TITLE:
Land Access and Corruption Practices in the Peri-Urban Areas of Tanzania: A Review of Democratic Governance Theory
AUTHORS:
Said Nuhu, Chakupewa Joseph Mpambije
KEYWORDS:
Corruption, Access to Land, Peri-Urban, Democratic Governance Theory
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.5 No.4,
April
30,
2017
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, anti-corruption 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.