SECURITY OF TENURE
This paper is going to discuss about Security of Tenure, starting with a short Historical back ground and then definition /literature review and then the policies and conclusion. Expansion of the informal settlements has been a major concern for the governments and local authorities in the region. Many countries are in efforts to upgrade and regularize these informal settlements and promote security of tenure to millions of people. Such effort included recognizing full ownership right as well as putting into place flexible land tenure arrangements, such as facilitating users’ right (for instance Namibia has developed a flexible tenure system to run parallel to the formal system). There is concern understanding that security of tenure can be promoted also by addressing issues such as access to basic services, credit, employment generation and by assisting people in their own housing initiatives. Addressing gender inequalities in ownership and inheritance rights is deemed as one of the most fundamental steps in this regard. Efforts in Botiama to increase house owner ship by female – headed households are a good example for such approaches.
Several countries in the region are in the process of in alimenting informal settlement programmes. However, only few countries have reported that they have implemented projects which combine upgrading of informal settlements with the provision of security of tenure. This may be due to the fact that implementation of land regularization programmes are often confronted with difficulties, some of the due to the customary land tenure system found in many countries. Furthermore, the machinery needed to affect massive land registration/regularization programmes requires strong administrative control that may be largely missing. I addition, there are several other difficulties in promoting secure tenure that must be confroted.
What is Secure Tenure
Land tenure security is the situation in which landholders consider their continued occupancy rights to be guaranteed whether by virtue of formal rights, customary rules or some other form of assurance. Roth and Hazell suggested that there are three components of security. These are: -
Breadth, which considers what rights are held (use, transfer, exclusion.
Duration, which refers to the length of time during which the rights are valid and
Assurance, which concern the certainly of the rights.
While (1959) defined land tenure as “the right of individuals or groups over arable, grazing and residential land, how such rights are acquired, what the consist of, how they operate in the holding, transfer and in heritance of land and how they may be extinguished”
“a person or household can be said to have secure tenure when they are promoted from involuntary removal from their land or residence except in exceptional circumstances, and then only by mans of a known and agreed legal procedure, which ,must itself be objective, equally applicable, contestable and independent (Global Campaign for secure Tenure, Implementing the Habitat Agenda: Adequate shelter for all).
POLICY
Evolution of Land Tenure in Tanzania before Tanzania was colonized by the German and then the British, the general structure of land holdings was based on traditional law and culture of each respective tribe in an area. The individual as a member of a family, clan or tribe acquired rights of use in the arable land he and his family could clear, activate and manage. However, when the land showed signs of exhaustion, then shifting cultivation was practiced.
In many of these areas, there was and there is still communal land for grazing and forest lands for cutting firewood. This type of extensive cultivation was acceptable and viable under conditions of low population densities, abundance of land and substance agriculture.
Initially each tribe had chiefs and elders or Headmen who controlled and allowed land to individuals (i.e members of that tribe) on behalf of the tribe in a fiduciary capacity. This system was continued ever during German and British colonial rule of Tanzania. However, following the abolition of chieftaincy by the African Chiefs Ordinance Act. No. 13 of 1963 (cap. 51) after Tanzania obtained independence in 1961, the controlling was rendered obsolete. When land was held under family tenure, each member of land heard of that family had a definite shave of that property. Each member could not dispose part of his shave without either getting the consent of other family members and a right of preemption to other heirs. Similarly where land was held in a clan, the owner could not dispose of it to a non clan member without first getting the permission of the clan elders.
The introduction and promotion of plantation agriculture under German administration introduced different land tenure system in the country where by land mainly prime agricultural land was allocated in freeholds, mostly to settlers. Alienation of land, save that which was in private ownership or possessed by chiefs or indigenous communities, was facilities by the passing of the Imperial Decree “Regarding Creation.
Acquisition and conveyance of Crown Land in 1895 which dectaved all land as Grown Land in the German Empire. This was indeed the beginning of nationalization of land. Transfer of crown land could only be affected through the governor either by conveyance of ownership or lease. In order to protect the land rights of natives, although in practice it failed to stop land grabbing, the Degree stated that transfer of ownership or lease of township land, by natives to non-natives for a period exceeding fifteen years, could not take place without the consent of the governor.
Under the British Administration, the system of land holding continued to change. Following the enactment of the land Tenure Ordinance Number 3 of 1923. The ordinance introduced the concept of “right of occupancy” in the country.
Under this new land tenure system rights over or in land were placed under the control of the Governor to be held, used or disposed of as rights of occupancy for the benefit of the indigenous people of Tanzania. In an attempt to protect native rights in land in native community lawful using or occupying land in accordance with customary law”
In 1961 free hold Titles were converted into lease holds under the free hold Titles (conversion) and Government lease Act (Cap. 523) of 1963 and were later changed into rights of occupancy under the Government lease holds Act. No. 44.
Land use in rural Africa, which refers to the refers to the usage under which any given piece of land may be put for a given period of times under prevailing environment and technology conditions, has under gone an evolutionary transformation, from the simple hunting and gathering to the more complex sedentary or permanent and commercial cultivation system.
In Tanzania land is a major and basic resources on which the bulk of the population especially rural women depend as the sole, livelihood and source of income.
Tanzania has different land tenure system covering clan, village land and public and urban land. The land tenure system has undergone changes since colonial times, the most profound of which included the declaration that all land is to be publicly owned by the head of state in trust for the whole nation with different legal regimes applying to rural and urban areas.
In 1991, a presidential commission on land Matters was appointed to study report on the land problem. Following the submissions report and recommendation well know as Shivji Report, the Ministry of Land and Human Settlements Development prepared a National Land Policy in June, 1995. On the basis of the policy a team of consultants drafted the Land Bill which was later passed as two separate Acts, the land Act and Village Land Act. No. 4 and 5 of 1999.
The presidential Commission Report Generated a vigorous debate over land and gender issue. They included the proper balance among security of tenure through tithing to attract foreign investment, protection of rural communities from land less ness and equitable, gender – sensitive allocation and management of land.
The commission pointed out that there was an absence of coherent land policy, unequal access to land, unstable policies and legislation, arbitrary decision and uncertain land rights.
The National Land Policy
The National Land Policy sought to promote equitable distribution of and access to land by all citizens. It’s major thrust was to be the conversion of land into an economic asset to which all citizens should have equal access to. The policy also sought to recognize, clarity and secure in law the existing right in land especially customary rights of small holders.
The ministry of Land and Human Settlements Development held several workshop to discuss the policy document with various stakeholders. Finally the policy declared on several issues amongst which are the following : -
(i) Access to land, that all citizens shall have equal and equitable access to land.
(ii) Women access to land, that, “In order to enhance and guarantee women’s access to land and security of tenure, women will be entitled to acquire land in their own right not only through purchase but also through allocation.
(iii) Disposition, that Regulation will be drafted to protect risk groups such as displaced persons, children and lower income people.
(iv) Land Registration, that land Registry offices will be gradually decentralized.
(v) Implementation, that apart from: - Ministries public institution and private institutions whose functions are associated with land development, local authorities, Non-government and community based development etc will be encouraged to participate in effective utilization of land.
The New Land Laws.
As it was in the formulation of National Land Policy, stockholders participated in a National Workshop to discuss Draft Land Law and they went further even to make presentations to Parliamentary Hearings when the Land Bills were debated. The key issues in debating and passing the two new land laws in 1998-99 were that discriminatory customary laws should be explicitly illegal and that administration organs with equal female representation.
Since land is one of the four pillars of Tanzania’s development philosophy which are people, land, good policies and good leadership, concerted implementation of the above policy statement will promote the best use of land so that land as an investment resources can make the maximum contribution to the country’s development process.
Implementation of the policy will help ensure that land is held and used effectively and efficiently and not boarded for speculative motives.
Likewise by creating efficient institutional frame work or structure for land administration which is also transparent, this policy should help streamline and simplify the procedures for getting land rather than make them cumbersome as they are at present thus reduce public complaints on land administration.
Forth, Tanzanians sound land tenure system has played a big role in promoting peace and national unity which are essential to development. Therefore, implementation of this policy which has retained the positive virtues of the existing land tenure system will further enhance peace and national unity
Also, by ensuring and promoting an equitable distribution of and access to land by all citizens, this policy and its accompanying legislation and implementation strategies to be formulated, will play a big role in shaping the type and nature of the Tanzania society this country wants to build in future. Tanzania is a country made up largely of small peasants, pastoralists and a few big farmers. Concerted implementation of this policy will make sure that the numerous small peasants and pastoralists who constitute the majority of the country is population are not made landless.
Women in the villages can now own land in their own right or jointly with men regardless of customary and religious restrictions. This gives them a stake in the development of their own village and enhancing their role as major producers on the land. Also customary systems of land management which is discriminative will therefore gradually be replaced with more secure individual tenure which provides incentives for agricultural investment and increase output.
Land can be used a collateral for Commercial Bank lending and mortgage transactions. There fore land Title deeds registered under women’s personal names will constitute a guarantee for women’s equal access to secure loan and credit.
The new land laws provide for decentralization of land services to order levels in local government authorities and village councils which in dudes allocation, adjudication and registration of land titles.
Women’s effectives participation in land matters have been entrenched in the new land laws. Women shall be members in Land Allocation Committees and in the National Land Advisory Council.
There is adequate participation of the people in dispute settlement. The New Land Laws provide for new dispute settlement machinery which has been affected though not yet in operation, by The Land Disputes Courts Act No. 2, 2002. Dispute Settlement Tribunals under this new law shall have seven assessors, three of whom, shall be women.
The New Law required Public awareness and education. Therefore Ministry of Land and Human Settlements Development in collaboration with Local Government Authorities is conducting education campaign to sensitize the public to the provision of the new land Acts regarding legal and physical access to land. This is being done through radio, newspaper, television etc.
The land administration system is presently creating awareness among the officials that women are disadvantage in a non-acceptable manner and that their situation can be strengthened through registered rights. The legal system give both men and women equal rights to land and demands on mutual consents of the parties for a transaction of the property to a third party. Otherwise the administrative procedures, under the new land Laws are simple and transparent therefore they allow the involvement of women in land administration processes. For example, out of 71 employees in the department of lands development, 34 are women.
Generally the equality arguments for women rights to land, concerns women’s position relative to men, that is, they hinge on gender relations and the ability of women to confront male oppression with the home and in society. This puts women’s in very difficult positions of whether to pursue equal right to land, get divorce or leave the family of the husband where the husband passes away.
However, in Tanzania women’s rights to land is gaining social legitimacy as a result of struggle by individual women and by women’s groups, therefore, they are not ready, even under pressure of relative, to give up their claim for example, to an inherited piece of land after death of a husband.
WOMEN ACCESS TO LAND IN THE CONTEXT OF POVERTY REDUCTION AND THE AIDS PANDEMIC.
Women comprise 51% of the country’s total population, head 14% of the households and also comprise 54% of the economically active population in rural areas. Despite this fact almost 60% of the rural population is poor compared to 39% of the urban population which means that women’s are proper than men. The major cause of this problems is women’s vulnerability and lack of land ownership. Therefore, by enabling women to own and control land they cultivate, women will be able to raise the productivity of land by investing in technological improvement and control the products of the land.
Women landlessness is also the reason for their inability to escape abuse or oppression relationship. However the ownership of a resources such as land increases the bargaining power of women and increases their ability within the household and society in general. Therefore, with effective rights to land, Tanzania women will be in a position to provide for their own needs as well as of house of their families, which are major contributing factors in the AIDS pandemic.
CONCLUSION.
Security of tenure is one of the most important catalyst in stabilizing communities, improving shelter conditions, reducing social exclusion and improving access urban services (UNCHS, 1999).
When a person has got a title deed can be able to use the land for mortgage when they need a loan to invest into some business, increase investment in land based assets, mobilize credit facilities and activate land markets, in the hopes of encouraging agricultural development and growth. The land right can offer real security for landholders, potential investors and credit suppliers. However, more recent analyses confirm that many indigenous tenure systems do in fact confer secure rights of tenure to landholders, which are sufficient to stimulate investment and longer term land improvements.
Security of tenure reduces social exclusion as women were excluded to own land; but according to the new land; and thus be in included.
When people owns land with a title deed, they plots are always surveyed and thus it is easy for the government to provide some sevices.
REFFERENCES
1. Mrs. Mlole Bahati, Land Policy Challenges for policy makers Tanzania experience Ministry of Land ad Human Settlements Development.
2. Regional Africa Ministerial Conference on the implementation of the Habitat Agenda (Instanbul + 5) (200); Review of the Implementation of the Habitat Agenda in Africa; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
3. Kajoba Gear M. ( ) land use and land Tenure in Africa; towards an evolutionary conceptual frame work, Zambia.
4. Lamba Antony 0(2005) Land Tenure Management system in informal settlements, A case study in Nairobi.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
POVERTY IN TANZANIA
INTRODUCTION
This paper is going discuss about poverty in Tanzania and how do Tanzanians and the Government of Tanzania struggle to eradicate poverty.
Poverty is ability to attain a minimum standard of living Elements of poverty is such as poor infrastructure, un/employment, hunger. lack of balance diet. Diseases, life expectancy. Dependant economy, poor social services (water, schools an hospital) and poor health (disturbed by different diseases).
Causes of poverty
The causes of poverty are grouped into two parts, those which are internally rooted and those which are externally rooted. Burkely Stan (1993) mentioned some internal causes of poverty which are such as:-
Physical limitations-Many areas subject to long periods of drought; rain, when it comes tend to come all at once causing flooding and water loggings; soil are thin and very delicate and other natural disasters.
Dependency of third world countries – The third world countries are dependant of the developed countries for capital, technology and markets.
The rich countries set the interest rates, the terms of trade, the tariffs, and important barriers and generally, through their economic power, drain off the surpluses produce in the poor countries.
Lack of modern look – Poor people are said to resist change because they are ignorant, superstitious, fatalistic and traditional. They have a limited world view and are unable to see the advantage of modernization. They lack innovativeness and are unable to see the advantage of “investing to day fro a better tomorrow”. They have limited aspirations an are unable to defer today’s gratification to the future.
Lack of good leader – committed that encourage innovation with creating ideas. A leader that inspire others to share in common vision. Sets a good example and support others.
Poor Education – In family planning, lack o skills, land is not fully utilized, lack of technology.
Others reasons are such as lack of capital, difficult for people to self employed, poor essential services for example health and education, low economic productivity, poor balance diet causing malnutrition, lack of investment and lack of good policy. People also in some tribes are lazy; the are not working hard to remove poverty.
The sources which are externally caused, Walter (year) talked about slave trade; colonialism that African countries were colonized by different colons. For example Tanzania was under the Germany and British. They used the people to produce for the raw materials which they sent back to their countries and left Africa at the point of start. It also caused unequal distribution of development sources such as industries; they also took raw material for their industries.
Neocolonialism as a cause of poverty; IMF and WORLD BANK causes (i) Redundancy, they suggested to reduce number of workers; law payment – they set a limit on how to pay workers, multiparty, and privatize, the developed countries encourages internal war by selling and giving instrument for war.
The establishment of multiparty democracy is externally oriented, had no internal roots and came hand with Structure Adjustment Programmer initiated by World Bank and IMF.
Loans and aids with pressure conditions and big interest from the World Bank and IMF. “We have loans with big interest we cant pay this these loans in the expenses our child”. This is true because poor countries can not pa such loans with such big interest, when they fail to pay their debts increases.(Nyerere;)
Theoretical literature review.
The theory of poverty can be derived from ideas of the classical school, which focused on the laws that govern the distribution of factors incomes, and were later incorporated into the surplus model. According to this approach, development is defines in terms of the growth of the modern sector, which expand at the expense in inequality and (especially relative) poverty in the initial stages of development and a reduction in inequality and poverty at a later stage (Lewis, 1954 and Fei and Raws, 1964.
The neoclassical school which became dominance in the second half of the nineteenth century postulates that in a perfect market, prices of factors and goods are simultaneously determined competitively and depending on their scarcity and productivity. In spite the limitation arising from assumption of perfect competition a theory can be derived from such approach, as household incomes will be determined by the factor incomes receives by the households; that is the earnings from house hold labor and property.
Concept of Poverty.
A practical and commonly used definition of absolute poverty is the inability to attain a specific (minimum) standard of living (World Bank 1990). The definition focuses on the absolute economic well-being of the poor, in isolation from the welfare distribution of the entire society. It implies knowledge of the minimum standard of living, commonly referred to as the poverty live
The estimated total population of Africa in 1995 was 580m of these.
