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Emmanuel Aloyce Fortunatus.

Dr. Stephen Nzyoki.

APH 103.

November 29, 2022.

The effects of Corruption on Social Service Deliverance in Tanzania.

In one of his speeches, the fifth president of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr. John

Pombe Magufuli, said that “corruption is a dangerous disease more than Cancer” (“corruption is

a disease” 0:56-0:59). He openly admitted that corruption has been an obstacle to national

development. The term corruption describes the irresponsible use of resources for what they

should not be. However, the meaning of corruption varies from one person to another or from

society to society. According to Aled Williams, “corruption is a complex phenomenon linked to

and overlapping with many other challenges that can cause hostility in the society” (4). Thus,

this paper shall look at corruption as the misuse of public resources and funds for personal gains.

This involves fraud and embezzlement of public funds intended to improve public services.

Public services here imply the supporting system that is typically regarded as a government

responsibility to ensure its citizens have good and quality education, water, sanitation, roads,

bridges, security, justice, good and quality health services, and transport. With vivid examples,

this paper discusses the effects of corruption on social service delivery in Tanzania.

Corruption undermines the right to equal access to social services. Due to the prevalence

of corruption, rules and regulations that govern the provision of social services in Tanzania have

been violated. And they seem no longer essential to many civil servants and some citizens who

rely on corruption as the means to quality social services. These situations undermine the right to
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equal provision of social services. For example, The Tanzania judiciary system has been alleged

to be corrupt and inefficient in justice deliverance, whereby people have to pay bribes to Judges

and Magistrates for the right they should have received without extra charges. According to the

Transparency International report on the view of corruption and Anti-corruption in Tanzania,

“most primary courts in Tanzania operate with impunity where key decisions are made at the

whim of corrupt Magistrates who have developed a network to make money “(4).

To buttress this point, the following example is on point. In 2020, Bhoke Chacha, a

magistrate from the Tarime district court in the Mara region, asked for and received a bribe of 2

million Tanzanian shillings from a businessman who had coined the retirement pension from

four retirees. In another case in 2007, the judge of Ilala District Court in Dar es Salaam, Pamela

Kalala, was alleged to have received a bribe from the accused's brother so that she could

influence the court's decisions in favor of an accused person. Similarly, a magistrate, Jamila

Nzota, was accused of asking Tsh 700,000 in exchange for special treatment to one of the

accused persons. (“A judge is arrested conducting a case at home 0:31-0:55; Open Society

Foundations 1). In situations like these, most citizens who cannot afford to pay bribes are denied

justice, not because they do not deserve it but because of a few individuals who have turned to

bribery as the means to attain justice.

Corruption increases the cost of the provision of social services. Such is the case due to

the existence of many corruption loopholes in the implementation of various development

projects that are intended to improve the living standard of the people through the provision of

social services such as health, water, sanitation, transportation, electricity, education, and

security. According to the Transparency International report on the state of corruption in

Tanzania, the institutions that are leading in corruption are the “police force with 87% of
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corruption, followed by Judiciary 86% health sector 79%, civil service 75% and the education

system 74%” (Lidner 4).

For example, in 2013, the government lost more than USD 120 Million in one of the

mega corruption scandals that happened in the country. Some government top officials were

accused of receiving bribes from the Independent Power Tanzania (IPTL) Company’s officials.

It is alleged that suspicious transactions were forged and huge amounts of money were

withdrawn illegally. The money was intended to increase TANESCO's (Tanzania Electric

Supply Company Limited) capacity to produce and supply the electricity in the country. The

Attorney General's report confirmed that the former minister of the Ministry of Lands, Housing

and Human Settlements Developments received Tsh 1.4 billion (approximately USD 1 million)

from one of the shareholders of the IPTL Company, Mr. James Rugemalila (Open society

foundation 1).

