Structure of local government

Introduction

Local government, refers to or can be defined as a sub-national, semiautonomous level government discharging its functions in a specified area within a nation. For administrative and electoral purposes, all urban authorities are divided into wards, and neighbor hoods (mitaa), while all district (rural) authorities are also divided into wards, villages and hamlets (sub villages). As of 2008, there are 27 urban councils, of which 4 are cities, 18 municipalities and 5 town councils and over 2,600 urban neighbor hoods. Rural authorities constitute of 106 district councils, and more than10,000 villages and more than 56,000 hamlets. The structure of local government viewed in three perspectives, geographical divisions or levels, the administrative and the governance . ( President’s office Regional Administration and Local Government, 1987)

STRUCTURE OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ORGANISATION

Ministerial oversight:

The Minister for Regional Administration and Local Government is responsible for local Government in mainland Tanzania and works within the Prime Minister’s Office. The main role of the minister and his department is to formulate broad national policies and to monitor local authorities to ensure that these policies are integrated into locally developed programmes. The department works in collaboration with sector ministries, which also formulate policies

relating to local government in their areas example education, health, roads, water and agriculture.

Local council

In mainland Tanzania there are 26 urban councils (16 municipalities, six towns and four cities),  which can be subdivided into 1,795 mtaa (street). The 106 rural district councils consist of 10,371 registered villages and 57,076 vitongoji (hamlets). In Zanzibar, urban authorities are either town councils or municipalities, while all rural authorities are district councils. committee. Local authorities have discretion to establish further committees,. The role of the committees is to develop policy, set budgets and oversee the work of specific departments. is not less than one-third of the ward representatives and MPs combined. Dar es Salaam City Council, has an indirectly elected mayor and deputy mayor. Both are elected by an electoral college comprising all councilors of the urban authorities over which the council is established. The deputy mayor must come from a different urban authority from the mayor.

The membership of city councils is made up of all the mayors from the urban authorities within their jurisdiction, all MPs representing constituencies within their area, at least two women MPs resident in the city and elected from the women in parliament, and three councilors from each urban council, one of whom must be a woman (REPOA, 2008) The voting system of electing councilors and MPs in Tanzania is conducted through secret ballot and the turnout was 62%. In order to contest leadership a potential candidate must be a member of, and sponsored by, a political party. To be eligible, the candidate must be a Tanzanian citizen, at least 21years of age, and able to read and write in Kiswahili (the national language) and or English. To ensure representation of women in leadership positions at council level, there is a legal requirement to reserve one-third of all seats for women. Voting is a right granted to all persons of 18 years and above (Tanzania Local Government Authority, 2010)

Local government structure

Below the level of local authorities there exists a number of democratic bodies to debate local development needs. In the rural system, the vitongoji (the smallest unit of a village) comprises an elected chairperson who appoints a secretary and three further members, all of whom serve on an advisory committee. In urban areas the mtaa (street – a small urban area or geographical division of a ward), is the smallest unit within an urban authority. The recently established mtaa committees, unlike those of the vitongoji, have a fully elected membership comprising a chairperson, six members and an executive officer. These committees provide a grassroots link to the ward structure, and mobilize participation in local development. (DR. William 1998).

Councilors for both district and urban councils are elected after every five years through an open election conducted in accordance with the local authorities’ election Act No. 4 of 1979. Members of lower level councils i.e. Village Council, Mtaa Committee and Kitongoji chairman are elected in accordance with the electoral procedures prescribed by the Minister responsible for local government in a regulation under the provision of the Local Government (District Authorities) Act No. 7 of 1982 and Local Government (Urban Authorities) Act No. 8 of 1982 as well as Act No.4 Local Authorities (Elections) 1979.

Local council structure have been divided into two division namely, rural and urban authorities. Starting with urban authorities which consist of the following council:

City council

.Currently the city councils containing an area or areas of other urban authorities (in this connection referring to municipal councils, as currently this applies only to Dar es Salaam City Council with three municipal councils within its area) consist of non – political leaders such as

• Three councillors from each of the urban authorities, one of whom must be a woman.
• City Council Directors, this are administrative appointees.

