibilities for some businesses to sustain, expand or diversify their businesses once the business is well-established in the EUCs. Migrants play a pivotal role for the early development and later diversification of business activities within both EUCs. They have been attracted by new in­vestment opportunities and bring capital and knowledge from previous experi­ences with economic activities.

“The challenge of intermediary coordination in smallholder sugarcane pro­duction in Tanzania” Mmari, DE Journal of Modern African Studies Vol 53(1).
Orthodox approaches to development view the market as a key institution for driving economic transformation and for fostering innovation and com­petitiveness. The working of markets alone, however, does not always lead to improved outcomes such as increase in productivity or production efficiency in the context of smallholders. This paper examines the role of intermediary coordination in addressing constraints to efficiency and productivity in small­holder sugarcane producers in Tanzania. It also makes a contrastive analysis of different organisational arrangements for smallholder sugarcane producers in Malawi. The key proposition is that while intermediary organisations of cane out-growers in Tanzania have played a significant role in promoting effective market linkages, an increase in productivity required for competitiveness is limited by the lack of effective horizontal coordination.

“Participatory forest carbon assessment in south-eastern Tanzania: Experi­ences, costs and implications for REDD+ initiatives” Katani, KZ, I Mustalahti, K Mukama & E Zahabu Oryx (FirstView article, 25 June 2015)
The aim of this study was to determine the changes in forest carbon in three vil­lage forests in Tanzania during 2009-2012 using participatory forest carbon as­sessment, and to evaluate the capability of the local communities to undertake the assessment, and the costs involved. The results show that forest degradation is caused not only by disturbance as a result of anthropogenic activities; other causes include natural mortality of small trees as a result of canopy closure, and the attraction of wild animals to closed-canopy forests. Thus mechanisms are required to compensate communities for carbon loss that is beyond their control. However, an increase in the abundance of elephants and other fauna should not be considered negatively by local communities and other stakehold­ers, and the importance of improved biodiversity in the context of carbon stocks should be emphasised by those promoting REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). This case study also shows that the cost per Ha of USD < 1 for participatory forest carbon assessment is less than that re­ported for Tanzania and elsewhere (USD 3-5); this is attributed to the large area of forest studied. However, the cost of data analysis and reporting in 2012 (USD 4,519) was significantly higher than the baseline cost (USD 1,793) established in 2009 because of the involvement of external experts. “Landlords in the making: class dynamics of the land grab in Mbarali, Tanza­nia” Greco, E Review of African Political Economy Vol 42(155).
This paper reorients the analysis of land grabs in Tanzania towards the role of class dynamics. It draws on primary research on resistance against the privati­sation of a rice farm in Mbeya region. This is a land grab ahead of its time, as it occurred before the wave of global land enclosures spurred by the 2007/8 crisis. The paper argues that the recent wave of dispossession builds on pre-existing processes of rural social differentiation and class formation, which are played out through the politics of land and its class dynamics. It claims that if scholar­ship is to support the progressive potential of resistance against land grabs in Africa, the class dynamics of land grabs must be acknowledged.

by Hugh Wenban-Smith

In the aftermath of the Holborn fire, the LSE library could not be accessed by your correspondent. However, Tanzania items in the African Studies Abstracts were provided by a kindly librarian.

An intensity analysis of land-use and land-cover change in Karatu District, Tanzania: John LR, H Hambati & FA Armah African Geographical Review, Vol 33 (2):

Land-use and Land-cover changes (LULCCs) are the result of complex interactions between the human (cultural, socio-economic and political) and the biophysical environment at different spatial scales. The present study assessed the spatial distribution of LULC (1976-2008) in the high and low altitude zones in the northern highlands of Karatu, using both qualitative (in-depth interviews and group discussions) and quantitative techniques (Intensity Analysis). The qualitative approach was used to elicit information on the coping strategies adopted by land users as transitions occurred with time and Intensity Analysis was used to assess the systematic land losses, gains and persistence of the various categories with time.

