Governance

The Government recognizes in the new MKUKUTA and MKUZA that good governance is fundamental to achievement of the MDGs and improvements in the quality of life and social well-being of citizens.

Tanzania is a stable, peaceful, parliamentary democracy. During the last two decades, political pluralism has been introduced and multiparty elections have been held every five years since 1995. Nevertheless, party political platforms are often poorly formulated, lack distinctiveness, whilst the lack of attention to internal democracy, including advancement of women to leadership positions, pose obstacles to the realisation of democratic principles.

Although the Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania and the Zanzibar House of Representatives are increasingly active in overseeing the executive, there are still many weaknesses in ensuring government transparency and accountability including effective oversight of the implementation of Poverty Reduction Strategies. Recently developed corporate plans for the national legislatures indicated significant capacity needs in oversight, law making, and representation of citizens.

The broad-based national governance assessment and consultative African Peer Review Mechanism is underway. Political reconciliation in Zanzibar is still tentative and will require continued support. In Mainland Tanzania, conflicts over natural resource use and rights need addressing through strengthening local dialogue and dispute resolution mechanisms.

The GoT faces significant capacity challenges in managing development and achieving the MDGs. Monitoring and reporting on the implementation of poverty reduction strategies require continued improvement, and the coordination of implementation, evidence-based planning and budgeting need strengthening. Aid management including the dialogue structure with the stakeholders still poses a significant challenge. Several reform programmes are underway, but are slow in achieving results. Additional reform coordination is required whilst comprehensive efforts addressing corruption need further support.

The concept of rule of law, including human rights and legal traditions, is not widely understood or applied. Implementation in the justice sector is flawed by corruption, inadequate infrastructure and uneven national coverage, disadvantages facing women and children (including genderbased violence (GBV) and some cultural norms), and insufficient protection of the rights of the poor. While Tanzania is signatory to the international human rights regime, and the National Action Plan for Human Rights has been drafted, implementation is constrained by the delays in incorporating human rights into national laws, structural weaknesses in the justice system and inadequate attention to public education. In MKUKUTA, Tanzania highlighted the importance of promoting its cultural heritage to enhance national unity. The UN encourages the Government of Tanzania to implement international cultural normative instruments to further national cultural heritage preservation in all its forms