Another similar corruption case happened in the Kagera region. In September 2022, the

PCCB (Prevention and Combating Corruption Bureau) investigated various development

projects such as the construction of secondary school classrooms, public toilets, parking for large

vehicles, water infrastructure, health centers, and clinics. In its entirety Tsh. 16 billion

(approximately USD 7 million) was allocated for the project. However, the PCCB report

revealed that the amount of money allocated for the projects was never used properly. For

example, PCCB found that there were fake payments that had been paid to contractors who never

participated in the projects (“PCCB monitors the implementation of 48 projects” 2). Cases like

these are just an example of the many cases of corruption that have been taking place in many

public projects that are responsible for the provision of social services. This situation is causing
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the government to lose a lot of money that would have been used to improve the living standard

through the provision of quality social services.

Corruption scares away investors and donors who want to invest in social services

deliverance. According to Lucy Koechlin, "Tanzania Tanzania’s national economy is the

proportion of foreign aid as part of the national budget...Tanzania is a highly aid-dependent

country, with aid levels oscillating around 20% of GDP....various measures of governance

indicate that Tanzania still ranks not only among the poorest but also among the most corrupt

countries in the world" (136). Despite the effort that has been taken by the government and

parliament to ensure the responsible use of aid offered by donors and investors aimed to increase

the capacity of the government in the provision of social services yet, corruption has continued to

be one of the stumbling blocks in the provision of social services in Tanzania. In 2014 The

Guardian newspaper reported that,

A group of 12 funders, including the UK’s Department for International

Development [DfID], have given Tanzania $69m for general budget support so

far this year, and the group has committed to contributing $559m towards the

current budget...The donors announced, however, that they would suspend

further general budget support payments until more information about the

scandal has been released… (“International donors suspended Tanzania aid”).

The decreases in financial aid from various donors and investors have worsened the

provision of some essential development projects such as Land Tenure Improvement, basic

education improvement, the Court improvements project to move Court services closer to the

people, and the transport linking project which aims to improve and connect the main roads and

regional airports around the country.

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Corruption lowers the quality of social services deliverance. Even though the government

has been allocating funds to support the provision of various social services all over the country.

Nonetheless, extreme corruption contributes significantly to the decline in the quality of social

services provision. According to the ministry of Finance and Planning for the year 2020/2021,

the government budgeted more than Tsh. 10 trillion for development projects that intend to

improve the provision of social services and the living standards of the citizens (“The citizens’

budget” 8). However, the annual report on the audit of the central government for the financial

year 2020/2021 shows that although the government did not provide all the budget funds for

improving the provision of social services, there were also some cases of inappropriate use of

money.

An example is the health sector, one of the most critical sectors in the nation's

development. There seem to be allegations that the health sector is running on the base of

corruption, a situation that worsens the provision of health services in the country. The report of

Suleiman Ngware presents the complaints of the people about health workers in various health

centers around the country. Health workers were accused of providing services according to how

patients are willing to give bribes. The report asserts that "the situation is worse in regional and

referral hospitals. To obtain the treatment, you must either personally know an influential nurse

or doctor whom you have to thank for the service or have the cash to speak through or lose your

life or that of your relative” (Ngware 49).

However, the health sector is not the only sector whose corruption has lowered services.

Local authorities in Tanzania are also one of the corruption arenas. For example, in 2005, one

company won the tender for managing waste collection within Tanga Municipality, but it was

found incapable of carrying on the task because the company did not have enough operational
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and financial capacity to manage waste collection in different wards of Tanga Municipal

(Ngware 50). For example, the company was supposed to collect waste every two days. Instead,

it ended up collecting waste once every three months. On top of that, some workers of the

company were demanding bribes from people to collect waste.

After the investigation, PCCB revealed that the company won the tender after bribing

some municipal officials (Ngware 50). In his report, Ngware presents one of the complaints from

one of the residents who said,

If you want them to collect your waste, you pay them 500 Tsh as their allowance.

I paid them last month, and they collected the waste. You either decide to pay

Tsh 500, on top of the 1000 Tshs that you have paid, or you remain with your

waste stinking this is not shredded in secrecy but daylight corruption (51).

Corruption is a cause of discrimination and uncertainty in the provision of social

services. In this situation, the Ministry of Land, Housing, and Housing Development is an

example of how corruption has become the source of uncertainty and discrimination in Tanzania.