291m people had average income of below one dollar per day in 1998.
124m o those up to age 39yrs were at risk of dying before 40.
43m children were stinted as result of malnutrition in 1995.
205m were estimated to be without access to heal services in 1990 – 95.
249m were without safe drinking water in 1990 – 95.
More than 2m infants die animally before reading their first birthday.
139 million youth and adults were illiterate in 1995.
World Bank categorized poverty in 3 categories.
The destitute – many of whom are dependents such as elderly (particularly woman whose assets are taken when they become widowed) and disabled, count amongst the chronically poor.
Another group are being vulnerable to spell o poverty on account of either personally specific shocks such as illness or theft or more general shocks such as conflict, drought or economic crisis.
POLICE REVIEW
Soon after independence in 1961, Tanzania declared war against three closely related evils – poverty, ignorance and disease. Extensive programmes related to poverty eradication were initiated which included, inter alia, programmes to expand education, health services and water supply as well as improvement of physical infrastructure and development of agriculture and the economy as a whole. People have always been at the centre of the governments efforts in pursuit of poverty eradication. In spite of some implementation shortcoming, considerable achievements were made in improving human welfare in the first twenty years of independence.
In Tanzania Poverty can be conceived as a state of deprivation prohibitive of decent human life. This is caused by lack of recourses and capabilities to a acquire basic human needs as seen in many, but often mutually reinforcing parameters which include malnutrition, ignorance, prevalence of diseases, squalid surroundings, high infant, child and maternal mortality, low life expectancy, low per capital income, poor quality housing, in adequate clothing, low technological utilization, environmental degradation, unemployment rural-urban migration and poor migration.
Extent of Poverty
There are many individual used to measure poverty and its manifestation. The indicators used here are those that reflect the realities of poverty in Tanzania.
Illiteracy
One of the signs of poverty in the country are those low level literacy and numeracy. The literacy level is now estimated to be 68% down from 90% achieved n the 1980s. This testifies to the worsening trend of poverty and to the reversal of gains made earlier in human development efforts. Among low income families the literacy rate is 59% which lower than the national average. Gross enrollment rate for primary school pupils 77.8% (1996), down from 90% in the 1980s.
Inadequate clean and safe water supply
Availability of clean and safe water supply and sanitation services is one of the basic indicators of human development. Water for the majority of Tanzania is not within easy reach. Only about 11% of households have water services at the door. About 38% percent have to walk up to 15 minutes in order to reach water sources; while about 27% of households spend up to 30 minutes to get to a source of water. Woman and girls children are the most adversely affected by lack of water because culturally and traditionally they have the role of fetching water.
Poor Health Services
Inadequate health services reflect the extent of poverty of the country. For example, according to health statistical Abstract (1997) the ration of population per health facility is 7,421; there is one hospital bed per 1000 people and one physician per 23,188 people, while about 30% of the people live more than 5 kilometers from the nearest health centre.
High Mortality Rate
According to the Health Statistical Abstract 1997, the average life expectancy of 77 year in developed countries and 62 years in other developing countries. The infant rate mortality rate (IMR) is 96 per 1,000 live birth compared to 7 in developed countries. The under-five mortality rate of per 1,000 and maternal mortality rate is 95 per 100,000 live birth. These mortality rates for Tanzania are clear expression of poverty.
Malnutrition
Many Tanzanian suffer from malnutrition particularly under nutrition. Also many are affected by micro nutrient deficiencies due to nutritional illiteracy especially as it relates to best use of fruits and vegetables and proper methods of planning cereal based diets. According to Tanzania Demographical Health Survey (1996), malnutrition among under-fives shows the prevalence of stunting to be 43.4% underweight 30.6% and wasting 7.2% Adult malnutrition especially maternal malnutrition is widespread. Indicative of maternal malnutrition is the high prevalence of low birth weight.
Environment Degradation
Environment degradation which is caused by over exploitation of land perpetuates poverty. Poverty has led to small holder farm house holds and pastoral groups to intensify exploitation of land with the aim to survive. This has led to widespread soil erosion. Furthermore, in the absence of alternative energy source, firewood remains the dominant sources of domestic fuel all over the country. Cutting trees for fuel wood has led to widespread deforestation and drought, hence increasing the danger of desertification.
Unemployment
High incidence of unemployment is among key distinguishing features of poverty. Largely because of poverty, the economy can not generate enough employment opportunities to meet the needs of the labour force. Poor living conditions of the rural areas serve centripetal force to push the youth to urban areas where most of them remain unemployed. The near 30% of youth unemployment reflects, in part, the ability of the economy to create sufficient employment opportunities for the growing population, but also the inability of the rural areas to create gainful employment opportunities and incentives to retain youth after graduation from primary education. Alongside this situation is the growing problem of street children who are a manifestation of worsening poverty.
Low Incomes
Another manifestation of poverty is low level of income. Estimates show that the poverty line for Tanzania is Tshs. 73,877 (1955) per annum. More than 50% of the population in Tanzania has incomes below the poverty line. Although the ecomonomy has been growing at an average animal rate of 4% since mid 1980s this rate of growth is insufficient to generate an income level considered adequate to meet basic needs.
Homeless and Poor Housing
Many Tanzanian live in poor quality houses. A survey conducted in 1995 had shown that 70% of the population in Dar es salaam city live in squatter settlements. Arusha and Mbeya municipalities have 70% of their population living in similar situation. Mwanza had 40% of its population living in squatter settlements.
Tanzania women are poorer than men despite the fact that women are the major actors in productive and reproductive activities. Of the total population, approximately 51.6% (1995) are woman. They comprise about 54% of the economically active population in rural areas are engaged in agriculture, producing about 60% to 80% of all domestic food supplies and cash crops, and shouldering most domestic work. Despite their contribution to society, Tanzania women do not receive adequate remuneration for their work. Traditional and cultural barriers still block women access to and control of land and other property. Although women contribute most of the labour in productive activities, they have little access to the income generated as men continue to dominate decision making not only within the household but also at national level.
Tanzania women have limited access to employment opportunities in the formal sector. As a result, many have had to adopt survival strategies through the informal sector where many operate without support of extension services or credit. Many of the activities in the informal sector have increased the burden of women.
In education, the girl child has limited opportunities to pursue education. Despite special focus on girls’ education, enrollment in primary schools is still lower than that of male pupils because of parental preference for boys’ education. Only 27.3% of form five (v) students and 24.3 of form six (vi) student are women. This lower representation of women continues up to University level.
Causes of Poverty
In Tanzania poverty is caused by both internal and external factors. Where the internal causes can be clustered into economic and social factors, the external causes relate to international trade, the debt burden and the refugee problem.
Internal Causes o Poverty
Internal causes of poverty include all factors that adversely affect economic growth with equity. Some of the factors are outline hereunder: -
(i.) Economic Policies.
For many yeas the country pursued fiscal and monetary policies which, though promoted equity, did not promote economic growth.
(ii) Insufficient Support to the Agricultural Sector
Though agriculture is the backbone of the economy, the support given to the sector over the years has not been commensurate with its relative importance. This is reflected in poor rural infrastructure and lack of modernization of the sector. Smallholder farmers who dominate the sector remain virtually inaccessible to credit and other forms of relevant support to improve productivity. The inability to modernize the technologies used in the sector, poor rural infrastructure, the non availability of critical farm inputs, the inefficiency of the marketing system and significant post harvest losses have all contribute towards the poor performance of the agricultural sector, hence towards the poverty of the country.
(iii) Inadequate Support to Rural Industries.
The establishment in rural areas of small scale, agro-based industries could have complemented the agricultural sector in the utilization of slack labour, in adding value to agricultural commodities and providing a basis for technological development. By not developing small scale and cottage industries in the rural areas, the rural sector has had to continue to depend on peasant farming system, hence perpetuating poverty.
(iv) Disruption of Local Institution Structures.
The erosion of democratic institution such as local councils and cooperative denied the participation of the people in the management of the economy and in the process their contribution to development activities were marginalized. Even with the reintroduction of the local government and co-operative societies, lack of capacity and inappropriate set up of the cooperatives limited their contribution to development effort in general.
(v) Low level of Technology
The use of poor inappropriate technology leading to low productivity in all sectors has also contributed perpetuation of poverty.
(vi) Poor Gender Division of Labour
Poor division of labour between men and women at the family level especially in rural areas is also another cause of poverty. Women are the ones who shoulder most of the work, a situation which leads to low income hence perpetuating poverty. It has been observed that in work places. Many women are employed in low paid position.
(vii) Laziness and Irresponsibility.
Lack of self-motivation to perform one’s duties due to laziness and being irresponsible contributes to poverty. If every person could do productive work and strive for self-motivation, poverty would be eradicated. Loitering and misuse of time is prevalent in urban areas where many people are either unemployed or irresponsible.
(viii) Diseases
Tanzania is still struggling with common and communicable diseases which have been eradicated in many places in the world. These diseases include malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, and anemia. These are the main causes of deaths in Tanzania especially for under-fives. Explosion of disease such as cholera and typhoid which have been occurring frequently has impact in Government expenditure both on curative and preventive measures, hence intensifying poverty in the country.
HIV/AIDS epidemic has also contributed to the incidence of other diseases such as TB, skin disease etc. HIV/AIDS incidence fall more on youth who are the main labour force in the economy. It is estimated that up to December 1995 Tanzania had about 1.2million people with HIV/AIDS. If this trend continued to the year 2000, people with HIV/AIDS will reach 3.6million. Despite contributing to communicable disease, HIV/AIDS also increases the extent of poverty in the communities. Many families have been rendered poor through loss of bread-winners. The epidemic has created the problem of orphans both in the rural and urban areas estimated at 200,000 by December 1995. This number is expected to increase to 800,000 or more by the year 2000.
In terms of gender, women bear the brunt of the problem. They have the main responsibilities of taking care of the sick in the family, thus denying them opportunities to generate income and raise their living standards.
(ix) Big Families.
Having many children in one family shows that there are more dependants relative to those who are to work. Such a situation increases the burden of the family in overcoming poverty.
External Causes of Poverty
Several external factors have limited the ability of the country to combat mass poverty. These factors include the debt burden, unequal exchange in international trade and of late the refugee problem.
(i) Debt Burden
One of the major factors that contribute to perpetuate poverty is the debt burden which has continued to drain resources from poor countries to the rich countries. In Tanzania debt servicing is currently about 39 percent of the recurrent budget. This is so huge that inhibits the Government ability to adequately provide social and other services to the public.
(ii) Unequal Exchange in International Trade.
Unequal exchange in international trade has limited the ability of developing countries to break out of the poverty cycle. The country has continued to rely on unprocessed agricultural commodities as the main export crops. But the prices of agricultural products in comparison to those of industrial products have remained unfavourable. This trade relationship has put a severe limit on the ability of the country to break out of the poverty cycle.
(iii) Refugees.
For year Tanzania has been receiving refugees from neighbouring countries. These have been in manageable proportions. However, with the recent ethnic turmoil in Rwanda and Burundi, the country has experienced an influx of refugees never seen before. The two regions of Kagera and Kigoma are now hosting a refugee population of over 700,000 people. The refugee problem has resulted in the depletion of natural resources like water and trees, and the destruction of social infrastructures like dispensaries and schools which were used to host them. The refugee problem has aggravated poverty in the two regions by accelerating environmental degradation and the depletion of food and natural resources.
PREVIOUS EFFORTS IN ERADICATING POVERTY IN TANZANIA
After independence, Tanzania inherited an economic structure which grossly neglected the social welfare of the local population and one which was sternly poised to serve external internal interests set up by the colonial regime. Employment opportunities were extremely limited. About 5 percent of the population was employed but mainly as labourers in foreign-owned plantation estates. Another 5 percent were employed in urban areas as clerks, nurses and housekeepers. A majority about 90 percent of the population, worked on their own land as subsistence farmers. The manufacturing sector was small, foreign-owned and its products were mainly processed primary commodities for export. The health sector was under-developed and poorly served; and most government hospitals were urban based. Education opportunities were limited.
Thus, soon after independence, dramatic state interventions were initiated to reduce economic and social inequalities in resources distribution and control. National campaign “Uhuru na Kazi” and “Uhuru ni Kazi” were launched to extol the virtues of work as a basis for development and self dignity. It was also a strategy of enhancing employment opportunities.
To increase rural incomes and ensure food security, the government embarked on policies and various slogans for promoting agriculture. The slogans accompanying those policies include “Siasa ni Kilimo”, “Chakula ni Uhai”, Kilimo cha Kisasa”, “Kilimo cha umwagiliaji” and soon. Plans were implemented aimed at improving small holder agriculture through better farm management practices and the use of improved technologies. Emphasis was placed on expanding and improving the delivery of services to the agricultural sector. These included the provision of extension services, increasing the availability and use of agricultural inputs, improving the crop marketing system and increasing access to agricultural finance. These efforts could not be sustained due to lack of the necessary infrastructure and absence of institution like local government and co-operatives which would have managed the services.
Also, the Government implemented various policies in the social services sectors for promoting education, health and water. These policies included Universal Primary Education (UPE), Education for self-reliance, Adult Literacy Education, “Mtu ni Afya”, Primary Health Care for All, Water is Life, Water for All, and others. Successes were recorded in implementing these policies. In education, several indicators showed that Tanzania had made tremendous progress in eradicating illiteracy. For example, over 90 percent of school-age going children were able to enter Standard I in primary school and literacy rate of 90 percent was achieved. Success in the health sectors included the increased number of rural and urban health centers, construction of regional and district hospital in most regions and construction of regional and district hospital in most regions and constructions of training centers for medical and health staff. Mother and child health care services also increased. In the water sector, various donor agencies co-operated with the government in delivering water supply services, especially in the rural areas. These services included provision of clean piped water, construction of shallow and deep-water wells and construction of dips for livestock.
However, these gains could not last long, among other things, due to the following shortcomings:-
Poor involvement of people themselves at different stages of planning led to most of the project being unsustainable after completion.
Lack of capital for most of the rural people
Lack o skills to run these programmes/projects especially technical skills, environmental management and protection, evaluation as well as finance management.
All these initiatives were top-down in their nature, thus lacked people’s support.
Previous efforts to eradicate poverty were of `campaign type and not part of socio-economic development plans and programmes. Therefore, they could not be sustained after the campaigns.
Many stakeholders such as government ministries, NGOs and donors implemented their programmes in accordance to their individual perception and priority. There was no guidance and coordination of these efforts.
The National Poverty Eradication Strategy aims at providing a guidance for stakeholders and the poor themselves to identify, implement and evaluate their own programme, and enable different stakeholders to put poverty eradication programmes as part of their overall development plans and programmes.
Tanzania through the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (MKUKUTA) has been trying hard to focus on poverty reduction and country’s development agenda. The NSGRP is informed by the aspirations of Tanzania Development Vision (vision 2025) for high and shared growth, high quality livelihood, peace, stability and unity, good governance high quality education and international competitiveness. Vision 2025 lays out the long term development goals and perspectives against which the strategy for poverty alleviation (NPES) was formulated. The TAS is the result of a mutually felt need by the Government of Tanzania and its international partners for a comprehensive development agenda, around which issues pertaining to ongoing activities can be regularly discussed and assessed. As such, the TAS covers all the development areas that have characteristically been supported by the international partners, both within and outside the framework of the central Government budget. It is hoped that the TAS will provide a useful framework for organizing periodic consultations and dialogue among all development partners. The PRSP is an integral part of the HIPC process, focusing mainly on poverty alleviation, and budget to a relatively hard (Central Government) budget constrains, starting financial year 2000/2001. Nevertheless, the PRSP encompasses poverty-oriented extra-budget-any activities, various non financial considerations that have an important bearing on poverty reduction.
It is committed to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS), as internationally agreed target for reducing poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women by 2015. It strive to widen the space for country ownership and effective participation of civil society, private sector development and commitment to regional and other international initiatives for social and economic development.
The poverty reduction strategy is based on three considerations. First the strategy is viewed as an instrument for channeling national efforts towards broadly agreed objectives and specific inputs and outputs. The elaboration and implementation of the strategy are fundamentally ongoing processes. While a wide variety of key intervention has already been launched, the preparation of strategies for certain sectors, such as agriculture and education are still underway. Moreover, the implementations of reforms aimed at shifting the responsibilities for formulating, implementing and monitoring poverty reduction intervention by the districts, municipalities, and communities at the grassroots has started, but it will take some time to complete. The overall strategy of poverty reduction will, therefore, need to be managed flexibly, to accommodate additional action play and activities emanating from the going work.
