Tanzania Threshold Program

The Tanzania threshold program targeted the policy areas measured by one of MCC’s eligibility indicators, Control of Corruption. 

When Tanzania was selected as threshold eligible, it did not meet the criteria for compact eligibility in the Ruling Justly category. To demonstrate its commitment to good governance, the government proposed reducing public corruption through an approach that would increase civil society engagement, strengthen the rule of law, and support institutional reforms.

Tanzania Program Implementation

The Tanzania threshold program agreement was signed in May 2006; the program officially concluded in December 2008. As the program administrator, USAID managed day-to-day program operations and oversaw the program implementers: Kilimanjaro International, Deloitte & Touche, PACT-Tanzania, the Campaign for Good Governance, Women for Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAf), the National Organization for Legal Assistance (NOLA), the African Wildlife Fund (AWF), and the US Department of Justice’s International Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) and the US Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (OPDAT). The threshold program partnered with four government entities as well as several non-governmental organizations. 

Program Achievements

The Tanzania threshold program was largely implemented as planned, and most outputs were achieved. As a result of threshold program support, the Tanzania Public Procurement Regulatory Authority conducted 39 audits of procuring entities. One of the audits uncovered irregularities in the procurement of electrical generators by the national electricity purveyor. This report was made public, and the subsequent scandal attracted national attention and led to the resignation of several senior government officials, including the Prime Minster.

Tanzania partnered with MCC on a compact.

Program Budget

Milestones

  • Closed:
     December 30, 2008

Program Projects

Build the Nongovernmental Sector Monitoring Capacity

Objective

Build the capacity of civil society organizations and the media to effectively engage with government and the public and serve as monitors of government progress on preventing, addressing, and prosecuting corruption.

Activities

  • Trained and mobilized civil society monitors at the national level to effectively monitor the Government of Tanzania’s progress in fighting corruption.
  • Trained and mobilized civil society monitors at the district level, with an emphasis on enhancing the role of women in the process, to monitor the Government of Tanzania’s progress in fighting corruption and increasing citizen participation in discussions on public expenditures and the quality of services provided.
  • Trained journalists in investigative reporting.

Curb Corruption in Public Procurement

Objective

Decrease the opportunities for corruption and increase confidence in Tanzania’s public procurement system.

Activities

  • Conducted procurement, contract, and performance audits of government ministries and departments and local government authorities. These audits ensured compliance with the law and provided a strong deterrent to corruption in public procurements.
  • Strengthened the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) to ensure that it is able to exercise its oversight and regulatory authorities properly through such activities as expansion of the planned procurement management information system to other central government agencies and local government authorities and technical assistance for PPRA staff.
  • Conducted a multi-stakeholder forum to assess how well the Public Procurement Act of 2004 was being implemented.
  • Designed and piloted multi-stakeholder forums to implement a new model for transparency in public procurement in Tanzania. These forums ensured ongoing civil society engagement and oversight of procurement.
  • Built capacity among members of Parliament to effectively oversee implementation of the Procurement Act of 2004 and understand their role regarding integrity in public procurement.

Establish a Financial Intelligence Unit

Objective

Establish a Financial Intelligence Unit to receive, analyze, and disclose information by financial institutions to competent authorities about suspicious or unusual financial transactions, including money laundering.

Activities

  • Created the FIU as an independent agency under the Ministry of Finance and coordinated closely with the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
  • Focused public attention on corrupt business practices and general findings from the FIU through media groups and journalists included in other threshold program components.
  • Created the FIU, in conjunction with the National Multi-Disciplinary Committee. The FIU will serve as the focal point for the development of a National Money Laundering strategy and as the reporting body on all Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Finance of Terrorism activities.
  • Reported on number of cases investigated by authorized bodies, the number charged, number convicted and number of persons sentenced; compiled statistics on frozen and confiscated funds and assets; and provided these figures to the media to hold responsible parties accountable.

Strengthen the Rule of Law

Objective

Deter corruption by strengthening the judiciary’s ability to investigate and prosecute corruption cases.

Activities

  • Trained public prosecutors and magistrates on the use of existing anti-corruption laws to increase their skills in order to successfully prosecute and convict offenders.
  • Provided training and investigative equipment to strengthen and modernize the police investigation system in the areas of fraud and financial crimes.
  • Strengthened the capacity of the Institute of Judicial Administration and law faculties at Tanzanian universities to offer courses focused on anti-corruption laws and policies. 
  • Established a Legal Aid Network Secretariat and create a legal aid fund to provide grants to legal aid NGOs and establish regional and district-level legal aid centers.