Poverty and Human Development Report 2009 - UNDP in Tanzania

pOVertY aND hUMaN DeVeLOpMeNt repOrt 2009
Social Protection
The 2006 Integrated Labour Force Survey (IFLS) found that 25% of rural children and 8% of
urban children were working in conditions deemed to be child labour, most of which is timeexcessive.
These children are required by their families to perform domestic chores and/or help
out on the farm for such long hours that it may jeopardise school attendance or performance.
The Tanzania Disability Survey 2008 – the first rigorous national survey of disability in Tanzania
– shows that only 40% of children with disabilities are attending primary school, an attendance
rate which is less than half the rate for Tanzanian children overall. Positively, the attendance rate
of orphaned children is very similar to that of children who have not been orphaned.
The Household Budget Survey (HBS) 2007 paints a mixed picture of the vulnerability of the
elderly, with the poverty rate among households with only elderly persons well below the
national average. However, the HBS also revealed that over 80% of elderly people who reported
attending government health facilities had to pay for services (for medicines, laboratory tests or a
consultation fee). The exemption policy stipulates that exemptions be extended to elderly people
(aged 60 years and over) who are unable to share the costs.
Poverty in households with only children and elderly persons is slightly higher than among
the population as a whole, but not so different that targeting such households based on this
categorisation alone would be an effective strategy. In general, targeting is problematic where there
is widespread poverty, and many people live close to the poverty line, as is the case in Tanzania.
governance and Accountability
Since 1997, the Tanzanian Government has been engaged in transferring the duties and financial
resources for delivering public services from central government ministries to local government
authorities (LGAs) – a process of decentralisation by devolution. The long-term goal of local
government reform is to reduce the proportion of Tanzanians living in poverty, by improving
citizens’ access to quality public services provided through autonomous local authorities. Key
components of the fiscal reforms include provision of formula-based allocations to LGAs for
recurrent expenditures in six key sectors – education, health, local roads, agriculture, water
and administration – and a new joint donor-Government funded block grant for development,
the Local Government Capital Development Grant (LGCDG). In particular, the introduction of
formula-based financial allocations based on population and other needs-based criteria aimed
to gradually redress disparities in funding between districts.
Data show that 98% of councils have qualified for the LGCDG in the 2009/10 budget. However,
formula-based allocations, which are predominantly composed of personal emoluments (PE) for
staff, have not yet been fully implemented. Staff recruitment and deployment have remained largely
centralised. The prevailing practice allocates staff and funds based on staffing norms for district
facilities. Districts with existing facilities, therefore, tend to receive greater funds than districts with
limited facilities and staff, hence perpetuating historical disparities in financial and human resources
and, in turn, service provision and outcomes. Analysis also indicates that local expenditure patterns
are largely driven by the fiscal transfer system, which limits the discretion of local authorities to
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