Iron Age agriculture, fishing and trade in the Mafia archipelago, Tanzania: New evidence from the Ukunju Cave: Crowther A & nine other authors Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa Vol 49 (1): Small-scale excavations were recently undertaken at the site of the Ukunju Cave in the Mafia archipelago to collect new bio-archaeological and material culture data relating to the site’s occupation and the nature of early subsistence and long-distance trade in the region. Our findings suggest that occupation of the cave began during the Middle Iron Age (seventh to tenth centuries AD), as indicated by the presence of Early Tana Tradition/Triangular Incised Ware pottery in the lowest layers above bedrock, as well as small quantities of imported ceramics and glass beads, also dating from the mid- to late first millennium AD. Small assemblages of faunal and botanical remains, including introduced African crops (pearl millet, sorghum, baobab and possibly cowpea) were found in association with these finds, indicating that these communities practised a mixed economy of fishing, domestic livestock keeping and agriculture. In addition, the presence of cotton suggests they may have also been producing fibres or textiles, most likely for local use, but possibly also for long distance trade.

A deposit of Kilwa-type coins from Songo Mnara, Tanzania: Perkins J, J Fleisher & S Wynne-Jones Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa Vol 49 (1): A deposit of coins was recovered during excavations at Songo Mnara, contain­ing over 300 copper Kilwa-type coins. This is the first deposit or hoard of these coins found in a well-defined archaeological context and it therefore offers a unique glimpse into both the typology of these coins and their contemporary uses. … In particular, the deposit is firmly attributable to the end of the fourteenth or very early fifteenth centuries, allowing for some chronological resolution. Coins of the late eleventh to early twelfth century Sultan Ali ibn al-Hasan show that these types remained in circulation for several hundred years. In addition, the common coin type of Nasir ad-Dunya can now be attributed firmly to the fifteenth and possibly fourteenth centuries by this find.

Can your child read and count? Measuring learning outcomes in East Africa: Jones S, Y Schipper & R Rajani Journal of African Economies Vol 23 (5): The last 15 years have seen major changes to education systems in East Africa. Superficially, there is much to commend. Net primary enrolment rates have risen to over 90% alongside significant improvements in gender equity. Nonetheless, there are growing concerns that better access is not adding up to more learning. This paper introduces unique test score data collected by Twaweza’s Uwezo initiative for over 600,000 children across East Africa, including children enrolled and not enrolled in school. Using these data we show that many children in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda remain functionally illiterate or innumerate, despite having completed multiple years of school.

Industrial transformation or business as usual? Information and com­munications technologies and Africa’s place in the global information economy: Murphy JT, P Carmody & B Surborg Review of African Political Economy Vol 41 (140):

Many view information and communications technologies (ICTs) such as mobile phones, computers and the Internet as tools that can significantly strengthen the quality and depth of Africa’s engagement with the world economy. This paper interrogates the impacts of Africa’s burgeoning ICT ‘revolution’ through an examination of their use among small, medium and micro-scale enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa’s and Tanzania’s wood products and tourism sectors. The findings reveal that while new ICTs are being adopted rapidly, they are generally used for communication purposes, not deeper forms of information processing and management. While positive in many ways, this has done little to stop a trend towards the devaluation of the goods and services provided by the SMMEs surveyed here. Moreover, ICTs are enabling new forms of outside intervention and intermediation unto African markets, often further marginalis­ing local firms and industries

We also note here four recent reports by Tanzania’s think tank, REPOA (Policy Research for Development):

Rural non-farm activities and poverty alleviation in Tanzania: A case study of two villages in Chamwino and Bahi Districts of Dodoma region: Katega IB & CS Lifuliro (Research Report 14/7)

Socio-economic factors limiting smallholder groundnut production in Tabora region: Katundu MA & 3 other authors (Research Report 14/1)

The invisibility of wage employment in statistics on the informal economy in Africa: Causes and consequences: Rizzo M & M Wuyts (Working Paper
14/1)

Integrating traditional and modern knowledge systems in improving pro­ductivity in Upper Kitete village, Tanzania: Nawe J & H Hambati (Research Report 14/3).

by Hugh Wenban-Smith

This compilation of articles on development research in Tanzania, culled from journals in the LSE library, covers the period January to June 2014. The abstract is based on that published by the author(s).

