L.Victoria Rept - UN-Habitat

A chairperson is elected among the councillors leads Musoma Town Council. The local Member of Parliamentalso attends council meetings. The chief executive is the Town Director who is assisted by 10 head ofdepartments namely: Education, Health, Agriculture and Livestock, Works, Community Development, TownPlanning, Finance, Economic and Trade, Administration, and Cooperative.The Town Council is run through a committee system with each committee having specific responsibilities. Thedepartments implement the committees’ decisions.There are 3 standing committees, namely:❍ Finance and Administration Committee❍ Town Planning, Land and Natural Resources Committee❍ Education, Health and Community Development CommitteeThe three standing committees report to the full council.Local authorities in Tanzania are governed by several pieces of legislation as embodied in:❍ The Local Government (Urban Authorities) Act No. 8 of 1982❍ The Local Government (Finances) Act No. 9 of 1982❍ Urban Authorities (Rating) Act No. 2 of 1983❍ Town and Country Planning Ordinance Cap 378Musoma Town Council derives its functional powers from:• 25 Main Acts• 21 Council by-laws• Council by-law amendmentsB: KEY URBAN MANAGEMENT CHALLENGESMusoma has identified the following challenges as major impediments in realizing sustainablecity development:• Declining town economy. There is need to revamp the Musoma economy against the decliningkey sectors of fishing and agriculture. Diversification of Musoma economy through promotionof alternative activities, e.g., tourism and indigenous home based micro-enterprise, is asolution to the decline in the traditional economy.• Inability of the Council to meet the growing budget deficit. Musoma’s annual budget isTZS.900 million against revenue collections of only TZS. 280 million. To meet this deficitboth internal and external sources of funding are required.• Need to institutionalize stakeholder participation in the development plan.• Need to improve the livelihood of people. The Musoma Town needs a strategy to improvethe living standards of its residents. Per capita income stands at TZS.67, 000 per annum ascompared to Mara region of TZS.57, 000 while unemployment rate average 40%.VISION OF MUSOMA TOWN COUNCILMusoma Town Council’s vision is to be elevated to a Municipal council status as well as to beone of tourist attraction centers along the Lake Victoria shore.62Cities Development Strategies for Improved Urban Environment and Poverty Reduction in the Lake Victoria Region