4.4 The Policy-Making Process

At first sight, the process by which the National Policy on NGOs was formulated appears to mark a welcome departure from the government's typical practice. As previously discussed, non-governmental stakeholders were present at the consultative workshops, while the process was well-enough paced to allow ample time for discussion.

However, closer examination of the record of these discussions reveals a disturbing absence of authentic debate. Participants' comments appear to have been limited to the consultants' presentations which, as we have seen, largely avoided fundamental questions of freedom of association and expression. Indeed, despite the fact that the document being considered claimed its overall objective to be the creation of an enabling environment for NGOs to operate effectively and efficiently in the "social, political and economic transformation of the country…", debate on the NGO sector's role in the political process was expressly discouraged. Lawrence Gama, the guest of honour¹ at the third National Consultative Workshop, set the tone in his opening speech when he told the delegates: "As I have stated, Non-Governmental Organisations have a duty to collaborate with the Government in various spheres. However, we must not allow these organisations to be turned into a channel to further the political interests of their leaders and even members. We have, in our country, put in place procedures for individuals to participate in politics through (political) parties. Since the beginning we realized the importance of separating the activities of political parties and those of Non-Governmental Organisations. Mixing the activities of these organisations with politics could be the source of disruption of the peace and hence a hindrance to development. The policy for these organisations clearly sets out their characteristics and how they are supposed to operate. It is my expectation that the delegates to this conference will see this rationale" (author's translation from Swahili).²

The participants appear not to have let their guest of honour down. There is nothing in the record of the proceedings of that Workshop to suggest that the prohibition on political participation was debated or even questioned for purposes of clarification. And this despite the fact that, because the final draft offers no definition of what constitutes "politics" or "political activity", it is not clear whether this prohibition covers participation in such activities as advocacy campaigns regarding legal/constitutional reforms, which may be regarded as essentially political activities in that they aim at redistributing the authority of the state. One would have expected that this vagueness would have elicited debate or inquiries, particularly from the NGO representatives, as would have the prohibition of NGO support for political parties whose policies and programs might resonate with their objectives. Yet, there is nothing in the record of the proceedings to suggest that the participants in the policy-making processes drew attention to these issues.

The shallowness of the dialogue evident in the record of the proceedings of the Workshop may well be explained by the fact that NGO representation and participation was limited to the umbrella organisations TANGO, TACOSODE and ANGOZA. The more independent-minded and critical NGOs, such as those which have spearheaded the debate and action on land-tenure reform and environmental protection, were not invited. Leading legal, constitutional and political scholars and commentators were also not invited to make submissions and, as a result, legal/constitutional and political analyses in the final draft leave much to be desired. It is clear, therefore, that even though certain types of stakeholder were represented in the policy process, the decks were so heavily stacked against meaningful participation as to give an impression that the outcome was preordained, with the delegates being required to do no more than rubber-stamp already finalized decisions. However, as we will now consider, even this vestigial level of participation was unacceptable to the government when it came to the formulation of the NGO Bill currently being drafted under the auspices of the Vice-President's Office.

1. Hon. Dr. Lawrence Gama, Member of Parliament, Regional Commissioner for Morogoro Regional and member of the Central Committee of the National Executive Committee of ruling party, CCM, as well as that party's former Secretary General.
2. "Kama nilivyosema Mashirika yasiyo ya Kiserikali yana jukumu la kushirikiana na Serikali katika nyanja mbali mbali. Hata hivyo tusiruhusu mashirika haya kugeuka kuwa mkondo wa kuendeleza matakwa ya kisiasa ya viongozi au hata wanachama wa mashirika yenyewe. Katika nchi yetu tumejiwekea utaratibu wa kila mtu kushiriki katika siasa kwa kupitia vyama. Tangu awali tulitambua umuhimu wa kutenganisha shughuli za vyama vya siasa na zile za Mashirika yasiyokuwa ya Kiserikali. Kuchanganya shughuli za mashirika haya katika siasa yanaweza kuwa chanzo cha kuvurugika amani na hivyo kuwa kikwazo cha maendeleo. Sera ya mashirika haya inaweka bayana sifa za mashirika yenyewe na namna yanavyostahili kufanya kazi. Ni mategemeo yangu kuwa wajumbe wa mkutano huu nao wataona mantiki hii" (Millinga and Sangale, Annex 3: iv).