Julius Nyerere, Ujamaa and political morality in contemporary Tanzania:
Fouere M-A, African Studies Review Vol 57(1).
Since the 2000s, Tanzania has witnessed the return in the public sphere of a reconfigured version of ujamaa as a set of moral principles embodied in the figure of the first President of Tanzania, Julius Kambarage Nyerere. The persisting traces of Nyerere and ujamaa are not so evident in actual political practices or economic policies, but rather in collective debates about politics and morality – in short in the contemporary imaginaries of the nation. Contributing to a long-standing discussion of the moral stature of Tanzania’s ‘Father of the Nation’, the article explores how and why a shared historical memory of Nyerere is being built or contested to define, mediate and construct Tanzanian conceptions of morality, belonging and citizenship in the polis today.

For richer, for poorer: Marriage and casualized sex in East African artisanal mining settlements: Bryceson DF, Jonsson JB &Verbrugge H, Development and Change Vol 45(1).
Migrants to Tanzania’s artisanal gold mining sites seek mineral wealth, which is accompanied by high risks of occupational hazards, economic failure, AIDS and social censure from their home communities. Male miners in these settlements compete to attract newly arrived young women, who are perceived to be diverting male material support from older women and children’s economic survival. This article explores the dynamics of monogamy, polygamy and promiscuity in the context of rapid occupational change. It shows how a wide spectrum of productive and welfare outcomes is generated through sexual experimentation, which calls into question conventional concepts of prostitution, marriage and gender power relations.

Financial crimes and the law: A critical analysis of the embezzlement of public funds in Tanzania: Kibamba K, Journal of African and International Law Vol 6(1).
The embezzlement of public funds and fraud in Tanzania are still large problems and there is a lot that needs to be done to deter such practices. Certain laws have been put in place to try and counter these financial crimes, but have not been effective enough due to the magnitude of the problems. Tanzania has two legislations which regulate collection and use of public funds: the Public Finances Act and the Local Government Finances Act. The main perpetrators are public officials and the penal code imposes a penalty of seven to fourteen years of imprisonment to public officers who are found guilty. The Public Finances Act empowers the Minister of Finance to impose a surcharge as a penalty for contravention of any provision of this Act, specifically where a public officer has caused loss or deficiency of public money entrusted. This further empowers the Minister to order the conversion of such a loss or deficit to a debt … The discrepancy between the penalties imposed by the penal code and penalties imposed by the Minister of Finance … is the major problem which contributes to the embezzlement of funds; this is because the penalty imposed on public officials who cause loss or deficiency is not enough to stir remorse among the perpetrators.

From millet to tomatoes: incremental intensification with high value crops in contemporary Meru: Hillbom E, Journal of Eastern African Studies V 8(3).
In Meru, Tanzania, changing land/labour ratios have, for over a century, been the main driving force in a farm intensification process. The construction and expansion of irrigation systems, increased use of farm inputs and transfer from low to high value agricultural crops have enabled smallholders to improve their land productivity. Technological change has been accompanied by institutional change, primarily in the form of changes to property right regimes and expanding markets. In the past few decades, increasing urban and rural demand has further enhanced smallholders’ production strategies. By applying induced innovation theory, this article captures and analyses the long-term incremental processes of change whereby endogenous technological and institutional innovations have led to farm intensification in the contemporary local system of agricultural smallholder production. Further it shows how this process has been reinforced by improved access to market opportunities.

Choices and changes of recruitment methods in a Tanzanian city:
Fischer G, Egbert H & Bredl S Journal of Eastern African Studies Vol 8(3). Labour market processes in Tanzania constitute an important but under-researched topic. This study investigates the recruitment methods of private companies in Mwanza, Tanzania’s second largest city. It asks whether employ­ers make use of informal methods more often than formal methods, whether the skills required for a job relate to the choice of methods and whether the vacancy period of a position is linked to a specific approach. A survey consisting of 81 face-to-face interviews with hiring authorities shows that employers prefer informal to formal schemes but tend to rely on formal ones for filling high ranking positions … Additional insights are provided by 10 semi-structured follow-up interviews with respondents from the same group. They suggest an increase in solicited and unsolicited applications that might have caused some hiring authorities to avoid formal methods or modify informal methods. Moreover, it emerges that recruitment choices may be influenced by powerful actors outside or within companies.

