Urban Governance in the Changing Economic and Political Landscapes: A Comparative Analysis of Major Urban Centres of Tanzania

Abstract

Urban development in many cities of the developing world has been facing innumerable challenges some of which are historical but others attributed to governance. While the changing socioeconomic and political landscapes have been shaping the pattern of urban governance in these cities, studies underscoring the link between central, local governments and the citizenry are scanty. This paper attempts to analyze urban governance in the Tanzanian context drawing empirical evidence and lessons from eight major urban centres of Tanzania. This paper is a product of the study that was carried out to examine the state of cities in eight (8) major urban centres of Tanzania between 2010 and 2013. It attempts to compare governance issues and develop some indices across major urban centres of Tanzania. The data collection methods included household interviews, review of official records, workshops, group discussion and reports from city coordinators. The results show that: although Tanzania has made some strides towards effective urban governance, the level of achievement varied from one city to another. Poor performance was noted on parameters of continued centralization of power by the central government, continued financial dependency on central government, limited participation and civic engagement of local communities in development projects and political undertakings. As a way forward it has been recommended that there is an urgent need to re-orient the on-going local government reform programmes to ensure that true decentralised functions, powers and mandates are exercised from below. This should be accompanied with capacity building to ensure effective participation of key stakeholders.