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and Children - MCDGC, National Council of NGOs (NACONGO), TANGO, TACOSODE, ANGOZA, Policy Forum, Pact Tanzania, and NGO RC. How has The Foundation made it this far? Mr. Ulanga attributed the successes registered not only to the handwork by the staff at the institution, their sense of direction and ownership, but also the commitment of various stakeholders ranging from development partners to NGO Council. He said the future of FCS was bright as key Development Partners (DP) have assured the institution of continued support in the next five years. This will enable FCS to continue the good work of developing CSOs in the country, he said. “I really thank our development partners for trusting us and continuing to give us funds. At the beginning we had only three development partners but now they are nine... all of them have indicated they will continue offering us support for the next five years,” Mr. Ulanga said. DP of the Foundation are;The UK Department for International Development – DFID, Swiss Development Corporation - SDC, Embassy of Denmark, Irish Aid, Embassy of Norway, Embassy of Sweden, Embassy of the Netherlands; Danish International Development Agency - DANIDA, Canadian International Development Agency – CIDA. To beef up the institution financial base, he said plans are underway to ensure The Foundation’s has various source of funding. In capacity building initiatives, Mr. Ulanga said FCS is now linking up local CSOs with external donors who can provide direct sponsorship. “This is so good for us... Our main goal is to | 4 | th Anniversary | Cover Story | “We have now grown up...we | www.thefoundation.tz.org | FCS staff; Lola Lema (left) and Sunday Mtega (right) reach a point where certain CSOs come to us and say we don’t need your financial support anymore... where you directed us and through other means we are getting enough money for our activities,” he said. Mr. Ulanga promised that grants provided by the FCS would reach all Tanzanians. “This will be possible as we will concentrate on strengthening regional networks. We want to ensure that every Tanzanian understand FCS and also how to get a grant from us”. To reach more stakeholders, FCS has been providing grants to various CSOs outside Dar es Salaam. “Our aim is to get new grantees more from upcountry” he said. When asked why the media houses are not provided with grants from the FCS, while some people believe the mass media is very important for development, Mr. Ulanga said: “The mass media acts as civil society especially when it helps to put things in the society in order.” He explained how FCS values the fourth estate saying in the last two years his institution has been working closely with the press. “We are ready to help the media organisations, surely, I have to sit down with my colleagues and see what to do... we have not been receiving applications for grants from journalists’ organizations...it seems such organizations as well as trade unions are very few coming with proposals for funding,” Mr. Ulanga said. How does FCS ensure the grants it offers are well utilized? Mr. Ulanga said, said at the moment they only provided money to CSOs after thorough organisational capacity assessment and due diligence exercise, which helps to determine if the organization has the necessary requirement to be able to utilize the grant accordingly. The Foundation Newsletter are ready to move to a higher ladder the cooperation with other stakeholders... concerned Ministry (Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children), Tanzania NGO Council (NACONGO), NGO-RC of Zanzibar and CSOs networks this will ensure the continuation of dialogues on how to enhance civil society sector and other different discourses in developed,” Mr. Ulanga. After the provision of the grant, the concerned CSO is assessed later on to ensure the funding is used as planned, he said adding: “Previously we were depending solely on the information from the CSOs that we were providing with grants. Nowadays, we visit the organization on the ground and see the actual situation.” To ensure the grants are used accordingly, also the government in the concerned area is informed so as to follow up and make the process easier for all stakeholders. Mr. Ulanga assured that FCS has joined efforts to ensure regional networks are closely making follow up of the works done by the CSOs. “We also expect to motivate journalists to enable them make follow up on development