Also in city council consists of political leaders such as :

• Members of Parliament (elected, nominated by party and appointed by the President
• At least two women Members of Parliament resident in the city and elected from the women in parliament
• A mayor elected by councillors of the urban authorities within the area of the city council from amongst the elected councillors
• A deputy mayor elected by councillors of the city council from amongst the elected councillors except that where the mayor is from one urban authority, the deputy mayor

Municipal council

The definition of the composition of municipal council in the Local Government (Urban Authorities) Act No. 1982 has been amended several times since the 1990s. Currently the councils consist of (Local Government (Urban Authorities) Act 1982, Section 20; CLGF 2006). In the Municipal council consist of non – political leaders such as :

• Not more than three members appointed by the Minister responsible for local government; the appointment has to have regard to specific groups including persons with specific expertise, marginalised and disadvantaged groups

At Municipal council also consist of political leader such as

• Members of Parliament (appointed, nominated and elected) representing the constituencies within which the town or municipality is situated. The member of parliament are mostly elected by the people of the given area and the duration of ruling is five years, so after five years the people will have the responsibility to vote for a new one or the former one depending on their satisfaction.
• Mayor , the one who led the municipal council

Town council

The definition of the composition of town council in the Local Government (Urban Authorities) Act No. 1982 has been amended several times since the 1990s. Currently the councils consist of (Local Government (Urban Authorities) Act 1982, Section 20; CLGF 2006). In the town council consist of non – political leaders such as :

• The town council is led by a Chairman

At town council also consist of political leader such as

• Members elected one each from the wards in the town

Coming up to the local councils that is found under the rural authorities in Tanzania are as follow: -

District councilor and Sub – district councilor

At Village level

. The Mtaa or Village government exists under section 14 of the local government establishment Acts Nos. 8 and 7 of 1982 respectively.

Starting with the non – political leader at the village level in Tanzania : -

• Village Executive officer or Mtaa Executive Officer (VEO or MEO)
• Facility and extension staff
• Village councils are elected by the village assembly comprising all adults over the age of 18

Coming up to political leader at village level in Tanzania

• Chairperson

At Ward level

The Ward is a political and administrative structure from which councilors are elected. Starting with non – political leadership at the ward level : -

• The WEO (Ward Executive officer) Is competitively appointed by the Council. He or she is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Ward Development issues such as the building of roads, schools, dispensaries as well as resolving conflicts/disputes that arise amongst the residents.

• WDC ( Ward district Commissioner) Some of Ward District Commissioner are elected and other are not and WDC is another grass root structure that is well placed to detect any emerging disagreements or conflicts. It is better placed to resolve such conflicts before they endanger the existence of harmony..
• Sectoral staff who offer technical support to the council.

Coming up to the appointees political leadership at Ward level : -

• Some special seat – councilors, appointed by the National Electoral Commission from the proposals submitted by the political parties in proportion to the number of elected positions held on the council 

The 10-House system

The 10-House System is the most grass root structure that is closest to the people. In each

village, 10 households constitute this structure which works under a Chairperson. The latter is

elected by the people residing in the ten households.  Therefore, each residence in the ten households, the people have the responsibility of electing the chairperson.

District level

Starting with non – political leaders at district level in Tanzania are as follow : -

• Sectoral staff under – CD

• District Administrative Secretary
• District Executive Director is the head of the paid service

Coming up to the appointees and elected political leadership at district level in Tanzania are as follow : -

• District Commissioner appointed by the president.

• 3 councilors appointed by Minister
• Councilors  are elected by the first-past-the-post system and the term of office is five years.

• Councilors chairs

Relationship between political leadership and non – political leadership at local    government.

• Positively the existence of political and non – political leaders at the local government has enabled Councils to take greater charge of the reformation process. Moreover, enabled councils to build a relationship between political leaders and non political leaders and also with non-state partners and to strengthen internal coordination and teamwork. In some cases, it has helped boost staff morale and confidence between the political leaders and non political leaders.
• Both political leaders and non political leaders adhere to strict code of ethics and integrity. In particular, leaders with incontestable ethical standards will be elected or appointed to champion the cause of people’s development or council development. Therefore both leaders will be transparent and accountable to the people. This will be the basis for justifying their autonomy from undue central government interference.

Conclusion

While there is a relatively clear system of accountability in local government structure, the performance of accountability mechanisms remains problematic. Several reasons are usually cited to explain the poor accountability and governance that takes place in LGA. These include: poor access to information which is in turn caused by unfavorable attitude of the council staff, poor working tools and infrastructure, technocratic procedures and formats for releasing information and lack of a culture of transparency. Poor representation of the citizens by their councilors in the decision making processes and the lack of participation in these processes contribute to further undermine accountability.


Sources
Class notes prepared by Ms. G. Msuya, lecture at Moshi cooperative University