Tanzania and The Millennium Development Goals

Executive Summary

In 2005 the United Nations takes stock of the implementation status of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) around the world. The MDGs are the first universal time-bound benchmarks to which to hold governments accountable. For many of the world’s poorest countries, including Tanzania, the picture is bleak and 2015 is beginning to look more and more like a mirage. Achieving MDGs in Tanzania could bring about dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people now living below the poverty line and would be a big step in the country’s strategy for total poverty eradication as envisioned in its Vision 2025.

The purpose of the study was to asses the progress Tanzania has made on the implementation of
programmes and projects aimed at the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, with special focus on the attainment of MDG Goal Number eight which is Development of a global partnership for development, with specific bias on three areas debt, aid and trade.

Goal Number eight targets that are of interest to this research and AFRODAD are:

• Develop further an open trading and financial system that is rule-based, predictable and nondiscriminatory.
• Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction – nationally and internationally
• Address the least developed countries’ special needs. This includes tariff- and quota-free access for their exports; enhanced debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries; cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous Official Development Assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction •
• Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt problems through national and international measures to make debt sustainable in the long term.

The Specific Terms of Reference constitute the following:

1. Critical discussion on the present and anticipated role of various stakeholders in Tanzania in ensuring the achievement of better and effective aid delivery, fair trade and sustainable Debt levels
• The role of Government, especially Parliament
• The role of the Private Sector
• The role of Civil Society
2. Critical discussion on Tanzania’s situation and the possible international assistance in achieving better and effective aid delivery, fair trade and sustainable Debt levels





Aid

• Conditionalities and their impact on Tanzania’s potential to attain the MDGs
• The nature, type and main mode of aid allocation to various sectors of the economy

Debt

• The size of the country domestic and external debt burden vis-a-vis the ability of its general revenue to repay the debt and finance socio-economic development
• Debt management and resource mechanisms

Trade

• The position of balance of payment
• International trade system and regulations
• Assessment of Tanzania’s trade relations with the international community paying attention to tariff regimes and access to markets; its role in regional trade, progress in the negotiations on Economic

Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union and the likely impacts of such regimes on the economy.

3. Concrete and implemental recommendations aimed at ensuring that Tanzania attains the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 through achieving better and effective aid delivery, fair trade and sustainable Debt levels.

Specific recommendations for action by:

• Government
• Private Sector
• Civil Society
• The Donor community

In the conclusion the report states that there is a “need for close collaboration among the different stakeholders to meet the MDGs. Key actors include the government, CSOs, the private sector and the general public. However, at the moment there is no framework for collaboration among the various players and no clarity of roles. There is therefore a need to develop a collaboration framework, which will be crucial especially for resource sharing and reviewing progress.”