The land is an important resource for the lives of many Tanzanians. The importance of land is

seen by looking at its contribution to daily life for individuals, groups of people, government,

investment companies, and other sectors. Land's contribution to the nation's development makes

the land sector a sensitive sector in national development. This situation has allowed a few

people to take advantage of the opportunities available in the land sector to earn income through

corruption.

There have been accusations that the Ministry of Lands and Housing has failed to

manage the just distribution of land in various areas in Tanzania. In 2020, the Handeni district

commissioner Toba Nguvira openly admitted that "Land conflicts...in Tanzania are caused by
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corruption" ("Stop Accepting Bribes"). Many conflicts involve the issue of land ownership

between two or more people with each claiming to be the owner. In 2020 ZAMAMPYA TV

uploaded a news broadcast by Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) about a 90-year-old

mother being returned to her land that she lost ten years ago due to what is believed to be a

corrupt environment. ("wins land case after 10 Years" 1:00- 3:20). In another case, the

Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania accused the Ministry of Lands of being a source

of land conflicts in the country by favoring foreign investors over locals while some members of

parliament attributed that favoritism to corruption.

Hon. Dustan Kitandula member of parliament from the Mkinga constituency

blamed the government for giving land estimated 25,000 hectares to the Italian

company while the residents of Mkinga do not have enough land for Agriculture

Activities. But also, another member of parliament from the eastern Bariadi

constituency Hon. John Cheyo said that poor people are being robbed of their land

and given to a few rich people who claim to be investors but in the real sense they

are not. (Tomitho 18)

This case shows how the issue of corruption has become one of the causes of many land conflicts

in Tanzania, a situation that leads to serious harm to the community, such as murder, poverty,

and stunting of the country's development.

Corruption takes away valuable resources for the sustainability of the next generation.

The social services provided by the government aim to help the current generation but also the

next generation. However, due to the spread of corruption, there has been concern that the next

generation may lack essential social services due to the misuse of funds available. Many

Tanzanians have been highly dependent on the government to bring about the eloquent
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transformation that will help to improve the livelihoods of the generation to come. Yet, most of

the development projects have failed to show a promising future because of the extreme

corruption that is going on.

For example, some education officials have attempted to sell national exams because of

bribes, and some receive bribes from teachers to give privileged opportunities such as transfers,

training, and others. In 2014, the Citizen Newspaper reported the results of a study conducted by

Transparency International, an international organization that deals with the anti-corruption

movement. The study revealed that “one in every six students had to pay a bribe to receive

certain educational services” (“Corruption groups in the education sector”).

In the same news reported by The Citizen Newspaper. One of the citizens who was

interviewed openly admitted that corruption is a normal thing among the officials in the

education sector. He said it is difficult to admit to some academic institutions without bribing the

administration. He confessed that he had to bribe the administration so that his child may get

admission to one of the best schools in town. He said the “school is good because it is successful

and everyone sends children there to get a good education. However, even before the child does

the interview, they will tell you that getting admission there is not easy because 1000 children

apply for admission while only 200 are needed, so what are you going to do other than offer

bribes" (“Corruption groups in the education sector”). Corruption cases like this have made

children who come from families that do not have enough financial capacity vulnerable in their

own country. They become vulnerable because corruption denies many children access to

education. As a result, the problem of ignorance has continued to be an obstacle to national

development. It seems to be a heritable problem from one generation to another without any

indication of a clear solution.

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This paper has presented the impacts of corruption on social services deliverance in

Tanzania. It has mentioned corruption as the source of inequality, the cause of the high cost of

social service provided, the source of discouragement to investors, the cause of citizens' lack of

trust in public services, the source of discrimination and inequality, and also corruption takes

away valuable resources for the sustainability of the coming generations. Yet, these are not the

only effects of the misuse of public resources for personal gain. There are other effects, such as

increasing the level of poverty by slowing down economic progress, skewing government

expenditure in want of the wealthy and nicely-connected people, directing public investment in

fruitless projects, endorsing extra regressive tax system, draining money away from vital public

services, adding a higher level of risk to the investment decision of low-income individuals, and

reinforcing patterns of unequal asset ownership. Thereby limiting the ability of the poor to

borrow and increasing their income.

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