A survey of popular attitudes to local governance in Njombe, Ludewa and Makete districts in rural Tanzania. Presented at the REPOA Annual Research Workshop, March 2012.
KING VISHNU BHAGWANON KA BHAGWAN PARAMATMONKA PARATOMIC PARAMANU KASARVAMANVA...
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"We can't change things"
1. âWe canât change thingsâ
A study on public attitudes to local governance in
Njombe, Ludewa and Makete
Frank Kaduma, Ben Taylor, Kapongola Nganyanyuka
REPOA Annual Research Workshop, March 2012
www.daraja.org âą PO Box 736, Njombe âą 026 2782197 âą daraja@daraja.org
2. Outline
âą Background / Introduction
âą What does the literature tell us?
âą Study methodology
âą Findings and discussion
âą Conclusions and implications
making local governance work for the poor
3. Background / Introduction
âą âD by Dâ
â Unfulfilled potential
â New institutions are not created in a vacuum
â Existing cultures, norms, beliefs, attitudes
â A gap in our understanding
making local governance work for the poor
4. What does the literature tell us?
âą Why do attitudes matter?
â âpolicies are developed by consultants, approved by
donors, negotiated with local partners, and adopted in
consultations with little understanding of how underlying
power relations will affect the implementation of these
policiesâ (Hyden, 2005)
â Citizensâ primary experience of local government is of
âviolenceâ â aggression, insults, appropriation of
resources (Brockington, 2007; 2008)
â âcultures of governanceâ very influential in determining
how new institutions function in practice (Taylor,
2006a;b;c)
making local governance work for the poor
5. What does the literature tell us?
âą Which attitudes matter?
â Citizensâ expectations of LG roles
â Citizensâ views on past performance of LG
â Citizensâ experience of political engagement
â Perceived legitimacy of particular actions â e.g.
public protest, corruption, etc.
â Perceptions on the value of democracy
making local governance work for the poor
6. Study Methodology
âą Primarily quantitative methods
â hh survey (n=977), local leaders (n=120)
â Drawing heavily on Afrobarometer questionnaire
â Stratified (for urban / rural balance) random
sample
âą Some qualitative methods
â focus ground discussions
â key informant interviews
making local governance work for the poor
7. Study Methodology
âą Location â Njombe region
â Njombe town and district, Ludewa and Makete
districts
â Mixed urban (small town) and rural area
â Not wealthiest, not poorest
âą Fieldwork timing â 2009-2010
âą Mobile phone-based data collection
â Phones programmed with questionnaires
(Episurveyor)
â Data entered directly, transferred remotely to server
â Big saving in time and cost of data entry and cleaning
making local governance work for the poor
8. Sample Characteristics
âą Njombe town 20%; district 43%; Ludewa 20%;
Makete 18%
âą Urban 20%; Rural 80%
âą Young (15-34yrs) 35%; Adult (35-50) 48%;
Elderly (>50) 17%
âą Unemployed 5%; Farmers 82%; Formal
employment 13%
âą Very poor 23%; Poor 58%; less poor 19%
(based on hh assets)
making local governance work for the poor
9. Findings and Discussion
âą Popular expectations of LG role â village level
making local governance work for the poor
10. Findings and Discussion
âą Popular expectations of LG role â LGA level
making local governance work for the poor
11. Findings and Discussion
âą Popular expectations of LG role â councillors
making local governance work for the poor
12. Findings and Discussion
âą Perceptions of LG roles:
â Significant misunderstandings of the roles of
various LG institutions
â Past practice reflected more than institutional
design
â Councillorsâ representative role recognised â to
âbring developmentâ / influence plans
â But not their scrutiny role
making local governance work for the poor
16. Findings and Discussion
âą Perceptions of LG performance:
â Confidence in LG actors declines with distance
âą Exception was trust in the President
â Low levels of trust in NGOs, media, opposition
parties, councillors
making local governance work for the poor
17. Findings and Discussion
âą Citizensâ engagement with LG processes
â 40% active in community development / self-help
groups
â 23% in farmersâ groups / trade unions
â 57% in church groups
â Voting levels high â around 80%
â Attending community meetings: 29% often; 26%
several times; 22% once or twice; 18% never
making local governance work for the poor
18. Findings and Discussion
âą Legitimacy of various actions - demonstrations
/ raising voice
â 79% rural, 80% urban said âwould never attend a
demonstration or protestâ
â 73% - âwe should be more active in questioning
leadersâ
â But 95% of village leaders
making local governance work for the poor
19. Findings and Discussion
âą Legitimacy of various actions â corruption
making local governance work for the poor
20. Findings and Discussion
âą Legitimacy of various actions â corruption
â Low reported corruption in questionnaire
â Very different picture in focus groups
â Corruption reported as widespread, expected, disliked but
unavoidable
â Has become an accepted income of civil servants
â Citizens have strong belief that they cannot do anything to
curb corruption:
âą Situational pressure
âą Precedents of impunity
âą âWe canât change thingsâ
making local governance work for the poor
22. Findings and Discussion
âą Perceptions on value of democracy:
â 91% believe politicians never or rarely keep
campaign promises
â 93% believe politicians rarely do their best to
âdeliver developmentâ after elections
â Dissatisfaction with democratic processes in
practice is very strong and clear
making local governance work for the poor
23. Conclusions and Implications
âą Citizensâ scepticism: on democracy, on their
own ability to exert influence, on their ability
to combat corruption
âą Low willingness to engage in protest
âą Higher performance ratings for closer leaders,
suggests the core idea behind D by D is right
âą Corruption, expected but disliked
making local governance work for the poor
24. Conclusions and Implications
âą Obstacles to local accountability:
â Councillors scrutiny role is not recognised
â Low trust in key governance institutions
â Citizensâ scepticism â âwe canât change thingsâ
â Vicious circle of impunity and powerlessness
making local governance work for the poor
25. Conclusions and Implications
âą Policy Measures:
â Strengthen and extend public education on LG
reforms
â Concerted efforts on corruption â reducing
opportunities, transparency, whistleblower
protections
âą Actions by non-state actors:
â Develop low risk tools for citizensâ agency
making local governance work for the poor