Second, the poverty reduction strategy is to a large extent, an integral part of ongoing macroeconomic and structural reforms that are being supported by Tanzania multilateral and bilateral partners. The Government has chosen, as detailed below to accelerate selected reforms that are likely to have a major impact on poverty reduction. Finally in keeping with concerns of stakeholders, and guided by the overarching orientation of vision 2025 and the NPES. The focus of the poverty reduction strategy concentrates on effects aimed at reducing income poverty, improving human capabilities, survival and social wellbeing and containing extreme vulnerability among the poor
As per PRSP the Government had to take into account seven basic considerations. First, pending the completion of the above – noted key tasks (notably in the ministries of agriculture and education, and in regard to the LGRP) the estimated financing for the poverty reduction programme will be kept under review and up dated to reflect the impact of more thoroughly coasted interventions.
Second, while it is certain that the financing of the poverty reduction programme will derive principal from domestic sources, notably the central government budget an assessment of the revenue impact of ongoing improvement in tax enforcement and administration is fraught with uncertainty.
Third the financial of the poverty alleviation efforts will, as in the past depend substantially on external funded, the availability of which could differ from the project path.
Forth, on the basic of insights MTEF and PER exercises, it is evident that the poverty reduction programme will be constrained severed by available resources. Because of this, the government has opted for a slight deterioration in the fiscal balance, and will also place special emphasis on the cost effectiveness of intended poverty reduction initiatives.
Fifth, the government will strategically support cost-sharing co-financing, and other initiatives aimed at catalyzing deeper involvement by communities and other stakeholders in well – conceived poverty reduction programmes.
Sixth, the government is envisaging that there will be significant changes in the finacing modalities for the poverty reduction programme.
Finally, the government, guided by finding from the stakeholders workshops will continue its financial intervention mostly to
(i) Education
(ii) Health
(iii) Agriculture (search and extension)
(iv) Roads
(v) Water
(vi) Judiciary and
(vii) HIV/AIDS
The Government of Tanzania has recently established a poverty Monitoring system to provide timely, reliable data to inform its Poverty Reduction strategy (PRS) and other policy initiatives. The system incorporates both participatory and survey based research methodologies.
As part of this system, routine Participatory Assessments (PPAS) are being implemented in two year cycles. Though the main purpose is to improve medium and long term development planning, stakeholders also hoped that the PPAS would lead to timely, direct benefits at the local level.
The advantage of this is that data analysis does not depend on speculation by privileged professionals about the conditions people face and instead it is the result of ordinary people reflecting on, theorizing about debating and explaining the world in which they live. Also, participatory research can contribute to social democratization by engaging citizen in policy making process.
On the basis of these characteristics, the Government of Tanzania has decided to make Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPAS) a routine part of its integrated Poverty Monitoring System. PPA provides information to stakeholders to discuss and translate into policies reflecting their institutions unique mandates capacities and circumstances. In other words, these PPA are intended to facilitate making information – based decisions about how to help people get out, and stay out, of poverty.
The Tanzania Participatory Assessment process is being implemented by a multi- sectoral consortium of institutions in two – year cycles timed to feed into the revision of the Governments Poverty Reduction Strategy. Each of these cycles will focus on specific priority information gap. The first cycle began in January 2002 and is taking in depth look at people “vulnerability" to becoming poor or poorer.
As a result of its forward looking approach influencing the Tanzania Participatory Poverty Assessment (TZPPA), quickly began to have an impact in national fora. Some of the best example of positive change set in motion by the TZPPA comes from Ilala District, Dar es Salaam Region. The Municipal Council Economic Planners spent two and a half weeks as par of team conducting participatory research in Mtambani B Ward. Afterwards, the Municipal Management Team assigned responses to issues raised by the study. To date, this has culminated in the:- provision of counseling services to drug users at the district hospital and an appropriate clinic, and formation of new sensitization strategies encouraged equal schooling for girl an boy children. These strategies, unlike those in the past, begin from an understanding of local ideas about gender and education, creation by community members of transparent criteria for extending priority support to especially poor local household.
Status report (2006) show that there is an improvement in different sector. For example overall, the available data sourced from the basic data series of the Ministry of Education and Vocation Training (MoEVT) show positive trends. Net enrolment rats are higher in pre primary, primary and secondary schools, the pupil; teacher ration in primary schools falling; the percentage of pupils passing the primary school leavers Examination is increasing and the percentage of standard seven (vii) pupils going on to secondary school is also raising.
On study done in six district Kilosa, Ilala, Bagamoyo, Mwanza, Moshi and Iringa shows that; In primary education there was immense growth in school enrolment from year 2000 to 2003, enrolment was close to 10% in all six case councils. This case can be attributed to the abolition of school fees in 2001, and to the primary Education Development programme. The pass rate also increased in all case councils, although the majority of grade 7 student were still failing to pass in year 2003. These were some clear signs of progress in the quality of education, measured by indicators such as pupils per classroom, pupils per desk, and pupils per textbook.(Braathen E.&Mwambe G;2003;)
However, the main quality indicators, like pupils per teacher and have a qualified teachers, did not show progress for many of the council. The lack of teacher threatens the sustainability of the reduction reform and tends to widen the gap between advance and backlogging councils.
In basic health services there was significant progress reported from all six council regarding the public situation. The infant mortality rate decreased, and the immunization rate rose to well above 80% in all council. However, problems existed, linked to the health facilities (dispensaries and centres). Although there was progress in accessibility from 2000, around one third of the population in Iringa, Kilosa and Bagamoyo were still without access to health centres in 2003. And despite an improvement in the number of health workers (nurse) and average waiting times for patients at dispensaries, the problem of affordability made the majority of population dissatisfied (more so with health centres than Dispensaries).
The Poverty and Human Development report (2005) provides a similar picture for Tanzania as a whole. There has been a positive reduction of infant mortality from 99 to 68 per 1000 birth and of under five mortality from 147 to 112 per 1000 birth.
In domestic water supply there supply there was no significant progress reported o accessibility, with particular exception of Mwanza. In three districts, around half of the population was not covered by adequate water supply services.
In education the progress report noted the continued impressive expansion of the primary system; enrollments for 2003 again exceed PRS targets. The progress report rightly places increase emphasis on quality; some improvements have been cited, but more needs to be done to improve completion rates. The primary Education Development Program has been successfully implemented, and the Public Expenditure Tracking Study shows that about 95 percent of funds allocated to school were used for the intended purposes.
SUGGESTION
Many efforts have been observed done by the Government of Tanzania to reduce poverty in its people. Among them the Government through PRS has made a difference in Education b:
i. Abolishing fees for primary education and encouraging enrollment of all children who reach the appropriate age for primary school, we expect once they are enrolled, stays at school, study in a positive learning environment, do well in their examination and have an opportunity to continue into secondary Education.
ii. Reduce the infant under five mortality and maternal death by abolishing hospital charges for children’s under five and pregnant women.
iii. Improved source of drinking water in rural areas; many people in the rural areas get clean water for drinking.
There is no policy which hinder people to move / go out of the country with huge amount of money to go there and do business without even the government awareness in such business; This means people can use Tanzania money out side the country and bring home nothing as many Tanzania business people have a little knowledge of making or doing business. For example, a country like South / North Korea do not allow its people to go and invest else where without the ministry responsible for investment acknowledge the transfer of that amount of money and also prove if it is true that there is really such business going on.
But we also have a problem of corruption, if people in the system will be careful enough to make sure people who take loans do they real use them for investing and not doing business; As some people take big loans from banks and use them for spending with their families and for/or with the “Nyumba Ndogos” (meaning having affairs with other women leaving their families suffering).
Sometime they take loans by mortgaging their houses where there family lives; unfortunately when the man die the banks took the houses and live the family without a house to live, leave the family more poor than ever which arises to another problem of children leaving schools and become beggars.
Though the government have been trying hard to conduct seminars on how to do business, more education have to be provided so that they do not use loan for other activities than investing the money into produce activities.
Also the government have been working had to eradicate poverty, their very much concern is on policy making and researches, may be it is because these activities pay then a lot of money; but if you come to implementation.
Though many efforts taken by the Government of Tanzania to improve the standard of living to its people, but some more changes should be consideration in the following areas.
The government should modify the education system to rain agriculture product and introduce handcraft products for example woodwork, hand craft, iron smothery and brick making. The government should also direct powers to rural areas by providing loans.
The government must build capacity of its people. This can be done by providing technology which can be give information’s about different issues. Technology can help people access information’s which can also help to change some people altitude, value and rigid cultures and tradition which persisted for a long time. Through Technology people get exposure different world without even going there people can understand their position and decide to change, as it is very possible that some people do not even know that they are poor, as far as they leave in villages they what they get, they wear toned clothes and don’t even notice that they are almost half faked.
New Technology also has some problem so the government need to aware on that. People may learn things which are not allowed in our African and Tanzania culture.
Poverty is in it self a barrier to equal educational opportunity. A hungry of malnourished child is unlikely to be good at concentrating on school work. The lack of a quite room in which to study at home (and, in area singly a computer) makes homework unattractive and difficult. The government has to formulate strong strategies which can make people improve their agriculture and thus have enough food for their families hence improve their performance in schools.
The opportunity to get fair trial is closed to those who cannot afford high quality legal representation in the absence of a well funded system of legal aid .The government have to practice good governance to reduce corruption.
Social solidarity means a sense of fellow feeling that extent beyond people with whom one is in personal contact, Tanzanian need to have it so that they will be able to help one another..
What they write in books is not seen to be serious. For example, people who live in rural areas depend much on agriculture activities, I think that if a person really want to help them better help them improve the results of their effort. For example the government can make or prepare a way through which different villages will be given tractors in form of loans or whatever so that they improve their productions and also increase the number of hence they take case.
By improving the agriculture section people will not suffer from hunger, and also they can get surplus which will help them to sell and get money which will help them buy other needs pay fees for their children an thus improve their education and standard of living.
In other words we can say that the government should invest much in the rural areas especially in Agriculture by providing education, materials and other related services like water and electricity; put more investment industries in urban area sand small scale industries in rural areas; Bolstering farms by providing the with fair loans from the government, NGO, and other organization; Reduce tax especially in small scale group; Distribute essential services equally such as improving education system and health service Use appropriate technology for example irrigation scheme Increase food production; building people capacity.
The aids which is given by different countries should be handled well and make sure they are used according to the aim of the donors; for example money to fund the HIV/AIDS programs, there are many NGOS which are assigned with huge amount of money, the government has to make sure that the funds reaches the targeted person.
Strong strategies, policies, laws, rules and regulations has to be made to make sure that all revenue that was supposed to collected is collected and used for the benefit of the whole nation not some people
References
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Dar es Salaam University Press, DSM – Tanzania.
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Finding from six councils, Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, Dar es Salaam
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YEARS AFTER INDEPENDENT? UDSM Commotion, Dar es Salaam
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Government printer Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
This paper is going discuss about poverty in Tanzania and how do Tanzanians and the Government of Tanzania struggle to eradicate poverty.
Poverty is ability to attain a minimum standard of living Elements of poverty is such as poor infrastructure, un/employment, hunger. lack of balance diet. Diseases, life expectancy. Dependant economy, poor social services (water, schools an hospital) and poor health (disturbed by different diseases).
Causes of poverty
The causes of poverty are grouped into two parts, those which are internally rooted and those which are externally rooted. Burkely Stan (1993) mentioned some internal causes of poverty which are such as:-
Physical limitations-Many areas subject to long periods of drought; rain, when it comes tend to come all at once causing flooding and water loggings; soil are thin and very delicate and other natural disasters.
Dependency of third world countries – The third world countries are dependant of the developed countries for capital, technology and markets.
The rich countries set the interest rates, the terms of trade, the tariffs, and important barriers and generally, through their economic power, drain off the surpluses produce in the poor countries.
Lack of modern look – Poor people are said to resist change because they are ignorant, superstitious, fatalistic and traditional. They have a limited world view and are unable to see the advantage of modernization. They lack innovativeness and are unable to see the advantage of “investing to day fro a better tomorrow”. They have limited aspirations an are unable to defer today’s gratification to the future.
Lack of good leader – committed that encourage innovation with creating ideas. A leader that inspire others to share in common vision. Sets a good example and support others.
Poor Education – In family planning, lack o skills, land is not fully utilized, lack of technology.
Others reasons are such as lack of capital, difficult for people to self employed, poor essential services for example health and education, low economic productivity, poor balance diet causing malnutrition, lack of investment and lack of good policy. People also in some tribes are lazy; the are not working hard to remove poverty.
The sources which are externally caused, Walter (year) talked about slave trade; colonialism that African countries were colonized by different colons. For example Tanzania was under the Germany and British. They used the people to produce for the raw materials which they sent back to their countries and left Africa at the point of start. It also caused unequal distribution of development sources such as industries; they also took raw material for their industries.
Neocolonialism as a cause of poverty; IMF and WORLD BANK causes (i) Redundancy, they suggested to reduce number of workers; law payment – they set a limit on how to pay workers, multiparty, and privatize, the developed countries encourages internal war by selling and giving instrument for war.
The establishment of multiparty democracy is externally oriented, had no internal roots and came hand with Structure Adjustment Programmer initiated by World Bank and IMF.
Loans and aids with pressure conditions and big interest from the World Bank and IMF. “We have loans with big interest we cant pay this these loans in the expenses our child”. This is true because poor countries can not pa such loans with such big interest, when they fail to pay their debts increases.(Nyerere;)
Theoretical literature review.
The theory of poverty can be derived from ideas of the classical school, which focused on the laws that govern the distribution of factors incomes, and were later incorporated into the surplus model. According to this approach, development is defines in terms of the growth of the modern sector, which expand at the expense in inequality and (especially relative) poverty in the initial stages of development and a reduction in inequality and poverty at a later stage (Lewis, 1954 and Fei and Raws, 1964.
The neoclassical school which became dominance in the second half of the nineteenth century postulates that in a perfect market, prices of factors and goods are simultaneously determined competitively and depending on their scarcity and productivity. In spite the limitation arising from assumption of perfect competition a theory can be derived from such approach, as household incomes will be determined by the factor incomes receives by the households; that is the earnings from house hold labor and property.
Concept of Poverty.
A practical and commonly used definition of absolute poverty is the inability to attain a specific (minimum) standard of living (World Bank 1990). The definition focuses on the absolute economic well-being of the poor, in isolation from the welfare distribution of the entire society. It implies knowledge of the minimum standard of living, commonly referred to as the poverty live
The estimated total population of Africa in 1995 was 580m of these.
291m people had average income of below one dollar per day in 1998.
124m o those up to age 39yrs were at risk of dying before 40.
43m children were stinted as result of malnutrition in 1995.
205m were estimated to be without access to heal services in 1990 – 95.
249m were without safe drinking water in 1990 – 95.
More than 2m infants die animally before reading their first birthday.
139 million youth and adults were illiterate in 1995.
World Bank categorized poverty in 3 categories.
The destitute – many of whom are dependents such as elderly (particularly woman whose assets are taken when they become widowed) and disabled, count amongst the chronically poor.
Another group are being vulnerable to spell o poverty on account of either personally specific shocks such as illness or theft or more general shocks such as conflict, drought or economic crisis.
POLICE REVIEW
Soon after independence in 1961, Tanzania declared war against three closely related evils – poverty, ignorance and disease. Extensive programmes related to poverty eradication were initiated which included, inter alia, programmes to expand education, health services and water supply as well as improvement of physical infrastructure and development of agriculture and the economy as a whole. People have always been at the centre of the governments efforts in pursuit of poverty eradication. In spite of some implementation shortcoming, considerable achievements were made in improving human welfare in the first twenty years of independence.
In Tanzania Poverty can be conceived as a state of deprivation prohibitive of decent human life. This is caused by lack of recourses and capabilities to a acquire basic human needs as seen in many, but often mutually reinforcing parameters which include malnutrition, ignorance, prevalence of diseases, squalid surroundings, high infant, child and maternal mortality, low life expectancy, low per capital income, poor quality housing, in adequate clothing, low technological utilization, environmental degradation, unemployment rural-urban migration and poor migration.
Extent of Poverty
There are many individual used to measure poverty and its manifestation. The indicators used here are those that reflect the realities of poverty in Tanzania.