Middle class construction: Domestic architecture, aesthetics and anxieties in Tanzania:
Mercer C Journal of Modern African Studies Vol 52(2). The paper examines the new styles of houses under construction in contemporary Tanzania and suggests that they can be understood as the material manifestation of middle class growth. Through an examination of the architecture, interior décor and compound space in a sample of these new houses in urban Dar es Salaam and rural Kilimanjaro, the paper identifies four domestic aesthetics: The respectable house, the locally aspirant house, the globally aspirant house and the minimalist house, each of which map onto ideas about ujamaa, liberalization and the consumption of global consumer goods in distinct ways. The paper argues that these different domestic aesthetics demonstrate intra­class differences, and in particular the emergence of a new middle class.

Gender perspectives on decentralization and services users’ participation in rural Tanzania: Masanyiwa ZS, Niehof A & Termeer CJAM Journal of Modern African Studies Vol 52 (1).
This paper examines the impact of decentralization reforms on service users’ participation for delivery of health and water services in rural Tanzania, using a gender perspective and principal-agent theory. The paper investigates how decentralization has fostered spaces for participation and how men and women use these spaces, and identifies factors that constrain or encourage women’s participation. It shows that decentralization has created spaces for service users’ participation at local level. Participation in these spaces however differs between men and women, and is influenced by socio-cultural norms within the household and community. Men have gained more leverage than women to exercise their agency as principals. Women’s participation is contributing to addressing practical gender needs but strategic gender needs have been largely untouched by the reforms.

Do micro-enterprises benefit from the ‘doing business’ reforms? The case of street-vending in Tanzania: Lyons M, Brown A & Msoka C Urban Studies Vol 51(8).
The World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ reforms were originally expected to help the growth and formalisation of SMEs and micro-enterprises. The expectations that the reforms would support the growth and development of SMEs were challenged by scholars, but the reforms impact on the micro-enterprises of the poor has received little scholarly attention. Drawing on a desk study and on field studies of street-vendors carried out in Tanzania in 2007 and 2011, this paper argues that the growth and formalization of micro-businesses are badly served by the ‘Doing Business’ reforms.

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) and empowered deliberative democracy: Learning from Tanzania: Mustalahti I & Rakotonarivo OS World Development Vol 59. This study was guided by the Empowered Deliberative Democracy (EDD) discourse. We analysed how the Tanzanian Community Carbon Enterprise (CCE) model could reinforce the representation of disadvantaged groups in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). The findings from Tanzania suggest unmet conditions with disadvantaged groups’ representation in local decision-making and project implementation. We argue that mechanisms to support horizontal accountability could include audits and monitoring carried out by disadvantaged groups.

by Hugh Wenban-Smith

These articles on development research in Tanzania, from journals in the LSE library, cover July to December 2013. The abstract is an abridged version of that published by the author(s).

Heroes of the road: Race, gender and the politics of mobility in twentieth century Tanzania, Grace, J. Africa Vol. 83(3).
Abstract: This article follows the careers of two African drivers in social environments that circumscribed their movement and access to technol­ogy. It begins with Vincent Njovu, whose memoir ‘The First Driver of Tanganyika’ describes the driver’s ability to navigate racial hierarchies of movement and technology, including the unlikely circumstances in which he fell in love with an ideal colonial machine. It then explores post-colonial cultures of gender and modernization by using the unpublished memoirs of Hawa Ramadhani, a woman who used auto­motive skills learned among nuns in the 1940s to become Tanzania’s most respected driver. Paired together, the life histories of these driv­ers challenge historical narratives in which movement and technology (roads and motor vehicles, in particular) are used to discuss Africa’s marginalization and decline. Instead they show how transgressive practices of mobility can be used to challenge social and political orders, and inspire new ways to think and act at uncertain historical junctures.