projects on the ground... they can report development and challenges ... I hope this will greatly help,” Mr. Ulanga underscored. While insisting on the issue of the CSOs self capacity assessment, Mr. Ulanga said, agreed that was a difficult field but insisted it was necessary for CSOs to introduce systems of self evaluation. “As I said earlier, we are assessing CSOs before giving them grants but this is not enough,” he said. About training and other capacity building initiatives, Mr. Ulanga said, currently, the FCS’s executives will be providing direct training to new grantees. “Our staff are now very capable...they have the capacity to offer necessary training. So don’t be surprised when one day you meet me somewhere providing training at a workshop... we have decide this year we shall work with external trainers at workshops. I reiterate that I believe FCS’s executives are able,” said Mr. Ulanga. Mr. Ulanga said, FCS has greatly succeed in its efforts of bringing together CSOs stakeholders andTanzania’s law makers (MPs) and members of the Zanzibar House of Representative. “This has increased the understanding between the lawmakers and CSOs,” he said. “I am grateful that in last year’s exhibition the speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Samuel Sitta promised he would organize a meeting for parliamentarians and CSOs’ stakeholders at the Bunge cost, surely, we are longing for that day,” Mr. Ulanga said. However, he said that, in the case of Zanzibar great steps have been reached as the citizenry there are now taking their views to their law makers and not waiting till the exhibition of the CSOs at Zanzibar House of Representatives at the end of March 2008. What of the capacity difference between the rural CSOs regional networks? “It is true there is great capacity difference among the regional networks. However, there is a study report we are waiting for, that will show us what to be done and where. We are also in the process of publishing a Directory of CSOs that will have all the necessary information about CSOs in the country. The book will be of great assistance to anyone who needs basic information about CSOs,” he said. FCS was registered in September 2002 but started to work on January 2003 under the stewardship of the late Arnold Buluba (Executive Director). Ms Henny de Vries was the Chairperson of the Board of Directors. Currently, the FCS provides four types of grants: Rolling Small Grants, Medium Grants, Strategic Grants and Registration Development Grants. The sponsored thematic areas includes: Policy, Good Governance, Safety Networks and Advocacy Strengthening. The supported organization includes NGOs, CBOs, professional associations, trade Unions, primary cooperative unions, community based groups, media organizations and faith based organizations. After the changes of the system of governance, currently The Foundation is under the leadership of President Mr. Alais Ole Morindat who is in charge of a panel of six embers, the highest organ in the FCS echelons. Other members of the panel are: Ms. Mary Rusimbi, Prof. Samwel Wangwe, Mr. Amritlal Shah, Mr. Salum Shamte and Mr. Rakeshi Rajan. The second organ in the administration level, is the FCS Board of Directors led by Dr. Stigmata Tenga, other members includes Mr. Heri Bomani, Ms. Gertrude Mugizi, Ms. Thea Mushi, Mr. Herbert Kashililah and Mr. Prudence Kaijage. On the side of internal administration within “I am grateful that in last year’s exhibition the speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Samuel Sitta promised he would organize a meeting for parliamentarians and CSOs’ stakeholders at the Bunge cost, surely, we are longing for that day,” Mr. Ulanga. the FCS, Mr. Ulanga is the Executive Director. Four people assist him. They are Mr. Onali Salem (Administration and Finance Department), Ms. Noreen Natthero Toroka (Grants Department), Mr. Joseph Mzinga (Policy and Development Department) and Ms. Marilyn Elinewinga who heads the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, also acting as Grants Manager The Foundation Newsletter | www.thefoundation.tz.org | | 5 |
Page 1 and 2: ISSN 1821-5335 1821- 5335 Issue No.
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Page 9 and 10: twice a year, special calls, unsoli
Page 11 and 12: ar that was stuivil in ear oup Same
Page 13 and 14: y Zaa Twalangeti The National Counc
Page 15 and 16: Mathew G. Chungu I am a Tanzanian a
Page 17 and 18: Civil Society Exhibition at the Hou
Page 19 and 20: Zaa Twalangeti zaajohn@yahoo.com Th
Page 21 and 22: So what is the role of CSOs in all
Page 23 and 24: specific objectives will make you a
Page 25 and 26: Want to buy a computer, some import
Page 27 and 28: in management capability and proced
Page 29 and 30: Tanzania CSO Directory 2008/9 Sunda
Page 31 and 32: John Ulanga at FCS: His life and wo

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