Illiteracy
One of the signs of poverty in the country are those low level literacy and numeracy. The literacy level is now estimated to be 68% down from 90% achieved n the 1980s. This testifies to the worsening trend of poverty and to the reversal of gains made earlier in human development efforts. Among low income families the literacy rate is 59% which lower than the national average. Gross enrollment rate for primary school pupils 77.8% (1996), down from 90% in the 1980s.
Inadequate clean and safe water supply
Availability of clean and safe water supply and sanitation services is one of the basic indicators of human development. Water for the majority of Tanzania is not within easy reach. Only about 11% of households have water services at the door. About 38% percent have to walk up to 15 minutes in order to reach water sources; while about 27% of households spend up to 30 minutes to get to a source of water. Woman and girls children are the most adversely affected by lack of water because culturally and traditionally they have the role of fetching water.
Poor Health Services
Inadequate health services reflect the extent of poverty of the country. For example, according to health statistical Abstract (1997) the ration of population per health facility is 7,421; there is one hospital bed per 1000 people and one physician per 23,188 people, while about 30% of the people live more than 5 kilometers from the nearest health centre.
High Mortality Rate
According to the Health Statistical Abstract 1997, the average life expectancy of 77 year in developed countries and 62 years in other developing countries. The infant rate mortality rate (IMR) is 96 per 1,000 live birth compared to 7 in developed countries. The under-five mortality rate of per 1,000 and maternal mortality rate is 95 per 100,000 live birth. These mortality rates for Tanzania are clear expression of poverty.
Malnutrition
Many Tanzanian suffer from malnutrition particularly under nutrition. Also many are affected by micro nutrient deficiencies due to nutritional illiteracy especially as it relates to best use of fruits and vegetables and proper methods of planning cereal based diets. According to Tanzania Demographical Health Survey (1996), malnutrition among under-fives shows the prevalence of stunting to be 43.4% underweight 30.6% and wasting 7.2% Adult malnutrition especially maternal malnutrition is widespread. Indicative of maternal malnutrition is the high prevalence of low birth weight.
Environment Degradation
Environment degradation which is caused by over exploitation of land perpetuates poverty. Poverty has led to small holder farm house holds and pastoral groups to intensify exploitation of land with the aim to survive. This has led to widespread soil erosion. Furthermore, in the absence of alternative energy source, firewood remains the dominant sources of domestic fuel all over the country. Cutting trees for fuel wood has led to widespread deforestation and drought, hence increasing the danger of desertification.
Unemployment
High incidence of unemployment is among key distinguishing features of poverty. Largely because of poverty, the economy can not generate enough employment opportunities to meet the needs of the labour force. Poor living conditions of the rural areas serve centripetal force to push the youth to urban areas where most of them remain unemployed. The near 30% of youth unemployment reflects, in part, the ability of the economy to create sufficient employment opportunities for the growing population, but also the inability of the rural areas to create gainful employment opportunities and incentives to retain youth after graduation from primary education. Alongside this situation is the growing problem of street children who are a manifestation of worsening poverty.
Low Incomes
Another manifestation of poverty is low level of income. Estimates show that the poverty line for Tanzania is Tshs. 73,877 (1955) per annum. More than 50% of the population in Tanzania has incomes below the poverty line. Although the ecomonomy has been growing at an average animal rate of 4% since mid 1980s this rate of growth is insufficient to generate an income level considered adequate to meet basic needs.
Homeless and Poor Housing
Many Tanzanian live in poor quality houses. A survey conducted in 1995 had shown that 70% of the population in Dar es salaam city live in squatter settlements. Arusha and Mbeya municipalities have 70% of their population living in similar situation. Mwanza had 40% of its population living in squatter settlements.
Tanzania women are poorer than men despite the fact that women are the major actors in productive and reproductive activities. Of the total population, approximately 51.6% (1995) are woman. They comprise about 54% of the economically active population in rural areas are engaged in agriculture, producing about 60% to 80% of all domestic food supplies and cash crops, and shouldering most domestic work. Despite their contribution to society, Tanzania women do not receive adequate remuneration for their work. Traditional and cultural barriers still block women access to and control of land and other property. Although women contribute most of the labour in productive activities, they have little access to the income generated as men continue to dominate decision making not only within the household but also at national level.
Tanzania women have limited access to employment opportunities in the formal sector. As a result, many have had to adopt survival strategies through the informal sector where many operate without support of extension services or credit. Many of the activities in the informal sector have increased the burden of women.
In education, the girl child has limited opportunities to pursue education. Despite special focus on girls’ education, enrollment in primary schools is still lower than that of male pupils because of parental preference for boys’ education. Only 27.3% of form five (v) students and 24.3 of form six (vi) student are women. This lower representation of women continues up to University level.
Causes of Poverty
In Tanzania poverty is caused by both internal and external factors. Where the internal causes can be clustered into economic and social factors, the external causes relate to international trade, the debt burden and the refugee problem.
Internal Causes o Poverty
Internal causes of poverty include all factors that adversely affect economic growth with equity. Some of the factors are outline hereunder: -
(i.) Economic Policies.
For many yeas the country pursued fiscal and monetary policies which, though promoted equity, did not promote economic growth.
(ii) Insufficient Support to the Agricultural Sector
Though agriculture is the backbone of the economy, the support given to the sector over the years has not been commensurate with its relative importance. This is reflected in poor rural infrastructure and lack of modernization of the sector. Smallholder farmers who dominate the sector remain virtually inaccessible to credit and other forms of relevant support to improve productivity. The inability to modernize the technologies used in the sector, poor rural infrastructure, the non availability of critical farm inputs, the inefficiency of the marketing system and significant post harvest losses have all contribute towards the poor performance of the agricultural sector, hence towards the poverty of the country.
(iii) Inadequate Support to Rural Industries.
The establishment in rural areas of small scale, agro-based industries could have complemented the agricultural sector in the utilization of slack labour, in adding value to agricultural commodities and providing a basis for technological development. By not developing small scale and cottage industries in the rural areas, the rural sector has had to continue to depend on peasant farming system, hence perpetuating poverty.
(iv) Disruption of Local Institution Structures.
The erosion of democratic institution such as local councils and cooperative denied the participation of the people in the management of the economy and in the process their contribution to development activities were marginalized. Even with the reintroduction of the local government and co-operative societies, lack of capacity and inappropriate set up of the cooperatives limited their contribution to development effort in general.
(v) Low level of Technology
The use of poor inappropriate technology leading to low productivity in all sectors has also contributed perpetuation of poverty.
(vi) Poor Gender Division of Labour
Poor division of labour between men and women at the family level especially in rural areas is also another cause of poverty. Women are the ones who shoulder most of the work, a situation which leads to low income hence perpetuating poverty. It has been observed that in work places. Many women are employed in low paid position.
(vii) Laziness and Irresponsibility.
Lack of self-motivation to perform one’s duties due to laziness and being irresponsible contributes to poverty. If every person could do productive work and strive for self-motivation, poverty would be eradicated. Loitering and misuse of time is prevalent in urban areas where many people are either unemployed or irresponsible.
(viii) Diseases
Tanzania is still struggling with common and communicable diseases which have been eradicated in many places in the world. These diseases include malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, and anemia. These are the main causes of deaths in Tanzania especially for under-fives. Explosion of disease such as cholera and typhoid which have been occurring frequently has impact in Government expenditure both on curative and preventive measures, hence intensifying poverty in the country.
HIV/AIDS epidemic has also contributed to the incidence of other diseases such as TB, skin disease etc. HIV/AIDS incidence fall more on youth who are the main labour force in the economy. It is estimated that up to December 1995 Tanzania had about 1.2million people with HIV/AIDS. If this trend continued to the year 2000, people with HIV/AIDS will reach 3.6million. Despite contributing to communicable disease, HIV/AIDS also increases the extent of poverty in the communities. Many families have been rendered poor through loss of bread-winners. The epidemic has created the problem of orphans both in the rural and urban areas estimated at 200,000 by December 1995. This number is expected to increase to 800,000 or more by the year 2000.
In terms of gender, women bear the brunt of the problem. They have the main responsibilities of taking care of the sick in the family, thus denying them opportunities to generate income and raise their living standards.
(ix) Big Families.
Having many children in one family shows that there are more dependants relative to those who are to work. Such a situation increases the burden of the family in overcoming poverty.
External Causes of Poverty
Several external factors have limited the ability of the country to combat mass poverty. These factors include the debt burden, unequal exchange in international trade and of late the refugee problem.
(i) Debt Burden
One of the major factors that contribute to perpetuate poverty is the debt burden which has continued to drain resources from poor countries to the rich countries. In Tanzania debt servicing is currently about 39 percent of the recurrent budget. This is so huge that inhibits the Government ability to adequately provide social and other services to the public.
(ii) Unequal Exchange in International Trade.
Unequal exchange in international trade has limited the ability of developing countries to break out of the poverty cycle. The country has continued to rely on unprocessed agricultural commodities as the main export crops. But the prices of agricultural products in comparison to those of industrial products have remained unfavourable. This trade relationship has put a severe limit on the ability of the country to break out of the poverty cycle.
(iii) Refugees.
For year Tanzania has been receiving refugees from neighbouring countries. These have been in manageable proportions. However, with the recent ethnic turmoil in Rwanda and Burundi, the country has experienced an influx of refugees never seen before. The two regions of Kagera and Kigoma are now hosting a refugee population of over 700,000 people. The refugee problem has resulted in the depletion of natural resources like water and trees, and the destruction of social infrastructures like dispensaries and schools which were used to host them. The refugee problem has aggravated poverty in the two regions by accelerating environmental degradation and the depletion of food and natural resources.
PREVIOUS EFFORTS IN ERADICATING POVERTY IN TANZANIA
After independence, Tanzania inherited an economic structure which grossly neglected the social welfare of the local population and one which was sternly poised to serve external internal interests set up by the colonial regime. Employment opportunities were extremely limited. About 5 percent of the population was employed but mainly as labourers in foreign-owned plantation estates. Another 5 percent were employed in urban areas as clerks, nurses and housekeepers. A majority about 90 percent of the population, worked on their own land as subsistence farmers. The manufacturing sector was small, foreign-owned and its products were mainly processed primary commodities for export. The health sector was under-developed and poorly served; and most government hospitals were urban based. Education opportunities were limited.
Thus, soon after independence, dramatic state interventions were initiated to reduce economic and social inequalities in resources distribution and control. National campaign “Uhuru na Kazi” and “Uhuru ni Kazi” were launched to extol the virtues of work as a basis for development and self dignity. It was also a strategy of enhancing employment opportunities.
To increase rural incomes and ensure food security, the government embarked on policies and various slogans for promoting agriculture. The slogans accompanying those policies include “Siasa ni Kilimo”, “Chakula ni Uhai”, Kilimo cha Kisasa”, “Kilimo cha umwagiliaji” and soon. Plans were implemented aimed at improving small holder agriculture through better farm management practices and the use of improved technologies. Emphasis was placed on expanding and improving the delivery of services to the agricultural sector. These included the provision of extension services, increasing the availability and use of agricultural inputs, improving the crop marketing system and increasing access to agricultural finance. These efforts could not be sustained due to lack of the necessary infrastructure and absence of institution like local government and co-operatives which would have managed the services.
Also, the Government implemented various policies in the social services sectors for promoting education, health and water. These policies included Universal Primary Education (UPE), Education for self-reliance, Adult Literacy Education, “Mtu ni Afya”, Primary Health Care for All, Water is Life, Water for All, and others. Successes were recorded in implementing these policies. In education, several indicators showed that Tanzania had made tremendous progress in eradicating illiteracy. For example, over 90 percent of school-age going children were able to enter Standard I in primary school and literacy rate of 90 percent was achieved. Success in the health sectors included the increased number of rural and urban health centers, construction of regional and district hospital in most regions and construction of regional and district hospital in most regions and constructions of training centers for medical and health staff. Mother and child health care services also increased. In the water sector, various donor agencies co-operated with the government in delivering water supply services, especially in the rural areas. These services included provision of clean piped water, construction of shallow and deep-water wells and construction of dips for livestock.
However, these gains could not last long, among other things, due to the following shortcomings:-
Poor involvement of people themselves at different stages of planning led to most of the project being unsustainable after completion.
Lack of capital for most of the rural people
Lack o skills to run these programmes/projects especially technical skills, environmental management and protection, evaluation as well as finance management.
All these initiatives were top-down in their nature, thus lacked people’s support.
Previous efforts to eradicate poverty were of `campaign type and not part of socio-economic development plans and programmes. Therefore, they could not be sustained after the campaigns.
Many stakeholders such as government ministries, NGOs and donors implemented their programmes in accordance to their individual perception and priority. There was no guidance and coordination of these efforts.
The National Poverty Eradication Strategy aims at providing a guidance for stakeholders and the poor themselves to identify, implement and evaluate their own programme, and enable different stakeholders to put poverty eradication programmes as part of their overall development plans and programmes.
Tanzania through the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (MKUKUTA) has been trying hard to focus on poverty reduction and country’s development agenda. The NSGRP is informed by the aspirations of Tanzania Development Vision (vision 2025) for high and shared growth, high quality livelihood, peace, stability and unity, good governance high quality education and international competitiveness. Vision 2025 lays out the long term development goals and perspectives against which the strategy for poverty alleviation (NPES) was formulated. The TAS is the result of a mutually felt need by the Government of Tanzania and its international partners for a comprehensive development agenda, around which issues pertaining to ongoing activities can be regularly discussed and assessed. As such, the TAS covers all the development areas that have characteristically been supported by the international partners, both within and outside the framework of the central Government budget. It is hoped that the TAS will provide a useful framework for organizing periodic consultations and dialogue among all development partners. The PRSP is an integral part of the HIPC process, focusing mainly on poverty alleviation, and budget to a relatively hard (Central Government) budget constrains, starting financial year 2000/2001. Nevertheless, the PRSP encompasses poverty-oriented extra-budget-any activities, various non financial considerations that have an important bearing on poverty reduction.
It is committed to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS), as internationally agreed target for reducing poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women by 2015. It strive to widen the space for country ownership and effective participation of civil society, private sector development and commitment to regional and other international initiatives for social and economic development.
The poverty reduction strategy is based on three considerations. First the strategy is viewed as an instrument for channeling national efforts towards broadly agreed objectives and specific inputs and outputs. The elaboration and implementation of the strategy are fundamentally ongoing processes. While a wide variety of key intervention has already been launched, the preparation of strategies for certain sectors, such as agriculture and education are still underway. Moreover, the implementations of reforms aimed at shifting the responsibilities for formulating, implementing and monitoring poverty reduction intervention by the districts, municipalities, and communities at the grassroots has started, but it will take some time to complete. The overall strategy of poverty reduction will, therefore, need to be managed flexibly, to accommodate additional action play and activities emanating from the going work.
Second, the poverty reduction strategy is to a large extent, an integral part of ongoing macroeconomic and structural reforms that are being supported by Tanzania multilateral and bilateral partners. The Government has chosen, as detailed below to accelerate selected reforms that are likely to have a major impact on poverty reduction. Finally in keeping with concerns of stakeholders, and guided by the overarching orientation of vision 2025 and the NPES. The focus of the poverty reduction strategy concentrates on effects aimed at reducing income poverty, improving human capabilities, survival and social wellbeing and containing extreme vulnerability among the poor
As per PRSP the Government had to take into account seven basic considerations. First, pending the completion of the above – noted key tasks (notably in the ministries of agriculture and education, and in regard to the LGRP) the estimated financing for the poverty reduction programme will be kept under review and up dated to reflect the impact of more thoroughly coasted interventions.
Second, while it is certain that the financing of the poverty reduction programme will derive principal from domestic sources, notably the central government budget an assessment of the revenue impact of ongoing improvement in tax enforcement and administration is fraught with uncertainty.
Third the financial of the poverty alleviation efforts will, as in the past depend substantially on external funded, the availability of which could differ from the project path.
Forth, on the basic of insights MTEF and PER exercises, it is evident that the poverty reduction programme will be constrained severed by available resources. Because of this, the government has opted for a slight deterioration in the fiscal balance, and will also place special emphasis on the cost effectiveness of intended poverty reduction initiatives.
Fifth, the government will strategically support cost-sharing co-financing, and other initiatives aimed at catalyzing deeper involvement by communities and other stakeholders in well – conceived poverty reduction programmes.
Sixth, the government is envisaging that there will be significant changes in the finacing modalities for the poverty reduction programme.
