Land Access and Corruption Practices in the Peri-Urban Areas of Tanzania: A Review of Democratic Governance Theory

Abstract

The level of corruption practices in the process of accessing land in peri-urban areas is agreeably enormous in Tanzania. The Democratic Governance Theory (DGT) anticipated curbing corruption in land related issues through advocating equality, equity, transparency and rule of law among others. This study aims to find out the extent at which the Democratic Governance Theory is upheld in Tanzania in a bid to fight corruption in the entire process of accessing land among the peri-urban dwellers. The study was conducted in Dar es Salaam City and deployed a case study methodology approach. Primary data employed household survey using questionnaire and in-depth interview with key informants where as secondary data collected includes government reports, research reports, books and articles. Findings from the study reveal that, despite emphasis of DGT's by the Government of Tanzania corruption is still serious problem in land accessibility. Land accessibility procedure was seen to be complicated, non-transparent and too bureaucratic. Lastly, anticorruption agencies were ineffective and inefficient, thus fail to check corrupt practices in the land circles. The study concluded that DGT has not adequately helped the country in the fight against corruption. The Government of Tanzania should therefore, consider comprehensive and participatory reforms in land tenure regime, land accessibility procedure and anti-corruption agencies. It is imperative to integrate modern information technology in the process of accessing land, so as to reduce frequent contact between land seekers and government officers.

Peri-Urban Land Governance in Developing Countries: Understanding the Role, Interaction and Power Relation Among Actors in Tanzania

“…Kombe (2005) elaborates that this is linked to planning ideas which do not correspond with the principles on the ground in land-use planning. Corruption and land-use conflict is reportedly caused by inadequate transparency and participation in decision making pertaining to land use as well as ineffective coordination among departments' dealings with land matters (Kironde 2009;Nuhu and Mpambije 2017). Land matters are also characterised by inequality between men and women, rich and the poor.…”

“…There are also oversight actors such as the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) and Police who are part of a watchdog mechanism in addressing good governance in all processes of public services access and activities (Nuhu and Mpambije 2017). Police in collaboration with courts of law ensures that land disputes are resolved and culprits are held accountable for their actions (Chalom et al 2003;Kironde 2009;Nuhu and Mpambije 2017). These disputes could be between the state and individuals or communities or among individuals.…”

“…CSOs, Academic Institutions and Media houses play an important role as pressure institutions for policy advocacy, mobilising resources and implementation of land projects (OECD 2013a; Nuhu 2013). CSO's have mainly engaged in land activism, supporting vulnerable groups to claim their land rights through representation and sensitisation (Kedogo et al 2010;Nuhu and Mpambije 2017). These actors have also been fundamental in training poor people on various aspects including land acquisition and housing, intervening in the informal sector and assisting poor people against forced evictions, tenure regularisation and slum upgrading (Nuhu 2013;Adam 2014).…”

“…The situation is worsened by poor land governance mechanisms (Nuhu and Mpambije 2017). Most central governments lack the capacity to implement a largescale national land registration system in a transparent manner (Toulmin 2008).…”

“…Most central governments lack the capacity to implement a largescale national land registration system in a transparent manner (Toulmin 2008). In Sub-Saharan Africa, critical issues such as lack of political will, human and financial resources (Durand-Lasserve 2005), lack of integrity and participation (Deininger et al 2011) rampant corruption (Nuhu and Mpambije 2017) are contributing factors to poor land governance. Weak urban land governance has adverse impacts on cities' growth (Palmer et al 2009).…”