The Government is committed to enhance community participation in development planning and budgeting. This commitment emanates from the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977, Articles Numbers 145 and 146, which aim at transferring authority to the people through the establishment of Local Government Authorities.

Local Government Authorities are charged with the rights and powers to involve the people in planning and implementation of development programmes within their respective areas. They also have to ensure the rule of law and strengthen of democracy to speed up community development. In order to attain this concern, the government endorsed the vision for Local Government in Tanzania in the policy paper of Local Government Reform of 1998, which was prepared from policy decisions made since 1990. This triggered the restructuring of the Regional Administration by Act No.19 of 1997 and the empowerment of the Local Government Authorities by the Miscellaneous Amendments Act No. 6 of 1999 In view, the government is giving priority to harmonization of rural development approaches through fostering participatory development, where people are being empowered to plan and implement their own plans rather than receiving plans from external development partners including government ministries, departments and agencies. External plans, normally, have in-built implementation designs that may not be relevant to the local communities or primary stakeholders. They are usually implemented by external agents whose accountability is not to the primary stakeholders but to the financiers-the external partners in development.

To facilitate participatory development, a National Framework on Participatory Planning and Budgeting at district level has been put in place. This framework provides guiding principles for participatory planning in district planning and budgeting. It describes the legal framework, the roles and responsibilities of government institution at different governance levels (including the district, ward village levels). The Framework emphasizes the need for participatory planning from the village to the District level.

The framework is expected to produce a practical tool presenting a variety of useful participatory methods which are applicable and whose use is feasible in the contemporary planning environment in the country. The document will encourage a move away from participation as simply a project component towards the creation of locally accountable governance as a means of assuring that the government serves the need of the people. OPPORTUNITIES & OBSTACLE TO DEVELOPMENT (O&OD) METHODOLOGY To implement the National Framework for District Planning and Budgeting, a practical replicable planning methodology to be used by LGAs was required. Based on the framework and on the need to harmonize the various participatory approaches and tools being used by different development supporters in different districts and at different times, the Opportunities and Obstacles to Development (O&OD) methodology was developed.

The O&OD is a methodology for harmonizing the different participatory approaches and facilitates the bottom-up approach to planning. It has-been piloted in different rural and urban setting and proved valuable and accepted by the people. It is being rolled out to all the councils as a means for preparing basic village plans while capacitating the villages, wards, district and regions and it will be made a preconditions for development planning at the district and sub district levels. The O&OD methodology is an extensive consultative process that uses participatory tools to come up with the village and district plans. It is a vehicle, which carries the Tanzania Development Vision 2025 (TDV) and hence forming the basis for implementing poverty reduction efforts. It has been developed to institutionalize the local government reforms in line with the government aspirations to devolve decision-making powers to the communities. MISSION To make the empowerment of the people a reality through measures taken a bove, the government sought to synthesize experiences of participatory planning and produced a National Framework for participatory planning and budgeting at District level and the O&OD as its participatory planning methodology.

The Government mission is to ensure that O&OD is institutionalized in the planning at all levels, whereby the government, donor community, public sector, private sector, and civil society are involved in the process. PURPOSE The purpose of such O&OD is to inform development planners of alternatives rather than to prescribe specific participatory approaches in development planning in the Tanzanian Context. It should be a flexibility and adaptable tool for area specific situations in a broad framework. In addition, it is envisaged that the different development interventions will be coordinated through it to culminate into comprehensive area-specific development programmers. It will try to deal with some of the problems contemporary planning and implementation approaches faces such as: i. Lack of capacity in the institutions (including local authorities) that are charged with the task of up scaling and mainstreaming stakeholder participation. ii. Poor infrastructure affects priorities including the procedure for preparation and implementation of projects giving little or on consideration for stakeholder participation. iii. Poverty undermining priority setting and stakeholder participation. REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION The government has prepared the O&OD Manuals, Handbook, Training Manual, Urban and Rural Field Guides. The methodology was pre-tested in Morogoro Urban and Rural Councils and piloted in Hai District Council. After recording successful achievements in Hai, PORALG has embarked on institutionalizing the O&OD in LGAs. By December 2003 institutionalisation had been done in 27 Councils of: Hai, Bagamoyo, Kibaha, Kisarawe, Mtwara ? Masasi, Songea ? Makete, Mufindi, Mbarali, Temeke, Kilosa, Sumbawanga (U), Sumbawanga ? Nkasi, Mpanda Sikonge, Manyoni, Singida (U), Musoma ? Magu, Ukerewe, Ngara, Kibondo, Kigoma ? Kigoma (U) and Hanang. It is planning to complete the exercise in all 113 eligible (except Dar es Salaam City Council) Mainland Councils by year 2005/06. REASON FOR EMPHASIZING ON PARTICIPATION There are several reasons for the growing emphasis on participation. i. There is significant evidence that participation can in many instances improve the quality, effectiveness and sustainability of projects. ii. Participation can strengthen ownership and commitment of government and stakeholders. iii. Community participation strategies have proved to be particularly important in reaching the poor and the vulnerable. iv. O&OD methodology levels playing ground for all players in the development process by building upon existing participatory methodologies, harmonies the participatory approaches and institutionalizes participatory planning into the operations of institutions, particularly the LGAs. v. O&OD uses common manuals and guidelines and common resources centres and curriculum. GUDELINES Now that the Government has decided to use O&OD planning methodology in the LGAs structures; i. PORALG will facilitate, co-ordinate and supervise the institutionalization of the methodology. ii. All LGAs should seek internal and external resources for institutionalizing the methodology and backstopping the same at village level. iii. Lags in which O&OD has been institutionalized should use the village plans to prepare District Development Plan starting from 2004/2005 fiscal year. iv. The LGAs where O&OD has been institutionalized LGAs should include in their annual budgets an item for District Ward and Village capacity building in planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. v. Funds budgeted for participatory planning in various sectoral development programmes should be directed towards enhancing government efforts to institutionalize O&OD methodology and build capacities at District, Ward and Village levels. vi. Development partners are encouraged to support the government in both the institutionalization of the O&OD methodology and building capacities in the area based programmes they support.

BUDGETARY REQUIREMENTS During the 2003/04 financial year, the government set aside 700,000,000/= for rolling in O&OD to LGAs. It is anticipated to roll O&OD in 50 LGAs against the planned figure of 27 LGAs. This may be possible due to some implementing partners (such as Sida) who have accepted to set aside funds for rolling in O&OD in the districts they are supporting. Apart from supporting the exercise in 7 LGAs during the 2002/03 financial year, UNICEF has continued to support the back up of the process in these LGAs. In order to cover all the LGAs during 2004/05 financial year, an estimated amount of 2.400,000,000/= At an average rate of 50,000,000/= per LGA, this amount will be enough for 40 LGAs. Given that the new target for this financial year of 50 LGAs is achieved, plus the 7 done last financial year, 97 LGAs will have been covered. The remaining 6 will be covered by budget from development partners supporting area-based development programmes. In addition, it is intended to officially Launch O&OD next year.