Wildlife management in Tanzania: State control, rent seeking and community resistance, Benjamin TA, Goldman MJ, Minwary MY & Maganga FP, Development and Change Vol. 44(5).
Abstract: Despite a decade of rhetoric on community conservation, cur­rent trends in Tanzania reflect a disturbing process of re-consolidation of state control over wildlife resources and increased rent-seeking behaviour, combined with dispossession of communities. Whereas the 1998 Wildlife Policy promoted community participation and local benefits, the subsequent policy of 2007 and the Wildlife Conservation Act of 2009 returned control over wildlife and income from sport hunt­ing and safari tourism to central government. These trends, which sometimes include the use of state violence and often take place in the name of ‘community-based’ conservation, are not, however, occurring without resistance from communities. This article draws on in-depth studies of wildlife management practices at three locations in northern Tanzania to illustrate these trends. The authors argue that this outcome is more than just the result of the neo-liberalisation of conservation. It reflects old patterns of state patrimony and rent-seeking, combined with colonial narratives of conservation, all enhanced through neo­liberal reforms of the past two decades. At the same time, much of the rhetoric of neo-liberal reforms is being pushed back by the state in order to capture rent and interact with villagers in new and oppressive ways.

Being ‘Chagga’: Natural resources, political activism and identity on Kilimanjaro: Bender, MV Journal of African History Vol. 54(2). Abstract: This article argues that the emergence of Chagga political identity on Mount Kilimanjaro in the 1940s and 1950s can best be understood as a product of intensive debates over the control of natural resources and the nature of chiefly authority. As a result of perceived threats to the land and water resources of the mountain, and resent­ment of the role of chiefs in these issues, grassroots activists adopted a language of unity using the term ‘Chagga’ – a moniker long used by the colonial state but eschewed by the general population. With the rise of a paramount chieftaincy in 1951, the term shifted from being a symbol of colonial rule to one of common identity and resistance against the encroachment of the colonial state in local affairs.

The constraints on climate change adaptation in a city with a large development deficit: The case of Dar es Salaam: Kinusi, R. Environment and Urbanization Vol. 25(2).
Abstract: Dar es Salaam, with a population of more than four million, has no climate change adaptation plan. It also has a very large devel­opment deficit and lacks adequate provision for infrastructure and services, such as piped water, sewers, drains and solid waste collection. Addressing this deficit (and building the institutional and financial capacity to do so) is also important for building resilience to climate change impacts. Eighty per cent of the city’s population lives in infor­mal settlements, but there is little effective land use management and a number of these settlements are on sites that flood regularly. Climate change impacts include sea level rise, rising temperatures and increased occurrence of extreme weather, including rainstorms and droughts, all of which present challenges to city and municipal governments that are struggling to reduce the development deficit. This paper discusses the measures being taken to address this deficit and where and how these measures can be accompanied by improved disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

Planning the unplanned: Incorporating agriculture as an urban land use into the Dar es Salaam master plan and beyond: Hallovan A. & Magid J. Environment and Urbanization Vol. 25(2).
Abstract: Despite significant contributions to human health, livelihoods and food security, urban agriculture in Dar es Salaam has received rela­tively little political support from central and local government due to its informal state. As a result, many urban farmers experience insecurity of land access and ownership, and are unable to invest in the improve­ment of their land, inputs and infrastructure. Although there have been several attempts by various international and foreign organizations to legitimize and institutionalize urban agriculture in Dar es Salaam, very little has changed politically over the last 30 years. This study focuses on the current incorporation of urban agriculture into the Dar es Salaam 2012-2032 Master Plan (still unapproved as of June 2013), and examines how local and central governments legitimize the practice of urban agriculture.

Enrolment and grade attainment following the introduction of free primary education in Tanzania: Hoogeveen J & Rossi M. Journal of African Economies Vol. 22(3).
Abstract: The elimination of all primary school fees in January 2002 in Tanzania marked the start of the ambitious Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP). This programme aimed to enhance not only access to primary education but also the quality of teaching. The paper examines the effects of the introduction of free primary educa­tion on school enrolment and grade achievement. Data from the 2001 Household Budget Survey (HBS), collected just before the reform, and the 2007 HBS, collected 5 years into the programme, are employed to examine these effects. This is done by running a difference-in-difference comparison, using a before-and-after comparison for age cohorts that did and did not benefit from the reform. School fee elimination is found to have enhanced enrolment rates significantly, with girls and children from poorer families benefiting most. The impact of the reform on grade achievement however is found to have been negative, particu­larly for those living in rural areas and children from poor households. PEPD, thus, created a dilemma as increased opportunities for one set of deserving children went at the expense of opportunities for other, equally deserving children.

