Poverty and Human Development Report 2009 - UNDP in Tanzania

POVERTY AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2009
Table 23: Participation in Village/Mtaa Assembly, 2006
Survey question
112
% of
Respondents
The village/mtaa assembly met less than 3 months ago 53%
I attended a meeting within the last 3 months
- Total respondents 44%
- Women respondents 42%
- Youth respondents 33%
Percentage of respondents attending last assembly meeting who could indicate what
topics were discussed at the meeting 20%
Percentage of respondents who said anything at the last meeting 18%
Percentage of respondents who agreed that “people have a say in the meetings” and
consider the village/mtaa assembly “a democratic forum” 77%
Source: Formative Process Research Programme on local government reform, 2003 and 2006
(See Tidemand et al., forthcoming).
Even though direct participation in the village/mtaa assemblies is fairly low, a large majority
(77%) of respondents expressed trust in these institutions as democratic forums where people
have a say.
However, data from the latest round of the Afrobarometer survey 70 in Tanzania found that only a small
majority (51%) of respondents felt that ordinary people were able to solve local problems (Table 24).
Table 24: Citizens’ Perceptions of Their Capacity to Solve Local Problems
How much can ordinary people do to solve local problems? % of respondents
Nothing 43
A small amount 29
Some 17
A great deal 5
Don’t know 6
Total 100
Source: Afrobarometer Tanzania 2008
70 Round 4 of the Afrobarometer survey was conducted in Tanzania in 2008, involving 1,208 adult men and
women.