Institutions And Governance: Public Staff Management In Tanzania
Benson Bana and Willy McCourt
Abstract
The importance of institutions is one of the distinctive features of the new governance model. This paper is an empirical study of how the institutional framework affects the way public servants are managed in Tanzania. In the 'Ujamaa' period, staffing institutions were placed under the control of the ruling party so that they would serve national development objectives, but the effect was to contaminate the efficiency and integrity of government. The legal framework conferred excessive powers on the President, and centralized staffing authority in agencies which were largely rubber-stamping bodies, and it allowed duplication of functions between central and line agencies.
In a climate of corruption and favouritism, there was little confidence in the integrity of civil service staffing. There was a need to strengthen its independence, to devolve and to align the institution governing it with current political and development objectives while controlling corruption at lower levels. Our findings may have an application to the institutions of government as a whole.
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