Finally, the government, guided by finding from the stakeholders workshops will continue its financial intervention mostly to
(i) Education
(ii) Health
(iii) Agriculture (search and extension)
(iv) Roads
(v) Water
(vi) Judiciary and
(vii) HIV/AIDS
The Government of Tanzania has recently established a poverty Monitoring system to provide timely, reliable data to inform its Poverty Reduction strategy (PRS) and other policy initiatives. The system incorporates both participatory and survey based research methodologies.
As part of this system, routine Participatory Assessments (PPAS) are being implemented in two year cycles. Though the main purpose is to improve medium and long term development planning, stakeholders also hoped that the PPAS would lead to timely, direct benefits at the local level.
The advantage of this is that data analysis does not depend on speculation by privileged professionals about the conditions people face and instead it is the result of ordinary people reflecting on, theorizing about debating and explaining the world in which they live. Also, participatory research can contribute to social democratization by engaging citizen in policy making process.
On the basis of these characteristics, the Government of Tanzania has decided to make Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPAS) a routine part of its integrated Poverty Monitoring System. PPA provides information to stakeholders to discuss and translate into policies reflecting their institutions unique mandates capacities and circumstances. In other words, these PPA are intended to facilitate making information – based decisions about how to help people get out, and stay out, of poverty.
The Tanzania Participatory Assessment process is being implemented by a multi- sectoral consortium of institutions in two – year cycles timed to feed into the revision of the Governments Poverty Reduction Strategy. Each of these cycles will focus on specific priority information gap. The first cycle began in January 2002 and is taking in depth look at people “vulnerability" to becoming poor or poorer.
As a result of its forward looking approach influencing the Tanzania Participatory Poverty Assessment (TZPPA), quickly began to have an impact in national fora. Some of the best example of positive change set in motion by the TZPPA comes from Ilala District, Dar es Salaam Region. The Municipal Council Economic Planners spent two and a half weeks as par of team conducting participatory research in Mtambani B Ward. Afterwards, the Municipal Management Team assigned responses to issues raised by the study. To date, this has culminated in the:- provision of counseling services to drug users at the district hospital and an appropriate clinic, and formation of new sensitization strategies encouraged equal schooling for girl an boy children. These strategies, unlike those in the past, begin from an understanding of local ideas about gender and education, creation by community members of transparent criteria for extending priority support to especially poor local household.
Status report (2006) show that there is an improvement in different sector. For example overall, the available data sourced from the basic data series of the Ministry of Education and Vocation Training (MoEVT) show positive trends. Net enrolment rats are higher in pre primary, primary and secondary schools, the pupil; teacher ration in primary schools falling; the percentage of pupils passing the primary school leavers Examination is increasing and the percentage of standard seven (vii) pupils going on to secondary school is also raising.
On study done in six district Kilosa, Ilala, Bagamoyo, Mwanza, Moshi and Iringa shows that; In primary education there was immense growth in school enrolment from year 2000 to 2003, enrolment was close to 10% in all six case councils. This case can be attributed to the abolition of school fees in 2001, and to the primary Education Development programme. The pass rate also increased in all case councils, although the majority of grade 7 student were still failing to pass in year 2003. These were some clear signs of progress in the quality of education, measured by indicators such as pupils per classroom, pupils per desk, and pupils per textbook.(Braathen E.&Mwambe G;2003;)
However, the main quality indicators, like pupils per teacher and have a qualified teachers, did not show progress for many of the council. The lack of teacher threatens the sustainability of the reduction reform and tends to widen the gap between advance and backlogging councils.
In basic health services there was significant progress reported from all six council regarding the public situation. The infant mortality rate decreased, and the immunization rate rose to well above 80% in all council. However, problems existed, linked to the health facilities (dispensaries and centres). Although there was progress in accessibility from 2000, around one third of the population in Iringa, Kilosa and Bagamoyo were still without access to health centres in 2003. And despite an improvement in the number of health workers (nurse) and average waiting times for patients at dispensaries, the problem of affordability made the majority of population dissatisfied (more so with health centres than Dispensaries).
The Poverty and Human Development report (2005) provides a similar picture for Tanzania as a whole. There has been a positive reduction of infant mortality from 99 to 68 per 1000 birth and of under five mortality from 147 to 112 per 1000 birth.
In domestic water supply there supply there was no significant progress reported o accessibility, with particular exception of Mwanza. In three districts, around half of the population was not covered by adequate water supply services.
In education the progress report noted the continued impressive expansion of the primary system; enrollments for 2003 again exceed PRS targets. The progress report rightly places increase emphasis on quality; some improvements have been cited, but more needs to be done to improve completion rates. The primary Education Development Program has been successfully implemented, and the Public Expenditure Tracking Study shows that about 95 percent of funds allocated to school were used for the intended purposes.
SUGGESTION
Many efforts have been observed done by the Government of Tanzania to reduce poverty in its people. Among them the Government through PRS has made a difference in Education b:
i. Abolishing fees for primary education and encouraging enrollment of all children who reach the appropriate age for primary school, we expect once they are enrolled, stays at school, study in a positive learning environment, do well in their examination and have an opportunity to continue into secondary Education.
ii. Reduce the infant under five mortality and maternal death by abolishing hospital charges for children’s under five and pregnant women.
iii. Improved source of drinking water in rural areas; many people in the rural areas get clean water for drinking.
There is no policy which hinder people to move / go out of the country with huge amount of money to go there and do business without even the government awareness in such business; This means people can use Tanzania money out side the country and bring home nothing as many Tanzania business people have a little knowledge of making or doing business. For example, a country like South / North Korea do not allow its people to go and invest else where without the ministry responsible for investment acknowledge the transfer of that amount of money and also prove if it is true that there is really such business going on.
But we also have a problem of corruption, if people in the system will be careful enough to make sure people who take loans do they real use them for investing and not doing business; As some people take big loans from banks and use them for spending with their families and for/or with the “Nyumba Ndogos” (meaning having affairs with other women leaving their families suffering).
Sometime they take loans by mortgaging their houses where there family lives; unfortunately when the man die the banks took the houses and live the family without a house to live, leave the family more poor than ever which arises to another problem of children leaving schools and become beggars.
Though the government have been trying hard to conduct seminars on how to do business, more education have to be provided so that they do not use loan for other activities than investing the money into produce activities.
Also the government have been working had to eradicate poverty, their very much concern is on policy making and researches, may be it is because these activities pay then a lot of money; but if you come to implementation.
Though many efforts taken by the Government of Tanzania to improve the standard of living to its people, but some more changes should be consideration in the following areas.
The government should modify the education system to rain agriculture product and introduce handcraft products for example woodwork, hand craft, iron smothery and brick making. The government should also direct powers to rural areas by providing loans.
The government must build capacity of its people. This can be done by providing technology which can be give information’s about different issues. Technology can help people access information’s which can also help to change some people altitude, value and rigid cultures and tradition which persisted for a long time. Through Technology people get exposure different world without even going there people can understand their position and decide to change, as it is very possible that some people do not even know that they are poor, as far as they leave in villages they what they get, they wear toned clothes and don’t even notice that they are almost half faked.
New Technology also has some problem so the government need to aware on that. People may learn things which are not allowed in our African and Tanzania culture.
Poverty is in it self a barrier to equal educational opportunity. A hungry of malnourished child is unlikely to be good at concentrating on school work. The lack of a quite room in which to study at home (and, in area singly a computer) makes homework unattractive and difficult. The government has to formulate strong strategies which can make people improve their agriculture and thus have enough food for their families hence improve their performance in schools.
The opportunity to get fair trial is closed to those who cannot afford high quality legal representation in the absence of a well funded system of legal aid .The government have to practice good governance to reduce corruption.
Social solidarity means a sense of fellow feeling that extent beyond people with whom one is in personal contact, Tanzanian need to have it so that they will be able to help one another..
What they write in books is not seen to be serious. For example, people who live in rural areas depend much on agriculture activities, I think that if a person really want to help them better help them improve the results of their effort. For example the government can make or prepare a way through which different villages will be given tractors in form of loans or whatever so that they improve their productions and also increase the number of hence they take case.
By improving the agriculture section people will not suffer from hunger, and also they can get surplus which will help them to sell and get money which will help them buy other needs pay fees for their children an thus improve their education and standard of living.
In other words we can say that the government should invest much in the rural areas especially in Agriculture by providing education, materials and other related services like water and electricity; put more investment industries in urban area sand small scale industries in rural areas; Bolstering farms by providing the with fair loans from the government, NGO, and other organization; Reduce tax especially in small scale group; Distribute essential services equally such as improving education system and health service Use appropriate technology for example irrigation scheme Increase food production; building people capacity.
The aids which is given by different countries should be handled well and make sure they are used according to the aim of the donors; for example money to fund the HIV/AIDS programs, there are many NGOS which are assigned with huge amount of money, the government has to make sure that the funds reaches the targeted person.
Strong strategies, policies, laws, rules and regulations has to be made to make sure that all revenue that was supposed to collected is collected and used for the benefit of the whole nation not some people
References
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Government printer Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
KNOWLEDGE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This paper is going to discuss about the role of knowledge in the process of eradicating poverty. Starting by the literature review part, the concept will be discussed from the historical back ground and different definition will also be discussed. The second party will discuss about the policy, which will include the policy or Empirical party through which different policies concerning primary school knowledge in Tanzania will be discussed, and lastly the recommendation and suggestion will be given and conclusion.
2.0 Theoretical Literature Review
2.1 Historical background
Few stories better illustrate the potential of knowledge for development, or the obstacles to diffusing that knowledge than that of the green revolution, the decades, long worldwide movement dedicated to the creation and dissemination of new agricultural knowledge. This quest, breading new seeds for enhanced agriculture productivity, was undertaken in the early postwar years by a vast array of agents such as non profit organization, government, multilateral institution, private firms, banks, village moneylenders, land rich farmers and handless labourers all working, deliberately or not, to improve the daily bread (or rice, or maize) of people everywhere.
The early steps in the green revolution mostly involved narrowing knowledge gaps. The first step was to narrow the gap between what scientist already knew about plants genetics and the wide spread ignorance on this score in developing countries, reflected in the unavailability there of new crop strains based on this knowledge. This gap was narrowed largely through the research and development efforts of government and non profit organizations.
After the first modern seed varieties proved successful the early 1960s, many developing countries established national agriculture research organizations as a result, the number of new varieties of rice and maize released by national research organization doubled between 1966 and 1985.
To disseminate this knowledge, developing – country government establishments established agricultural extension services. At first the main job of the extension agents was to inform farmers about the new seeds and techniques. But the best extension agents and the most effective extension services-quickly learned that listening was also important part of the job. By listening to farmers and listening from them, extension agents not only gained a better understand of the farmers, needs and concerns. They also sometimes stumbled upon seed varieties and cultivation techniques that the researchers had missed. This two way flow of information furthered the local adoption and adoption of the green technology.
2.2 Definitions
There is no single definition of knowledge on which scholars agree. It can be defined as information with guidance for action based upon insight and experience. Knowledge can also be the result of learning. It is the internalization of information, data and experience; the awareness and understanding of facts, truth or information gained in the form of experience or learning (a posteriori), or through introspection (a prior). Knowledge is an appreciation of the possession of interconnected details which, in isolation are of lesser value”
Greek philosopher looked at knowledge with different views. The Greek philosophers are in two groups. The classic philosophy and the Hellenistic philosophy. This paper will concentrate more about the classic Greek philosophical views (Socrates, Plato and Aristotle)
Socrates, an Athenian philosopher, believed that person should always try o do well. He believed that one should know “thyself”. Plato and Aristotle the two most influential philosophical dialogues usually Socrates as a participant. Though the early dialogues deal mainly with methods of acquiring knowledge, most the last ones with justice and practical ethics, his most famous works expressed a synoptic view of ethics, metaphysics, reasons, knowledge and human life. Predominant ideas include the notion that knowledge gained through the senses always remains confused and impure, and that the contemplative soul that turns away from the world can acquire “true” knowledge.
John Locke (1986) defined knowledge as the perception of the agreement or disagreement of two ideas. Locke gave the first hint of what knowledge is all about performance.
Davenport and Prusak (1998) defined knowledge as “a fluid mix framed experience contextual information, value and expert insight that provides frame work for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information.
Drucker Peter defined knowledge as information that changes sometimes or somebody either by becoming grounds for actions, or by making an individual (or an institution) capable of different or more effective action”
Knowledge is what is known. Like the related concepts truth, belief and wisdom, (en. Wikipedia.org/wiki/knowledge). It is also the result of learning. Knowledge is the internalization of information, data and experience (home.earthlink.net/~dd stuhlman/definl.htm). It is also defined as the mental capacity for effective performance. Knowledge as defined here can be ascertained by paper – and – pencil testing. The pure unit of measure of knowledge is accurate answer, but in many situation we judge knowledge based on both speed and accuracy (km – experts.com/defs.htm).
According to Oxford English Dictionary knowledge is defined variously as (i) expertise, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education, the theoretical and understanding of a subject, (ii) what is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information or (iii) awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.
Knowledge acquisitions involve complex cognitive process perception, learning, communication, association and reasoning. The term knowledge is also used to mean the confident understanding of a subject with the ability to use it for a specific purpose. Knowledge can be in the form Data, information knowledge and wisdom.
Transfer and exchange of knowledge and innovation through international networking, cooperation and partnership are crucially important. This is needed to promote human and industrial capacity building particularly for developing countries.
Networking and partnership will strengthen the capacity of developing countries to promote growth and address poverty reduction. Partnership can be forged with government agencies, universities and education institutions, international organizations and are governmental organizations around the globe. The use of ICT has made it easier than ever in this international networking, cooperation and Development (Aronson et al).
2.3 Function of knowledge.
Achterberg and Vrient (2002) mentioned two functions of knowledge. First, knowledge serves as a background for the assessment of signals, which in turn allows the performance of actions. And secondly, the role of knowledge in generating appropriate action is that it serves as a background for articulating possible courses of action for judging whether the course of action will yield the intended results and for using this judgment in selecting among them, for deciding how action should be implemented and for actually implementing actions knowledge can help people reduce poverty. By getting different knowledge people will become aware of what they were supposed to do. For example getting information’s about markets of their local products.
Knowledge can be communicated through different ways: the symbolic representation imitation; narrative exchange along with a range of other methods. The acquisition of knowledge involves complex cognitive process; perception, learning, communication association and reasoning.
It is also important to manage knowledge so as to ensure the right in formation is delivered to the right person just in time, in order to take the most appropriate decision. In that sense, knowledge management is not interested in managing knowledge per se, but to relate knowledge and its usage.
It was realized that economies are built not merely through the accumulation of physical capital and human skill, but on a foundation of information, learning and adaptation. Because knowledge matters, understanding how people and societies acquire and use knowledge and why sometimes they fail to do so- is essential to improving peoples lives especially the lives of the poorest.
Knowledge is like LIGHT. Weightless and intangible, it can easily travel the world, enlightening the lives of people everywhere. Yet billions of people still live in the darkness of poverty – unnecessarily. Knowledge about how to treat such a simple ailment as diarrhea has existed for centuries – but millions of children continue to die from it because their parents do not know how to save then.
Poor countries and poor people differ from rich ones not only because they have less capital but because they have less knowledge. Knowledge is often costly to create, and that is why much of it is created in industrial countries, for example the ICT knowledge.
Knowledge also illuminates every economic transaction, revealing preference, giving clarity to exchanges and informing markets. It is lack of knowledge that causes markets to collapse, or never to come into being.
Poor countries differ from rich in having fewer institutions to certify quality, enforce standards and performance, and gather and disseminate information needed for business transactions. Often this hurts the poor.
2.4 Types of knowledge
The world’s development report mentioned two types of knowledge and two types of problems they are critical for development countries.
2.4.1 Knowledge about knowledge.
Typically, developing countries have less of this knowledge than industrial countries have less of this know-how than industrial countries, and the poor have less than the non poor. This is called unequal distributions across and within countries knowledge gaps. Examples are nutrition, birth control, software engineering and accountancy.
2.4.2 Knowledge about attributes
The second type is the knowledge about attributes such as the quality of a product, the diligence of a worker, or the credit worthiness of a firm – all crucial to effective markets.
