Towards Responsible Democratic Government: Executive Powers and Constitutional Practice in Tanzania 1962-1992.

With independence in 1961, the British system of Parliamentary government, incorporating the principle of responsible government, was formally adopted in Tanzania. But within only one year that system was discarded first, by adopting a Republican Constitution with an executive President in 1962, and then by adopting a one-party state system of government in 1965. The one-party system reached the height of prominence through the concept of "Party Supremacy", and dominated constitutional practice for a whole generation before giving way to demands for greater freedom and democracy through competitive politics in 1992. Throughout this time, however, the preambles to successive constitutions proclaimed that the government in Tanzania was responsible to a freely elected Parliament representative of the people. This thesis traces the constitutional developments in Tanzania during the first three decades after independence so as to assess the extent to which the principle of "Responsible Government" has been maintained. It analyses the adoption of the Republican Constitution with an executive President having enormous powers even to override the Parliament, and tries to show that the one-party system and the concept of Party Supremacy, while appearing to replace Parliament with the Party as the instrument of democratic responsibility, merely served to legitimise the government tendency of holding the people responsible to it, rather than the other way round. While acknowledging the contribution of external influence in reversing that trend and working towards changes for a more responsible and democratic government as signalled by the constitutional amendments of 1992, the thesis highlights some internal factors which have played very important roles in that development. These include the personal contribution of the first President of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, who, although very dominant, nevertheless had the foresight to reverse his previous positions and welcome a Bill of Rights in the Constitution in 1984, and encourage competitive politics in 1990. The thesis welcomes these latest changes, but still insists on greater popular participation in making a new Constitution and in all future constitution making

Towards responsible democratic government Executive powers and constitutional practice in Tanzania 1962-1992

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Community policing and the politics of local development in Tanzania

This paper explores how the concept of ‘community policing’ has been understood and implemented in Tanzania. Whilst community policing is locally considered to be a very effective means of preventing crime and improving neighbourhood safety, the extent to which it constitutes a more accountable, responsive or ‘democratic’ form of policing, as assumed by proponents, is questionable. Based on research conducted in the city of Mwanza, this paper explains these outcomes in terms of continuities between forms of popular mobilisation that developed during Tanzania’s socialist one-party era, and particularly the co-optation by the ruling party of sungusungu vigilantism, and understandings of the role of citizen participation in local development today. However, this paper suggests that as multiparty political competition becomes increasingly competitive, the sustainability of this model of community policing may be undermined, as citizens challenge the notion that they are obliged to provide resources for development directed from above

<i>Ulinzi Shirikishi</i>: Popular Experiences of Hybrid Security Governance in Tanzania

In the context of increasing academic and policy-related attention to hybrid forms of security provision which combine state and non-state institutions, in Africa and elsewhere, this article explores the implementation of community-based or participatory policing (ulinzi shirikishi) in Tanzania. Through ulinzi shirikishi citizens are encouraged to form local security committees, organize neighbourhood patrols and investigate reported crime. In contrast to earlier forms of state-sponsored sungusungu vigilantism in Tanzania, community police are expected to cooperate with the Tanzania Police Force and to adhere to state law. Based on 11 months’ fieldwork in three sub-wards of the city of Mwanza, this article argues that community policing has been fairly effective in improving residents’ perceptions of local safety. However, two important concerns emerge that may compromise the sustainability and legitimacy of community policing in the future. Firstly, organizing local policing entails considerable costs for communities, which disproportionately disadvantage the relatively poor. Secondly, controlling local service provision can enable individuals to pursue private gains, at the expense of the production of public goods. It is thus important to consider the development of hybridity over time towards models that may look less like community-based policing and more like commercial security provision