Medical auxiliaries and the negotiation of public health in colonial
north-western Tanzania: Webel, M Journal of African History Vol. 54(3). Abstract: This article investigates the development and employment of African medical auxiliaries during the German campaign against sleep­ing sickness in colonial north- west Tanzania. A case study from the kingdom of Kibiza demonstrates how widespread illness and colonial public health interventions intersect with broader political and social change in the early 20th century. Ziba auxiliaries known as gland feel­ers operated within overlapping social and occupational contexts as colonial intermediaries, royal emissaries and familiar local men. The changing fortunes of the campaign and its auxiliaries illustrate how new public health interventions became a means for the kingdom’s population to engage with, or avoid, both royal and colonial power.

From donorship to ownership? Budget support and donor influence in Rwanda and Tanzania: Swedlund, HJ Public Administration and Development Vol. 33(5).
Abstract: This article analyses the relationship between budget support and ownership, or recipient country control over policy outcomes, by exploring how budget support donors in Rwanda and Tanzania attempt to exert influence over domestic policy processes. In contrast to the con­ventional rhetoric about budget support, empirical analysis finds little evidence that budget support decreases the influence the donors try to exert over recipient country governments. Instead, semi-structured interviews with donor and government representatives in each country suggest that the aid modality is often used as a tool by which donors attempt to increase their leverage over domestic decision-making. In particular three mechanisms are frequently used by budget support donors to influence domestic policy processes – voice amplification, a seat at the table and a licence to ask questions.

by Hugh Wenban-Smith

This compilation of articles on Tanzania, culled from journals in the LSE library, covers January to June 2013. The abstracts are based on those pub­lished by the author(s).

“How does additional education affect willingness to work in rural remote areas in a low income context? An application to health workers in Tanzania” Kolstad, JR – Journal of Development Studies Vol 49(2).
A data set capturing stated preferences among freshly educated Tanzanian health workers with basic and more advanced education is applied to investi­gate how additional education affects willingness to work in rural areas. It turns out that those health workers with advanced education would have been more likely to prefer a job in a remote rural area had they not received this education. The finding is significant and substantial with several different specifications and robust with regard to omitted variables.

“Common counsel, common policy: Healthcare, missions and the rise of the ‘voluntary sector’ in colonial Tanzania” Jennings, M – Development and Change Vol 44(4).
Analysis of the voluntary sector in sub-Saharan Africa has tended to focus on the role of the NGO, and the types of relationships this institution establishes and maintains with donors, national governments and the communities with which they work. The voluntary sector in Africa is therefore usually defined through, and often treated as, synonymous with, the institution of the NGO. This article suggests that this view is too narrow in its gaze. The voluntary sector was not a creation of a post-colonial (and especially post-1970s) devel­opment crisis. It emerged from an evolving relationship between colonial era non-state (voluntary) actors and governments determined to demonstrate that they were meeting their commitments to the welfare of the Africans under their charge.

“Delivery care in Tanzania: A comparative analysis of use and prefer­ences” van Rijsbergen, B & d’Exelle, B – World Development Vol 43. Maternal mortality remains high because of low use of skilled delivery care. While governments try to lower access barriers, little is known about women’s preferences. This study combines data from a survey and a choice experiment in Tanzania to compare women’s preferences with real choices of delivery care. We find that less empowered women and women who delivered their latest pregnancy outside a health facility find the technical quality of care less important, which indicates that their lower use of delivery care is partly induced by these preferences.

