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CMI REPORT DECENTRALISATION AND GENDER R 2008: 9
Gender relations
Some women have income from Seaweed farming or small business project and informants say that
women keep the income from their own economic activities. Divorce is not uncommon, and being
divorced is not a hindrance for women to take various political positions or being elected.
Generally, women are more positive towards family planning than men, but health workers report
that men are also changing their mindset on this issue. Traditionally, women went to their mother’s
home for delivery. Although the practice is declining, it is still fairly common. Informants said that
if a woman did not go to her mother for delivery, the husband could get the reputation of being
“stingy” or poor since traditionally, he is supposed to cover the travel expenses.
6.2 Cooperation within the district council
Decentralisation by devolution
Pangani has reached the 7 th step of the Local Government Reform. The first step was data
collection, the second was data analysis, the third was data organization, and the fourth
step a stakeholders’ workshop for 30 people who came from the ward and district level.
Later, another workshop was conducted around 100 participants to broaden the number
of people who had participated. A strategic plan was then developed.
Cooperation and coordination within the district council
The team was informed that there is a general shortage of staff in the district administration. There
is shortage in almost every sector, especially at higher levels. The general shortage of staff was said
to be about 25% - a dramatic change from two years ago when it was more than 50%. According to
the council staff, it was hard to recruit new staff because "the environment is not attractive" and
because "Tanzanians has a very negative attitude towards working in Pangani." Recently, five
vacant posts in the Department for Community Development Service and Gender were advertised in
Pangani and national newspapers, but only one person applied. According to the guidelines, there
could be no selection and interview with only one candidate and no person appointed. The staff
shortage means that many posts have been filled by people who are not qualified. For example, the
acting District Medical Officer (DMO) is not a medical doctor and the last four DMOs have all left
after a relatively short while.
The majority of the staff members are from outside Tanga region, mainly from Kilimajaro and
Arusha. The reason for this is that the posts are advertised nationally, and the most qualified person
is hired. Since there was no secondary school in the district until 1993, few people from the district
have had the opportunity to take higher education.
There were many cases where the staff gives very different answers to the same questions, e.g.
regarding the maternal health situation, whether women give birth at health facilities or not and
which percentage. This may indicate that the district has a weak system for sharing information
among staff – and for ensuring that knowledge is institutional, not only individual. In several cases
there were different perceptions between administration and councillors as well. When it came to
secondary schools for example, the administration stated that drop-outs was a big problem, due to
early pregnancies and early marriages. The councillors on the other hand, said that the level of ‘drop
out’ was not very high, and that when it happened, it was due to the school fee of 20.000 shillings
per year, as well as expenses for books, uniforms and deks.
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