DEVELOPMENT SITUATION IN TANZANIA IS REVIEWED BY UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

DEVELOPMENT SITUATION IN TANZANIA IS REVIEWED BY UNITED NATIONS

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

GENEVA, 9 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council this morning discussed development issues with a Government official from Tanzania and with the United Nations system "country team" for that country.  The Council heard, among other things, that while delivery of development services had been made more efficient and the gross domestic product (GDP) of Tanzania had grown by 5 per cent in recent years, poverty-reduction programmes were not yet reaching the rural poor and HIV/AIDS posed such a threat that it could reverse all gains recently achieved.

Joyce Mapunjo, Assistant Commissioner of the External Finance Division of the Ministry of Finance of Tanzania, outlined characteristics of the country's recent approach to development.

Sally Fegan-Wyles, Resident Representative for Tanzania of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Resident Coordinator, said ten agencies were operating in the country, and the country "team" had 12 members. 

She and other team members described programmes under way and the situation in Tanzania.

Those speaking from the floor wished to know more about how the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) intersected with the Government's poverty-reduction programmes.  Speakers noted that the extensive efforts at coordinating between various agencies might ultimately result in "transaction costs" that exceeded the benefits that resulted, and that regional as well as country-based development efforts should be pursued.

Taking part in the dialogue were these members of the United Nations country team for Tanzania:  Nicole Menage of the World Food Programme; Bjorn Ljungqfist of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); Ali Ibrahim of the International Labour Office (ILO); Wedson Mwambazi of the World Health Organization (WHO); Felix Ugbor of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); Kamara Maryon of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees; Teferi Seyoum of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); Jurgen Reitmaier of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); and James Adams of the World Bank.

Statements of Panellists

JOYCE MAPUNJO, Assistant Commissioner of the External Finance Division at the Ministry of Finance of Tanzania, said the characteristics of the country's

recent approach to development had been based on national ownership and leadership; a broad participatory approach; openness and improved relationships with development partners; a more strategic approach to public spending focusing on priorities, especially poverty reduction; continuous monitoring; and more attention to governance issues such as transparency and accountability. 

Among the efforts resulting had been a "Vision 2025" programme, a national poverty eradication strategy, a Tanzania Assistance Strategy, a poverty reduction strategy paper, and sector strategies/development programmes.  The "Vision 2025" programme set the goals of a high quality of livelihood by year 2025; peace, stability and unity; a well-educated society; and a competitive economy based on sustainable growth and equity.  One of the aims of the national poverty eradication strategy was to reduce abject poverty 50 per cent by 2010 and to eradicate it by 2025.  It also aimed to provide a framework to guide poverty eradication initiatives.

The United Nations system, among other things, could set of national priorities through the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).  Among additional help needed from the United Nations was assistance in mobilizing more resources to support poverty-reduction efforts, and the harmonization of procedures, rules and regulations of various United Nations agencies to make them more user-friendly.

SALLY FEGAN-WYLES, United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative and United Nations Resident Coordinator for Tanzania, said the basic message was obvious; coordination was an investment that could pay off.  It increased efficiency for poverty reduction schemes.  This was as true for national and international partners as it was for the United Nations.

She said it was important to put coordination into the context of the Development Partnership.  The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) had four strategic objectives for Tanzania:  enhancement of national capacity for development management; promotion of a democratic, transparent and community-driven enabling environment for development; attention to a rights-based approach to all United Nations programming.  Challenges lay ahead.  In January 2001, there were four United Nations working groups.  Now there were eleven.  Other United Nations agencies also wanted to participate in the efforts, and there was a need to cover refugee assistance.  The cost of this was an investment worth making.  United Nations coordination capacity required dedicated, professional staff in order to make sure those eleven working groups were effective. 

Members of the United Nations system country team for Tanzania, taking part in the discussion, said there were successful individual projects in Tanzania between 1985 and 1997, but that they had little impact on overall poverty.  Problems had been identified, including insufficient national ownership and leadership in setting priorities, a lack of a holistic, multi-dimensional understanding of poverty, and weak United Nations coordination.

Since 1997, there had been achievements in strong government leadership.  That had resulted in a national framework and process for priority setting.  There

was also a poverty focus based on a shared understanding of the multidimensional causes of poverty, and a strong development partnership had been established, with greatly improved coordination between national and international players and the United Nations. 

Speakers referred to the work of the various agencies in Tanzania.  The World Food Programme (WFP) had worked on school feeding to increase enrolment and improve attendance, and provided support to improved farming practices.  It also provided food for HIV/AIDS-affected households.  The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) prioritized development management, in which it supported the population census and strengthened national capacity for data management.  It also focused on access to basic services, including establishing outreach programmes for out-of-school youth on sexual and reproductive health. 

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) concentrated on policy analysis and research linked to public expenditure reviews, and provided poverty monitoring.  The World Health Organization (WHO) developed health systems focusing on district health systems and human resources development.  And the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) strengthened national capacity for poverty monitoring and effective aid coordination between national and international players and the United Nations.

Discussion

Some national delegations wished to know more about how the United Nations Development Framework (UNDAF) intersected with the Tanzanian Government's poverty-reduction programmes.  It was said that the "transaction costs" of coordination efforts could have negative as well as positive effects, among other things by involving United Nations officials and resources in discussions about coordination when they might be focusing on “hands-on work” in the country.  There was a call for efforts to enhance information and communications technology (ICT) to be expanded in Tanzania.

Ms. Fegan-Wyles and other members of the United Nations team, responding to the debate, said a rigorous Government analysis had been made of the causes of poverty in Tanzania to arrive at an effective common strategy for fighting poverty.  It had been found that the Tanzanian assistance strategy reflected what would have been done in the UN's Common Country Assessment.  The United Nations team had therefore opted for the Government's appraisal.  It was probably better to have such a situation where the Government wanted to carry out such a rigorous analysis itself, and did so. 

The United Nations system was less effective on regional strategies than with country approaches, team members said, but there were regional development approaches in Africa.  These tended to focus on specific topics, such as road-building, or to be clustered under certain specific agencies, such as the International Labour Organization (ILO), which based its approach on regions, such as for East Africa, for which it aimed to harmonize labour laws.  United Nations and Tanzanian development programmes were well-represented in refugee camps in Tanzania run by UNHCR.  However, since it was not primarily a development agency, UNHCR did not participate in the development-assistance framework (UNDAF) process.

                                    - 4 -       Press Release ECOSO/5957

                                                9 July 2001

Ms. Mapunjo of the Tanzanian Ministry of Finance, responding, said her country's efforts to review the causes of poverty problems and to come up with an effective Government strategy, had saved much time and bureaucratic cost.  Instead of having a series of United Nations agencies coming to the Government to negotiate strategic agreements and papers, the basic Government document now served as a common basis of agreement, saving time, money and energy. 

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