“Prostitution or Partnership? Wifestyles in Tanzanian artisanal gold-mining settlements” Bryceson, D F, Jonsson, J B & Verbrugge, H – Journal of Modern African Studies Vol 51(1).
Tanzania, along with several African countries, is experiencing a national mining boom, which has prompted hundreds of thousands of men and women to migrate to mineral-rich locations. At these sites, relationships between the sexes defy the sexual norms of the surrounding countryside to embrace new relational amalgams of polygamy, monogamy and promiscuity. This article challenges the assumption that female prostitution is widespread and using interview data with women migrants delineate six ‘wifestyles, sexual-cum-con­jugal relationships between men and women that vary in the degree of sexual and material commitment. In contrast to bridewealth payments, which involved elders formalizing marriages through negotiations over reproductive access to women, sexual negotiations and relations in mining settlements involve men and women making liaisons and co-habitation arrangements directly between each other without third party intervention. Economic interdependence may evolve thereafter with the possibility of women, as well as men, offering mate­rial support to their sex partners.

“Remembering Nyerere: Political rhetoric and dissent in contemporary Tanzania” Becker, F – African Affairs Vol 112 (447). This article examines the changing uses of political rhetoric around the burial of Julius Nyerere in 1999. It argues that the ruling party uses rhetoric as a means of ‘soft power’ but also documents how this rhetoric, though geared towards legitimizing Nyerere’s successors, employed tropes that were rejected by some people and were used by others to critique leaders who were perceived to lack the selfless integrity attributed to Nyerere. The article compares funeral songs by a government-sponsored band, popular at the time of Nyerere’s death, with memories of Nyerere in rural areas in the early-to-mid-2000s. While the image of Nyerere in the funeral songs as a benign family patriarch writ large still persists, it co-exists with strongly divergent constructions of Nyerere as an authoritarian ruler or a self-seeking profiteer. Moreover, the ‘official’ benign Nyerere has been employed not only by government and party faithful, but also by striking workers, opposition politicians and critical newspapers as a measure of the shortcomings of his successors. The invocation of Nyerere as a paradigm of an endangered ideal of virtue in public office indicates widespread anxieties towards a state that often disappoints but occasionally delivers, in unpredictable turns, and the limits of the government’s ability to shut down dissent.

“Non-state actors and universal services in Tanzania and Lesotho: State building by alliance” D’Arcy, M – Journal of Modern African Studies Vol 51(2).
In recent years over half of all African states have re-introduced some form of universal basic service provision, though many more have done so in education when compared with health. This paper argues that while democratization has been important in generating pressure for reform, alliances with actors outside the state, such as donors and non-state service providers, have been the critical enabling factor allowing weak states to overcome their capacity constraints and respond. An inter-sector comparison of health and education policy in Tanzania shows how a difference in donor policy preferences between sectors – donors having converged behind the principle of universal primary education but not universal healthcare – has led to variation in alliance opportunities and hence policy outcomes.

“‘Let us swim in the pool of love’: Love letters and discourses of commu­nity composition in twentieth century Tanzania” Prichard, A C – Journal of African History Vol 54(1).
A series of love-letters exchanged between an African Anglican priest and a teacher in training before their marriage is used to investigate the relationship between the fashioning of the individual self, marriage and community at the dawn of Tanganyika’s independence. When seen through marriage’s histori­cal position as an institution central to community composition, these letters illustrate how the family – and the intimate process of building families – could become an alternate site of national imagination. These two young lovers understood their marriage as an explicitly political act of community composi­tion, and cast themselves as characters in the drama of national imagination. In negotiating their 20th century marriage, Rose and Gideon became political innovators, selecting, producing and testing the content and boundaries of the nation.

“Industrial policy and the political settlement in Tanzania: Aspects of continuity and change since independence” Gray, H – Review of African Political Economy Vol 40(136).
Tanzania’s experience of industrial policy since independence is explored through the concept of the political settlement. Higher growth in manufacturing since 1996 has been seen as a vindication of neoliberal policies of market liberalization. Yet, the neoliberal approach fails to take account of the important legacy of state-led industrialization under socialism and aspects of the political economy of the state in Tanzania that explain some of the longer-term con­straints on industrialization. Critical aspects of Tanzania’s political settlement relate to state capital relations and the distribution of power between contend­ing factions of intermediate classes within the state.