Approaching development from a knowledge perspective – that is adopting policies to increase both type of knowledge, know how and knowledge about attributes – can improve people’s lives in myriad ways besides higher incomes. Better knowledge about nutrition can mean better health, even for those with little to spend on food. Knowledge about how to prevent the transmission of AIDS can save millions from debilitating illness and pre mature death. Public discloser of information about industrial pollution can lead to a cleaner and more healthful environment. And micro credit programs can make it possible for poor people to invest in a better future for themselves and their children. In short, knowledge gives people greater control over their destinies.
2.5 Narrowing knowledge gap.
There are three critical steps that developing countries must take to narrow the knowledge gaps.
2.5.1 Tapping and adapting
The first is Acquiring knowledge involves tapping and adapting knowledge available else where in the world – for example, through an open trading regime, foreign investment and licensing agreement as well as creating knowledge locally through research and development and building on indigenous knowledge.
2.5.2 Absorbing
The second is by absorbing knowledge which involves for – example, ensuring universal basic education, with special emphasis on extending education to girls and other traditionally disadvantaged groups; creating opportunities for life long learning; and supporting tertiary education, especially in science and engineering.
2.5.3 Communicating
Third step is communicating knowledge involves taking advantage of new information and communications technology through increased competition, private sector provision, and appropriate and ensuring that poor have access.
Just as knowledge gaps exists between developing and industrial contrails, so too are there large gaps within countries. Strategies for closing these gaps often include the same elements and applying them effectively will go a long way toward reducing inequality and eliminating poverty.
But even if knowledge gaps could be closed entire with everyone in developing countries would still be at a disadvantage in another respect; knowledge about attributes. Because knowledge about attributes is required for every transaction it must be generated on the spot and constantly refreshed. This required a variety of market and non market mechanisms to collect and disseminate information, many of which are weak or lacking in development countries.
2.5.4 Addressing Information problems.
Without knowledge about attributes, markets cannot function properly. When the government steps in and addresses the problem, for example by establishing standards and certification, the markets function better and everybody benefits (World bank report 1999)
Institution, broadly defined to include government’s private organization, laws and social norms, contribute to establishing recognized standards and enforcing contracts, thus making possible transactions that would other wise not occur. Rich countries have more – diverse and more effective institutions to address information problem than do poor countries. These institution make it possible for people to engage in economic transaction that improve their lives from buying product, finding jobs, getting education and obtaining loan. Information problems are often at the core of the difficulties that poor in developing countries encounter in their struggle to survive and to improve their lives.
This stems from the fact that developing countries have fewer institutions to ameliorate information problems and the institutions they do have are weaker than the counter part institution industrial countries. This institutional deficiencies mean that market often wither than thrive, because people lack the incentive to enter into the transactions fundamental to rapid, equitable and sustainable growth. When the institutions become weak, the poor are the one who often get hurt.
The failure arises from the difficult of verifying quality meaning knowledge about the attributes of goods or service;- the durability of a product and the productivity or a worker; and the second is the difficulty of enforcing performance and the need to find mechanisms to monitor transactions. Many transaction involve promises; a borrower promises to repay a loan, an employee to work hard. If such transactions are to occur and recur – as they must for an economy to function, these promises must be kept.
Lastly, is the difficulties on the policy support for institutional development.
Government can play an important role in developing institutions to address quality verification and enforcement problems. It can establish and enforce standards such as uniform weights and measures, disclosure rules, and credentialing systems. It can use law to facilitate credible commitments, for example by creating penalties for fraud. It can reform show and corrupt court. It can support land titling and registration programms.
3.0 POLICY REVIEW.
The 1990 Jomtien “World Conference on Education For All’ was in identifying internationally agreed targets for the provision of education as a basic human right. Tanzania also is party to the 2000 Dakar Frame Work for action, an international reviews of education progress made since Jomtien, and has joined the many nations which have ratified the United Nations Convention on the right of the child.
3.1 Education and Training Policy.
The government desire to improve the provision and quality of education resulted in the formation of Education and Training Policy (ETP) in 1995. The ETP encompasses the entire education and training sector. Major objectives of this policy are to achieve increased enrolments, equitable access, quality and improvement, the expansion and optimum utilization of facilities and operational efficiency through the system.
3.2 Education sector development programme.
Following the ETP, a sector wide approach to education development was initiated to help achieve the governments long term human development and poverty eradication strategy, and to readdress the problem of fragmented interventions. The essence of the sector – wide approach adopted in the Education Sector Development Programme (ESDP) is collaboration by key stakeholders, using pooled human, financial and material resources for the tasks, of planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating educations. This approach establishes new relationships which promote partnership, co-operation and ownership amongst all groups of people with a vested interest in education.
The ESDP is an extensive undertaking which derives its objectives from the ETP. Those which are relevant to the primary education sub-sector include comprehensive efforts to improve the quality of the education process, increases and improvements in access and equity for all children, the decentralization of management structures, the devolution of authority to local levels and a broadening of the financial base which supports the education system.
This plan for education has drawn on the master plans for basic education and teacher education Master plans for basic education and teacher educations Master plans for secondary education and higher education are in the process of being developed.
3.3 Tanzania Development Vision 2025
The Tanzania Development vision 2025 envisage the total elimination of poverty by 2025 and thus accords high priority to the education sector which is considered pivotal in bringing about social and economic transformation. It is expressly stated in the vision 2025 document that “Education should be treated as a strategic agent for mindset transformation and creation of a well educated nation sufficiently equipped with the knowledge needed to competently and competitively solve the development challenges which face the nation. In this light, the education system should be restructured and transformed qualitatively with a focus on promoting creativity and problem solving.
3.4 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
The poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) is a medium term strategy, set in the High Indebted Poor Countries (HIP) debt relief context and developed through broad consultation. It focuses effort on (i) reducing income poverty (ii) improving human capabilities, survival and social well being and (iii) containing extreme vulnerability among the poor.
Education enables people to use their capabilities and to increase their earning potential. It also empowers individuals to participate in the transformation of their own lives and of society at large. A lack of basic education undermines efforts to improve health and nutrition, reduce infant and child maternal mortality, and to address the causes and impact of HIV/AIDS. Considering the enormous potential of a well – educated nation in achieving economic and social well-being the attainment of universal primary education (UPE) was the priority target. The PRSP re-emphasizes that education is at the heart of development and has clearly prioritized education sector development in the effort to alleviate poverty.
3.5 The Education sector development programme.
The highest priority for primary education is to increase overall gross and net enrolment of girls and boys. This highest priority for primary education is to increase overall gross and net enrolment of girls and boys. This will be done through a combination of strategies: (a) to increase enrolment rates of all groups of children (b) to use existing teachers and classrooms more effectively; (c) to recruit new teachers and to construct new classroom; and (d) to expand complementary education programmes for out-of-school children and youth.
The second primary education policy is to revitalize and improve the quality of primary education, focusing on three main components: (a) improving teachers teaching style and methods in the classroom (b) ensuring the availability of good quality learning and teaching materials, and (c) ensuring the necessary support for maintaining educational standards. The aim is improve the overall achievement of both male and female pupils in the primary education system.
According to the Poverty and human development Report, it has been reported that there has been considerable progress in Tanzania primary education, in particular in enrolments rates, following the implementation of the primary Education Development Plan (PEDP) in 2000. This five years plan to achieve universal basic seven-year education by 2006, nine years ahead of the MDG target, government abolished school fees in primary schools. Children are entering school at an earlier age and there is an increase in the proportional to children going to school. Gross enrolment ratios went up from 78 to 106* in 2000 (* means these children included number of children outside the age range that is 7-13 years enrolled to primary school education).
There has been an increase for pupils gross and net enrolment increase from 10 to 12 percent, and from 6 to 8 from 2002 – 2004 respectively.
Many primary schools have been built under MEM program. People or communities are included in making follow up on how the funds are used.
4.0 SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The government should formulate a national strategy to narrow knowledge gaps which will focus on three issues; what policies enhance a country learning capacities an what policies improve the effectiveness of communications and reduce cost.
4.1 Increase peoples capabilities to absorb knowledge.
An effective strategy to narrow knowledge gap must include measure to increase people’s capacity to use knowledge. Ensuring universal access to basic education is the crucial first step, but it is not enough. Countries must also ensure that they have enough highly trained personnel, including engineers and scientist. This requires strong secondary schools and universities especially for engineers and science.
4.2 Build the capacity for people to communicate.
Ensure competition and appropriate regulation to unleash private initiative to provide communication infrastructure and services and expand the use of new technology.
Ensure that the service are extended to remote areas and the poor, by moving away from traditional cross subsidy schemes, and working instead in partnership with the private sector or end users to determine the required government support.
The government of Tanzania should put more effort to make sure that more people acquire more knowledge by providing more information to people so that become aware of what is going on.
People must change, instead of putting their efforts to weddings ceremonies, they have to invest much in education because it is the only place where people gain more knowledge. By acquiring more knowledge people will understand different information given to them, whether it is a technique to do things or it is a means to reduce disease or in any way to improve their quality of life, and thus reduce poverty. By gaining more knowledge people become producers than consumers, producers who easily be accepted in the markets and thus win the competitive advantage.
REFFERENCES.
Aronson, Wilson and Akert, (social psychology, prentice Hall. USA.
. 2. Education Sector Development Programme, Primary Education Development
Plan 2002 – 2006, by Basic Education Development Committed (BEDC) July
2001.
3. http:/www.nwlink.com/~Donclack/knowledge.html
4. http:/en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek-pholosophy
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/knowledge_management
6. Oyeyinka Banji Oyelaran (2006), learning to compete in Africa
Industry, Institutions and Technology in Development, ASHAGATE, England.
8. Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (2000)
9. Poverty and Human Development Report (2005) Mkuki na Nyota Publishers,
Tanzania.
10. servicedesk.unimelb.edu.au.knowledgebase/itservices/a-z/k.html
11. Tanzania Development Vision 2002 Document
12. World Development Report on Knowledge for Development (1998/99)
The World Bank, USA.
13 www.calvarysbd.com/terms.htm.
This paper is going to discuss about the role of knowledge in the process of eradicating poverty. Starting by the literature review part, the concept will be discussed from the historical back ground and different definition will also be discussed. The second party will discuss about the policy, which will include the policy or Empirical party through which different policies concerning primary school knowledge in Tanzania will be discussed, and lastly the recommendation and suggestion will be given and conclusion.
2.0 Theoretical Literature Review
2.1 Historical background
Few stories better illustrate the potential of knowledge for development, or the obstacles to diffusing that knowledge than that of the green revolution, the decades, long worldwide movement dedicated to the creation and dissemination of new agricultural knowledge. This quest, breading new seeds for enhanced agriculture productivity, was undertaken in the early postwar years by a vast array of agents such as non profit organization, government, multilateral institution, private firms, banks, village moneylenders, land rich farmers and handless labourers all working, deliberately or not, to improve the daily bread (or rice, or maize) of people everywhere.
The early steps in the green revolution mostly involved narrowing knowledge gaps. The first step was to narrow the gap between what scientist already knew about plants genetics and the wide spread ignorance on this score in developing countries, reflected in the unavailability there of new crop strains based on this knowledge. This gap was narrowed largely through the research and development efforts of government and non profit organizations.
After the first modern seed varieties proved successful the early 1960s, many developing countries established national agriculture research organizations as a result, the number of new varieties of rice and maize released by national research organization doubled between 1966 and 1985.
To disseminate this knowledge, developing – country government establishments established agricultural extension services. At first the main job of the extension agents was to inform farmers about the new seeds and techniques. But the best extension agents and the most effective extension services-quickly learned that listening was also important part of the job. By listening to farmers and listening from them, extension agents not only gained a better understand of the farmers, needs and concerns. They also sometimes stumbled upon seed varieties and cultivation techniques that the researchers had missed. This two way flow of information furthered the local adoption and adoption of the green technology.
2.2 Definitions
There is no single definition of knowledge on which scholars agree. It can be defined as information with guidance for action based upon insight and experience. Knowledge can also be the result of learning. It is the internalization of information, data and experience; the awareness and understanding of facts, truth or information gained in the form of experience or learning (a posteriori), or through introspection (a prior). Knowledge is an appreciation of the possession of interconnected details which, in isolation are of lesser value”
Greek philosopher looked at knowledge with different views. The Greek philosophers are in two groups. The classic philosophy and the Hellenistic philosophy. This paper will concentrate more about the classic Greek philosophical views (Socrates, Plato and Aristotle)
Socrates, an Athenian philosopher, believed that person should always try o do well. He believed that one should know “thyself”. Plato and Aristotle the two most influential philosophical dialogues usually Socrates as a participant. Though the early dialogues deal mainly with methods of acquiring knowledge, most the last ones with justice and practical ethics, his most famous works expressed a synoptic view of ethics, metaphysics, reasons, knowledge and human life. Predominant ideas include the notion that knowledge gained through the senses always remains confused and impure, and that the contemplative soul that turns away from the world can acquire “true” knowledge.
John Locke (1986) defined knowledge as the perception of the agreement or disagreement of two ideas. Locke gave the first hint of what knowledge is all about performance.
Davenport and Prusak (1998) defined knowledge as “a fluid mix framed experience contextual information, value and expert insight that provides frame work for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information.
Drucker Peter defined knowledge as information that changes sometimes or somebody either by becoming grounds for actions, or by making an individual (or an institution) capable of different or more effective action”
Knowledge is what is known. Like the related concepts truth, belief and wisdom, (en. Wikipedia.org/wiki/knowledge). It is also the result of learning. Knowledge is the internalization of information, data and experience (home.earthlink.net/~dd stuhlman/definl.htm). It is also defined as the mental capacity for effective performance. Knowledge as defined here can be ascertained by paper – and – pencil testing. The pure unit of measure of knowledge is accurate answer, but in many situation we judge knowledge based on both speed and accuracy (km – experts.com/defs.htm).
According to Oxford English Dictionary knowledge is defined variously as (i) expertise, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education, the theoretical and understanding of a subject, (ii) what is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information or (iii) awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.
Knowledge acquisitions involve complex cognitive process perception, learning, communication, association and reasoning. The term knowledge is also used to mean the confident understanding of a subject with the ability to use it for a specific purpose. Knowledge can be in the form Data, information knowledge and wisdom.
Transfer and exchange of knowledge and innovation through international networking, cooperation and partnership are crucially important. This is needed to promote human and industrial capacity building particularly for developing countries.
Networking and partnership will strengthen the capacity of developing countries to promote growth and address poverty reduction. Partnership can be forged with government agencies, universities and education institutions, international organizations and are governmental organizations around the globe. The use of ICT has made it easier than ever in this international networking, cooperation and Development (Aronson et al).
2.3 Function of knowledge.
Achterberg and Vrient (2002) mentioned two functions of knowledge. First, knowledge serves as a background for the assessment of signals, which in turn allows the performance of actions. And secondly, the role of knowledge in generating appropriate action is that it serves as a background for articulating possible courses of action for judging whether the course of action will yield the intended results and for using this judgment in selecting among them, for deciding how action should be implemented and for actually implementing actions knowledge can help people reduce poverty. By getting different knowledge people will become aware of what they were supposed to do. For example getting information’s about markets of their local products.
Knowledge can be communicated through different ways: the symbolic representation imitation; narrative exchange along with a range of other methods. The acquisition of knowledge involves complex cognitive process; perception, learning, communication association and reasoning.
It is also important to manage knowledge so as to ensure the right in formation is delivered to the right person just in time, in order to take the most appropriate decision. In that sense, knowledge management is not interested in managing knowledge per se, but to relate knowledge and its usage.
It was realized that economies are built not merely through the accumulation of physical capital and human skill, but on a foundation of information, learning and adaptation. Because knowledge matters, understanding how people and societies acquire and use knowledge and why sometimes they fail to do so- is essential to improving peoples lives especially the lives of the poorest.
Knowledge is like LIGHT. Weightless and intangible, it can easily travel the world, enlightening the lives of people everywhere. Yet billions of people still live in the darkness of poverty – unnecessarily. Knowledge about how to treat such a simple ailment as diarrhea has existed for centuries – but millions of children continue to die from it because their parents do not know how to save then.
Poor countries and poor people differ from rich ones not only because they have less capital but because they have less knowledge. Knowledge is often costly to create, and that is why much of it is created in industrial countries, for example the ICT knowledge.
Knowledge also illuminates every economic transaction, revealing preference, giving clarity to exchanges and informing markets. It is lack of knowledge that causes markets to collapse, or never to come into being.
Poor countries differ from rich in having fewer institutions to certify quality, enforce standards and performance, and gather and disseminate information needed for business transactions. Often this hurts the poor.
2.4 Types of knowledge
The world’s development report mentioned two types of knowledge and two types of problems they are critical for development countries.
2.4.1 Knowledge about knowledge.
Typically, developing countries have less of this knowledge than industrial countries have less of this know-how than industrial countries, and the poor have less than the non poor. This is called unequal distributions across and within countries knowledge gaps. Examples are nutrition, birth control, software engineering and accountancy.
2.4.2 Knowledge about attributes
The second type is the knowledge about attributes such as the quality of a product, the diligence of a worker, or the credit worthiness of a firm – all crucial to effective markets.
Approaching development from a knowledge perspective – that is adopting policies to increase both type of knowledge, know how and knowledge about attributes – can improve people’s lives in myriad ways besides higher incomes. Better knowledge about nutrition can mean better health, even for those with little to spend on food. Knowledge about how to prevent the transmission of AIDS can save millions from debilitating illness and pre mature death. Public discloser of information about industrial pollution can lead to a cleaner and more healthful environment. And micro credit programs can make it possible for poor people to invest in a better future for themselves and their children. In short, knowledge gives people greater control over their destinies.
2.5 Narrowing knowledge gap.
There are three critical steps that developing countries must take to narrow the knowledge gaps.
2.5.1 Tapping and adapting
The first is Acquiring knowledge involves tapping and adapting knowledge available else where in the world – for example, through an open trading regime, foreign investment and licensing agreement as well as creating knowledge locally through research and development and building on indigenous knowledge.
2.5.2 Absorbing
The second is by absorbing knowledge which involves for – example, ensuring universal basic education, with special emphasis on extending education to girls and other traditionally disadvantaged groups; creating opportunities for life long learning; and supporting tertiary education, especially in science and engineering.
2.5.3 Communicating
Third step is communicating knowledge involves taking advantage of new information and communications technology through increased competition, private sector provision, and appropriate and ensuring that poor have access.
Just as knowledge gaps exists between developing and industrial contrails, so too are there large gaps within countries. Strategies for closing these gaps often include the same elements and applying them effectively will go a long way toward reducing inequality and eliminating poverty.
But even if knowledge gaps could be closed entire with everyone in developing countries would still be at a disadvantage in another respect; knowledge about attributes. Because knowledge about attributes is required for every transaction it must be generated on the spot and constantly refreshed. This required a variety of market and non market mechanisms to collect and disseminate information, many of which are weak or lacking in development countries.
2.5.4 Addressing Information problems.
Without knowledge about attributes, markets cannot function properly. When the government steps in and addresses the problem, for example by establishing standards and certification, the markets function better and everybody benefits (World bank report 1999)
Institution, broadly defined to include government’s private organization, laws and social norms, contribute to establishing recognized standards and enforcing contracts, thus making possible transactions that would other wise not occur. Rich countries have more – diverse and more effective institutions to address information problem than do poor countries. These institution make it possible for people to engage in economic transaction that improve their lives from buying product, finding jobs, getting education and obtaining loan. Information problems are often at the core of the difficulties that poor in developing countries encounter in their struggle to survive and to improve their lives.
This stems from the fact that developing countries have fewer institutions to ameliorate information problems and the institutions they do have are weaker than the counter part institution industrial countries. This institutional deficiencies mean that market often wither than thrive, because people lack the incentive to enter into the transactions fundamental to rapid, equitable and sustainable growth. When the institutions become weak, the poor are the one who often get hurt.
The failure arises from the difficult of verifying quality meaning knowledge about the attributes of goods or service;- the durability of a product and the productivity or a worker; and the second is the difficulty of enforcing performance and the need to find mechanisms to monitor transactions. Many transaction involve promises; a borrower promises to repay a loan, an employee to work hard. If such transactions are to occur and recur – as they must for an economy to function, these promises must be kept.
Lastly, is the difficulties on the policy support for institutional development.
Government can play an important role in developing institutions to address quality verification and enforcement problems. It can establish and enforce standards such as uniform weights and measures, disclosure rules, and credentialing systems. It can use law to facilitate credible commitments, for example by creating penalties for fraud. It can reform show and corrupt court. It can support land titling and registration programms.
3.0 POLICY REVIEW.
The 1990 Jomtien “World Conference on Education For All’ was in identifying internationally agreed targets for the provision of education as a basic human right. Tanzania also is party to the 2000 Dakar Frame Work for action, an international reviews of education progress made since Jomtien, and has joined the many nations which have ratified the United Nations Convention on the right of the child.
3.1 Education and Training Policy.
The government desire to improve the provision and quality of education resulted in the formation of Education and Training Policy (ETP) in 1995. The ETP encompasses the entire education and training sector. Major objectives of this policy are to achieve increased enrolments, equitable access, quality and improvement, the expansion and optimum utilization of facilities and operational efficiency through the system.
3.2 Education sector development programme.
Following the ETP, a sector wide approach to education development was initiated to help achieve the governments long term human development and poverty eradication strategy, and to readdress the problem of fragmented interventions. The essence of the sector – wide approach adopted in the Education Sector Development Programme (ESDP) is collaboration by key stakeholders, using pooled human, financial and material resources for the tasks, of planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating educations. This approach establishes new relationships which promote partnership, co-operation and ownership amongst all groups of people with a vested interest in education.
The ESDP is an extensive undertaking which derives its objectives from the ETP. Those which are relevant to the primary education sub-sector include comprehensive efforts to improve the quality of the education process, increases and improvements in access and equity for all children, the decentralization of management structures, the devolution of authority to local levels and a broadening of the financial base which supports the education system.
This plan for education has drawn on the master plans for basic education and teacher education Master plans for basic education and teacher educations Master plans for secondary education and higher education are in the process of being developed.
3.3 Tanzania Development Vision 2025
The Tanzania Development vision 2025 envisage the total elimination of poverty by 2025 and thus accords high priority to the education sector which is considered pivotal in bringing about social and economic transformation. It is expressly stated in the vision 2025 document that “Education should be treated as a strategic agent for mindset transformation and creation of a well educated nation sufficiently equipped with the knowledge needed to competently and competitively solve the development challenges which face the nation. In this light, the education system should be restructured and transformed qualitatively with a focus on promoting creativity and problem solving.
3.4 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
The poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) is a medium term strategy, set in the High Indebted Poor Countries (HIP) debt relief context and developed through broad consultation. It focuses effort on (i) reducing income poverty (ii) improving human capabilities, survival and social well being and (iii) containing extreme vulnerability among the poor.
Education enables people to use their capabilities and to increase their earning potential. It also empowers individuals to participate in the transformation of their own lives and of society at large. A lack of basic education undermines efforts to improve health and nutrition, reduce infant and child maternal mortality, and to address the causes and impact of HIV/AIDS. Considering the enormous potential of a well – educated nation in achieving economic and social well-being the attainment of universal primary education (UPE) was the priority target. The PRSP re-emphasizes that education is at the heart of development and has clearly prioritized education sector development in the effort to alleviate poverty.
3.5 The Education sector development programme.
The highest priority for primary education is to increase overall gross and net enrolment of girls and boys. This highest priority for primary education is to increase overall gross and net enrolment of girls and boys. This will be done through a combination of strategies: (a) to increase enrolment rates of all groups of children (b) to use existing teachers and classrooms more effectively; (c) to recruit new teachers and to construct new classroom; and (d) to expand complementary education programmes for out-of-school children and youth.
The second primary education policy is to revitalize and improve the quality of primary education, focusing on three main components: (a) improving teachers teaching style and methods in the classroom (b) ensuring the availability of good quality learning and teaching materials, and (c) ensuring the necessary support for maintaining educational standards. The aim is improve the overall achievement of both male and female pupils in the primary education system.
According to the Poverty and human development Report, it has been reported that there has been considerable progress in Tanzania primary education, in particular in enrolments rates, following the implementation of the primary Education Development Plan (PEDP) in 2000. This five years plan to achieve universal basic seven-year education by 2006, nine years ahead of the MDG target, government abolished school fees in primary schools. Children are entering school at an earlier age and there is an increase in the proportional to children going to school. Gross enrolment ratios went up from 78 to 106* in 2000 (* means these children included number of children outside the age range that is 7-13 years enrolled to primary school education).
There has been an increase for pupils gross and net enrolment increase from 10 to 12 percent, and from 6 to 8 from 2002 – 2004 respectively.
Many primary schools have been built under MEM program. People or communities are included in making follow up on how the funds are used.
4.0 SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The government should formulate a national strategy to narrow knowledge gaps which will focus on three issues; what policies enhance a country learning capacities an what policies improve the effectiveness of communications and reduce cost.
4.1 Increase peoples capabilities to absorb knowledge.
An effective strategy to narrow knowledge gap must include measure to increase people’s capacity to use knowledge. Ensuring universal access to basic education is the crucial first step, but it is not enough. Countries must also ensure that they have enough highly trained personnel, including engineers and scientist. This requires strong secondary schools and universities especially for engineers and science.
4.2 Build the capacity for people to communicate.
Ensure competition and appropriate regulation to unleash private initiative to provide communication infrastructure and services and expand the use of new technology.
Ensure that the service are extended to remote areas and the poor, by moving away from traditional cross subsidy schemes, and working instead in partnership with the private sector or end users to determine the required government support.
The government of Tanzania should put more effort to make sure that more people acquire more knowledge by providing more information to people so that become aware of what is going on.
People must change, instead of putting their efforts to weddings ceremonies, they have to invest much in education because it is the only place where people gain more knowledge. By acquiring more knowledge people will understand different information given to them, whether it is a technique to do things or it is a means to reduce disease or in any way to improve their quality of life, and thus reduce poverty. By gaining more knowledge people become producers than consumers, producers who easily be accepted in the markets and thus win the competitive advantage.
REFFERENCES.
Aronson, Wilson and Akert, (social psychology, prentice Hall. USA.
. 2. Education Sector Development Programme, Primary Education Development
Plan 2002 – 2006, by Basic Education Development Committed (BEDC) July
2001.
3. http:/www.nwlink.com/~Donclack/knowledge.html
4. http:/en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek-pholosophy
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/knowledge_management
6. Oyeyinka Banji Oyelaran (2006), learning to compete in Africa
Industry, Institutions and Technology in Development, ASHAGATE, England.
8. Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (2000)
9. Poverty and Human Development Report (2005) Mkuki na Nyota Publishers,
Tanzania.
10. servicedesk.unimelb.edu.au.knowledgebase/itservices/a-z/k.html
11. Tanzania Development Vision 2002 Document
12. World Development Report on Knowledge for Development (1998/99)
The World Bank, USA.
13 www.calvarysbd.com/terms.htm.
HOUSING AND LAND USE IN TANZANIA
AFFORDABLE SHELTER FOR POOR URBAN
INTRODUCTION
This paper is going to discuss about issues concerning affordable shelter. The paper will consist four parts; the introduction part which include the historical background, the policy review part, the empirical review part and the conclusion.
More than one billion of the world’s city residents live in inadequate housing, mostly in the sparkling slum and squatter settlements in developing countries. Such areas are regarded as one of the most visible expressions of human poverty. The lack of adequate housing is the pressing problems of the 21st century, and the cost of providing adequate shelter for all is immense. Yet the cost of doing nothing may be even greater, for the new urban slums are potential breeding places for social and political unrest. The global data on housing adequacy is rather limited, however, and what is considered adequate in one part of the world-or at one point of time may not regarded so elsewhere.
The global housing stock in cities amount from 700 to 720 million units of all types. It is estimated that 20 to 40 million urban households are homeless. Some developing countries achieved an improvement in urban housing conditions, though many were unable to cope even with current needs. The situation may become even worse, as households sizes decrease in most countries, and the number of households groups considerably faster than urban populations. In the cities of developing countries, housing delivery systems need to cope with an annual additional demand of some 18 million units, amounting to an annual increase in housing stock of nearly 5 percent.
Formal construction in the cities of developing countries principally serves moderate to upper income groups; leaving lower income populations to address their housing needs through informal means. Wide spread unauthorized housing disregards building regulations.
POLICY REVIEW
There are number of policies and pieces of legislation that relate to and affect unplanned/informal settlements. A critical land policy is the 1995 National Land Policy which effectively prohibited the removal of informal settlement and committed the government to upgrading them instead. The local government urban councils act of 1982 and subsequent legislation effectively restored local government as an institution, restoring to it the responsibility for service provision.
The government’s ongoing urban sector policy reform is designed to create an institutional environment more conducive to the sustainable development and delivery of urban infrastructure and services. Through the world supported Urban Sector Engineering Project(USRP) began in 1995 contained the governments letter of sector policy that addressed land management and human settlement development issues, the role of the private sector and community participation. The government have recognized the importance of the urban sector in national social economic development and conducted a human settlements review and prepared a strategy which aims at “creating sustainable development in urban centers for improving living conditions in informal settlements, alleviating poverty, stimulating economic growth and employment and improving the urban environment”.
In order to guide the implementation of the strategy, the government prepared a national Program Document consisting of the following four closely interrelated elements:
· Improve the capacity of the public sector institutions to implement the sustainable human settlements program through human resources development.
· Improve the management of urban land, access to affordable urban services, and the living environment.
· Improve the quality and increase the quantity of affordable shelter
· Stimulate economic growth and employment
In order to implement the program the government sought assistance from, among others, the World Bank, The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS) through the USEP and SDP respectively.
The USEP redefined the roles of the central and city governments and established the basis and financial management within the city. The consultation process in the SDP identified upgrading unserviced settlements as the second most pressing priority issue to be addressed by the project. In an attempt to build upon these initiatives, and to coordinate strengthen such intervention, all interested stakeholders adopted a two Point Strategy of Action. This was:
I. To encourage community groups to form associations and define their priority needs; mobilize local human and financial resources; seek technical advice and decide on affordable levels and standards of service provision; participate in infrastructure construction and accept management responsibilities for operations and maintenance.
II. To encourage city and central government departments to provide the institutional framework to respond to such community participation. This should include the provision of technical and professional staff to design and supervise infrastructure construction, coordinate and fund trunk infrastructure provision, and facilitate equitable cost recovery mechanisms.
As per Human Settlement Policy in Tanzania, became of the absence of formal affordable housing, the majority of the urban population has resolved to accommodate themselves in overcrowded and substandard dwellings.
Urban housing problems in Tanzania appear to be two folds: -
a) Inadequate housing stock in most urban areas
b) Poor housing conditions in rural areas.
AFFORDABLE SHELTER IN TANZANIA
Tanzania is a large country with an area of approximately 945,100 sq. km. and a population of approximately 31 million. Population density is thus approximately 32 persons per square kilometer. It is among the developing countries with GDP per capital of approximately US$220(1997).
Of the total population, 25 percent live in urban areas but the urban population is growing rapidly at over 6 percent per annum, around twice the national rate of population growth. The country is divided into 20 regions for political and administrative reasons. There are ten major towns with populations of 150,000 with the major city and port, Dar es salaam, having a population of approximately three million.
Despite government emphasis in the past on improving living conditions in the rural areas, rapid urbanization has continued. Investment in the public and private sector have not kept pace with population growth in urban areas Low level of urban management capacity and inappropriate institutional arrangements have hampered the development of the urban sector. Demand for infrastructure and urban services have not been met, worsening the nature and incidence of urban poverty, as well as constraining national economic growth and productivity.
Tanzania’s rural to urban migration is the result of the decline of the international primary commodity prices (mainly from coffee and sisal) in the 1970 1980’s and other disincentives to national farmers that helped push rural producers to the town in the search of employment. Potential income streams, education and other subsidized or free public goods and services led many rural dwellers to Tanzanian largest city, Dar es salaam, and other secondary cities.
In Tanzania, increasing levels of poverty, population growth and the lack of sustainable housing policy mean that urban growth is often absorbed into informal settlements. These areas are characterized by a lack of basic infrastructure and the ever increasing poverty of their resident’s mean that many do not have the ability to pay for the services. Many urban residents cannot afford housing, and authorities themselves have few resources with which to improve or maintain infrastructure and services. Consequently the housing , health and environmental conditions in the growing informal settlements of Tanzanian’s cities are extremely poor.
Dar es salaam is growing at the rate of approximately eight percent per annum and suffers most from these endemic problems. With 70 percent of the urban population accommodated in informal housing, the ability of the city government to cope with timely delivery of infrastructure services is severely constrained. Informal settlements continue to expand and it have been estimated that 50 percent of informal settlement population lives on an average income of about US$1 per day, well below the poverty line.
In the 1960’s, the approach to dealing with the growth of informal settlements in Tanzania, and in particular Dar es salaam, was the common approach of slum clearance. The objective of slum clearance was to rid the city of the eyesores of squatter housing. To improve housing for the poor the government implemented its slum clearance and redevelopment policy by developing high standard building on the cleared sites. The policy was implemented through the National Housing Cooperation but proved unsustainable. By the end of the 1960’s, it was abandoned due to high economic and social costs. The net addition to the housing stock was negligible.
In 1972 the government adopted a softer approach to dealing with squatters. Through until the late 1980’s sites and services and squatter upgrading projects formed the national strategy for managing the growth of unplanned, informal settlements. The world Bank initially supported these projects, which aimed to provide basic infrastructure and services, together with community facilities.
The world Bank ceased support after its second project because of poor performance. After withdrawal of the World Bank, the Government alone could not finance additional projects and subsequently there were only isolated projects in Dar es salaam with negligible improvements in unplanned settlements. The decade of 1980-1990 was characterized by expansion, consolidation and emergency of new unplanned settlements at the same time as the infrastructure installed under the early projects began to deteriorate due to lack of maintenance.
MAIN ISSUES
The problem in many developing and even in some developed countries is not that housing is too expensive but that incomes are too low. It is clear that an efficient housing finance system is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the development of sustainable urban shelter and that improving the access of poor households to adequate shelter has two further requirements; reducing housing production and delivery costs and increasing income levels. The focus of attention should therefore be on both the costs of housing and the level of payment received by workers. This demand side focus is in line with current trends in subsidies and concentrates attention on the systemic problem of poverty, which is the underlying source of poor shelter conditions.
In processing housing loans, lenders should take into account future income generated, directly and indirectly, from house improvement. There is a well documented link between finance for income generation and improvements in housing. Many home owners operate one or more home-based enterprises from the structure on which they housing finance. The same goes for rental income.
The cost of urban housing can be reduced by the adoption of more appropriate standards. In many countries, the cost of urban housing is increased significantly by high standards to which it must comply. The introducing of lower standards that are more appropriate to the local context could potentially make housing more affordable to a far greater proportion of the urban population. Lower standards would still, however, have to safeguard the heath and safety of the occupants and protects the public interest.
Most national shelter, some of them supported by official development assistance, are based on the provision of independently serviced, single house hold dwellings, owned by their occupants. However, this is by no means the main form of occupation by households living in poverty. Instead, large numbers of households live in buildings occupied by many house holds.
Small scale landlords in informal settlements are a major source of affordable housing for a growing majority of households living in poverty in the towns and cities of developing countries, but there are few initiatives to assist them. It is imperative, therefore, to understand how best to assist the informal rental sector within informal settlement and slum upgrading programmes, and at the same time preserve affordability so as to preclude gentrification.
Finance to provide health liquidity among small scale contractors and single artisans is an essential prerequisite to effective housing supply to scale. In the spirit of the Habitat Agenda, and if the current massive housing backlog is to be cleared at all, it is vital that all actors in the housing process are involved in the role in which they are most efficient. The most important supplier dwellings for urban low-income communities, and their ancillary services, are the millions of small scale building contractors, the single artisans or small groups of skilled people and the labourers who service their needs.
It is also important that developing countries maintain as much of the investment and savings arising from local economic activities within their borders, or benefit from net inflows from investments overseas.
Shelter Microfinance
The majority of urban poor households can only afford to build incrementally in stages as financial resources become available. It is therefore imperative that national and international institutions recognize that low-income people build incrementally and provide microfinance suitable for that process. This may also call for reform of building regulations that often do not allow incremental for formally recognized dwellings.
Community base shelter funds
Another significant trend in the last decade has been increasing interest in the shelter community funds group loans. Community-based financing of housing and services has been used for both settlement upgrading and for building on green field sites and in a context where small loans are evidently successful and where there is an increase in poverty; it has many advantages for low-income and otherwise disempowered households.
Different studies show that there is an increase in population in cities like Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Arusha, and this results or causes a big gap between the demand and supplied.
Conclusively, Housing is part of macro economy of Tanzania. By increasing housing quantity and sustainable good environment from community levels we invest more in expanding tax base and increase the tax revenue of the country.
Increasing housing quantity and sustainable environment will generate employment in communities. By creating employment many people will generate income, serve more and finally improve their living standards.
Communities are going to accelerate economic performance since these houses can be used as mortgage to increase their wealth. That is one way of reducing poverty.
REFFERENCES
1. United Nations Human Settlements Programme, Financing Urban Shelter (2005); A global Report on Human Settlement, EARTHSCAN London.
2. National Human Settlements Development Policy, Te United Republic of Tanzania.
3. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, PROVISION OF MORE RESOURCES FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTS HIGHLIGHTED AT HABITAT II(1996); Also available at http://www.un.org/Conferences/habitateng-pres/3/habitat10.htm 16/3/2008.
4. Peramiho Home Makers League Tanzania http://www.unesco.org/most/africa18.htm
16/03/2008
SOUTHERN NEW HAMPHIRE UNIVERSITY
AND
OPEN UNIVERSITY
NAME: MKWAZU CHANGWA M.
SUBJECT: HOUSING AND LAND USE
CODE: ICD 507
INSTRUCTOR: MR SINARE K.
CLASS: III
CENTRE: DAR ES SALAAM
TOPIC: Issues concerning affordable shelter for the urban poor
JOURNAL
INTRODUCTION
This paper is going to discuss about issues concerning affordable shelter. The paper will consist four parts; the introduction part which include the historical background, the policy review part, the empirical review part and the conclusion.
More than one billion of the world’s city residents live in inadequate housing, mostly in the sparkling slum and squatter settlements in developing countries. Such areas are regarded as one of the most visible expressions of human poverty. The lack of adequate housing is the pressing problems of the 21st century, and the cost of providing adequate shelter for all is immense. Yet the cost of doing nothing may be even greater, for the new urban slums are potential breeding places for social and political unrest. The global data on housing adequacy is rather limited, however, and what is considered adequate in one part of the world-or at one point of time may not regarded so elsewhere.
The global housing stock in cities amount from 700 to 720 million units of all types. It is estimated that 20 to 40 million urban households are homeless. Some developing countries achieved an improvement in urban housing conditions, though many were unable to cope even with current needs. The situation may become even worse, as households sizes decrease in most countries, and the number of households groups considerably faster than urban populations. In the cities of developing countries, housing delivery systems need to cope with an annual additional demand of some 18 million units, amounting to an annual increase in housing stock of nearly 5 percent.
Formal construction in the cities of developing countries principally serves moderate to upper income groups; leaving lower income populations to address their housing needs through informal means. Wide spread unauthorized housing disregards building regulations.
POLICY REVIEW
There are number of policies and pieces of legislation that relate to and affect unplanned/informal settlements. A critical land policy is the 1995 National Land Policy which effectively prohibited the removal of informal settlement and committed the government to upgrading them instead. The local government urban councils act of 1982 and subsequent legislation effectively restored local government as an institution, restoring to it the responsibility for service provision.
The government’s ongoing urban sector policy reform is designed to create an institutional environment more conducive to the sustainable development and delivery of urban infrastructure and services. Through the world supported Urban Sector Engineering Project(USRP) began in 1995 contained the governments letter of sector policy that addressed land management and human settlement development issues, the role of the private sector and community participation. The government have recognized the importance of the urban sector in national social economic development and conducted a human settlements review and prepared a strategy which aims at “creating sustainable development in urban centers for improving living conditions in informal settlements, alleviating poverty, stimulating economic growth and employment and improving the urban environment”.
In order to guide the implementation of the strategy, the government prepared a national Program Document consisting of the following four closely interrelated elements:
· Improve the capacity of the public sector institutions to implement the sustainable human settlements program through human resources development.
· Improve the management of urban land, access to affordable urban services, and the living environment.
· Improve the quality and increase the quantity of affordable shelter
· Stimulate economic growth and employment
In order to implement the program the government sought assistance from, among others, the World Bank, The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS) through the USEP and SDP respectively.
The USEP redefined the roles of the central and city governments and established the basis and financial management within the city. The consultation process in the SDP identified upgrading unserviced settlements as the second most pressing priority issue to be addressed by the project. In an attempt to build upon these initiatives, and to coordinate strengthen such intervention, all interested stakeholders adopted a two Point Strategy of Action. This was:
I. To encourage community groups to form associations and define their priority needs; mobilize local human and financial resources; seek technical advice and decide on affordable levels and standards of service provision; participate in infrastructure construction and accept management responsibilities for operations and maintenance.
II. To encourage city and central government departments to provide the institutional framework to respond to such community participation. This should include the provision of technical and professional staff to design and supervise infrastructure construction, coordinate and fund trunk infrastructure provision, and facilitate equitable cost recovery mechanisms.
As per Human Settlement Policy in Tanzania, became of the absence of formal affordable housing, the majority of the urban population has resolved to accommodate themselves in overcrowded and substandard dwellings.
Urban housing problems in Tanzania appear to be two folds: -
a) Inadequate housing stock in most urban areas
b) Poor housing conditions in rural areas.
AFFORDABLE SHELTER IN TANZANIA
Tanzania is a large country with an area of approximately 945,100 sq. km. and a population of approximately 31 million. Population density is thus approximately 32 persons per square kilometer. It is among the developing countries with GDP per capital of approximately US$220(1997).
Of the total population, 25 percent live in urban areas but the urban population is growing rapidly at over 6 percent per annum, around twice the national rate of population growth. The country is divided into 20 regions for political and administrative reasons. There are ten major towns with populations of 150,000 with the major city and port, Dar es salaam, having a population of approximately three million.
Despite government emphasis in the past on improving living conditions in the rural areas, rapid urbanization has continued. Investment in the public and private sector have not kept pace with population growth in urban areas Low level of urban management capacity and inappropriate institutional arrangements have hampered the development of the urban sector. Demand for infrastructure and urban services have not been met, worsening the nature and incidence of urban poverty, as well as constraining national economic growth and productivity.
Tanzania’s rural to urban migration is the result of the decline of the international primary commodity prices (mainly from coffee and sisal) in the 1970 1980’s and other disincentives to national farmers that helped push rural producers to the town in the search of employment. Potential income streams, education and other subsidized or free public goods and services led many rural dwellers to Tanzanian largest city, Dar es salaam, and other secondary cities.
In Tanzania, increasing levels of poverty, population growth and the lack of sustainable housing policy mean that urban growth is often absorbed into informal settlements. These areas are characterized by a lack of basic infrastructure and the ever increasing poverty of their resident’s mean that many do not have the ability to pay for the services. Many urban residents cannot afford housing, and authorities themselves have few resources with which to improve or maintain infrastructure and services. Consequently the housing , health and environmental conditions in the growing informal settlements of Tanzanian’s cities are extremely poor.
Dar es salaam is growing at the rate of approximately eight percent per annum and suffers most from these endemic problems. With 70 percent of the urban population accommodated in informal housing, the ability of the city government to cope with timely delivery of infrastructure services is severely constrained. Informal settlements continue to expand and it have been estimated that 50 percent of informal settlement population lives on an average income of about US$1 per day, well below the poverty line.
In the 1960’s, the approach to dealing with the growth of informal settlements in Tanzania, and in particular Dar es salaam, was the common approach of slum clearance. The objective of slum clearance was to rid the city of the eyesores of squatter housing. To improve housing for the poor the government implemented its slum clearance and redevelopment policy by developing high standard building on the cleared sites. The policy was implemented through the National Housing Cooperation but proved unsustainable. By the end of the 1960’s, it was abandoned due to high economic and social costs. The net addition to the housing stock was negligible.
In 1972 the government adopted a softer approach to dealing with squatters. Through until the late 1980’s sites and services and squatter upgrading projects formed the national strategy for managing the growth of unplanned, informal settlements. The world Bank initially supported these projects, which aimed to provide basic infrastructure and services, together with community facilities.
The world Bank ceased support after its second project because of poor performance. After withdrawal of the World Bank, the Government alone could not finance additional projects and subsequently there were only isolated projects in Dar es salaam with negligible improvements in unplanned settlements. The decade of 1980-1990 was characterized by expansion, consolidation and emergency of new unplanned settlements at the same time as the infrastructure installed under the early projects began to deteriorate due to lack of maintenance.
MAIN ISSUES
The problem in many developing and even in some developed countries is not that housing is too expensive but that incomes are too low. It is clear that an efficient housing finance system is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the development of sustainable urban shelter and that improving the access of poor households to adequate shelter has two further requirements; reducing housing production and delivery costs and increasing income levels. The focus of attention should therefore be on both the costs of housing and the level of payment received by workers. This demand side focus is in line with current trends in subsidies and concentrates attention on the systemic problem of poverty, which is the underlying source of poor shelter conditions.
In processing housing loans, lenders should take into account future income generated, directly and indirectly, from house improvement. There is a well documented link between finance for income generation and improvements in housing. Many home owners operate one or more home-based enterprises from the structure on which they housing finance. The same goes for rental income.
The cost of urban housing can be reduced by the adoption of more appropriate standards. In many countries, the cost of urban housing is increased significantly by high standards to which it must comply. The introducing of lower standards that are more appropriate to the local context could potentially make housing more affordable to a far greater proportion of the urban population. Lower standards would still, however, have to safeguard the heath and safety of the occupants and protects the public interest.
Most national shelter, some of them supported by official development assistance, are based on the provision of independently serviced, single house hold dwellings, owned by their occupants. However, this is by no means the main form of occupation by households living in poverty. Instead, large numbers of households live in buildings occupied by many house holds.
Small scale landlords in informal settlements are a major source of affordable housing for a growing majority of households living in poverty in the towns and cities of developing countries, but there are few initiatives to assist them. It is imperative, therefore, to understand how best to assist the informal rental sector within informal settlement and slum upgrading programmes, and at the same time preserve affordability so as to preclude gentrification.
Finance to provide health liquidity among small scale contractors and single artisans is an essential prerequisite to effective housing supply to scale. In the spirit of the Habitat Agenda, and if the current massive housing backlog is to be cleared at all, it is vital that all actors in the housing process are involved in the role in which they are most efficient. The most important supplier dwellings for urban low-income communities, and their ancillary services, are the millions of small scale building contractors, the single artisans or small groups of skilled people and the labourers who service their needs.
It is also important that developing countries maintain as much of the investment and savings arising from local economic activities within their borders, or benefit from net inflows from investments overseas.
Shelter Microfinance
The majority of urban poor households can only afford to build incrementally in stages as financial resources become available. It is therefore imperative that national and international institutions recognize that low-income people build incrementally and provide microfinance suitable for that process. This may also call for reform of building regulations that often do not allow incremental for formally recognized dwellings.
Community base shelter funds
Another significant trend in the last decade has been increasing interest in the shelter community funds group loans. Community-based financing of housing and services has been used for both settlement upgrading and for building on green field sites and in a context where small loans are evidently successful and where there is an increase in poverty; it has many advantages for low-income and otherwise disempowered households.
Different studies show that there is an increase in population in cities like Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Arusha, and this results or causes a big gap between the demand and supplied.
Conclusively, Housing is part of macro economy of Tanzania. By increasing housing quantity and sustainable good environment from community levels we invest more in expanding tax base and increase the tax revenue of the country.
Increasing housing quantity and sustainable environment will generate employment in communities. By creating employment many people will generate income, serve more and finally improve their living standards.
Communities are going to accelerate economic performance since these houses can be used as mortgage to increase their wealth. That is one way of reducing poverty.
REFFERENCES
1. United Nations Human Settlements Programme, Financing Urban Shelter (2005); A global Report on Human Settlement, EARTHSCAN London.
2. National Human Settlements Development Policy, Te United Republic of Tanzania.
3. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, PROVISION OF MORE RESOURCES FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTS HIGHLIGHTED AT HABITAT II(1996); Also available at http://www.un.org/Conferences/habitateng-pres/3/habitat10.htm 16/3/2008.
4. Peramiho Home Makers League Tanzania http://www.unesco.org/most/africa18.htm
16/03/2008
SOUTHERN NEW HAMPHIRE UNIVERSITY
AND
OPEN UNIVERSITY
NAME: MKWAZU CHANGWA M.
SUBJECT: HOUSING AND LAND USE
CODE: ICD 507
INSTRUCTOR: MR SINARE K.
CLASS: III
CENTRE: DAR ES SALAAM
TOPIC: Issues concerning affordable shelter for the urban poor
JOURNAL
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