BACKGROUND

A cornerstone of democratic governance and constitutional liberalism is the freedom of association. This freedom enables people who share similar interests to come together and form organizations that represent their interests and views. For example, the freedom of association allows for the formation of political parties, trade unions, cooperatives, and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs). The freedom of association helps citizens to monitor the state, to ensure appropriate discharging of public functions, and to demand government compliance as articulated in legislation. In so doing, it helps ensure transparency and accountability. In addition, the freedom of association enables individuals and organizations with different views on public policy to come together and develop a strategy to voice their positions to government as well as to the public. In short, freedom of association enables the populace to be a participant in the day to day management of the country.

The implications for civil society and NGOs as well as their efforts to promote development, social equity, and environmental management are clear. On the one hand, effective advocacy is dependent on an enabling environment that provides important rights, including the freedoms of association, expression, and information. Without them, civil society has little political space and few opportunities to hold government accountable. On the other hand, sound environmental management is both a public interest-national and global-and, in Africa where most household economies are resource-dependent, also a private interest. Natural resources are valuable and a significant source of wealth. Shifts in ownership, use, and benefit-sharing have proven to be politically contentious and often conflictual. Indeed, addressing sound resource management is a good wedge issue to promote democratic governance and pluralism.

In Tanzania, the freedom of association is deemed by the government to be a privilege, not a right. Soon after Independence, a government campaign eradicated most formal civil organizations, especially those with dissenting views and opposing positions. In 1964, for example, the government banned independent trade unions and formed the National Union of Tanzanian Workers Association (NUTA), a state controlled trade union. In so doing, it essentially outlawed strikes and the right to advocate for fair wages. In 1968, it passed a law curtailing the activities of Cooperative Unions. In 1976, it dealt a devastating blow to the cooperative unions by outlawing them. In the absence of civil society organizations, the government enacted and pursued policies-often through a Presidential Decree or administrative fiat-some of which had profound and negative impacts on the well-being of most Tanzanians. For example, in 1973-75 the state resettled about 80 percent of the population in Ujamaa villages which resulted in famine and drastic reduction of crop production. To date, Tanzania has not recovered from the aftermath of this policy.

These and other restrictions forced most Tanzanians to be passive watchers of state-sponsored initiatives, many of which had negative consequences on their lives. Citizens were denied the right to be shapers and masters of their own destiny. The situation was complicated by the absence of a Bill of Rights in the country's Constitution. The government had consistently argued that a Bill of Rights was a political luxury that a poor country like Tanzania could not afford. It saw a Bill of Rights as an impediment to rapid social and economic development.

But after more than 20 years of independence, it became clear that the centralized government had failed to deliver promised economic prosperity to Tanzania. This led, among other efforts, to a backlash and intensified public demand for a Bill of Rights. Eventually and with a surprisingly restricted constitutional debate, a Bill of Rights was enshrined in the Constitution, vide Act No.16 of 1984. Tanzania's Bill of Rights, however, includes many exception clauses which subjects the rights enshrined in the Constitution to various pieces of legislation. By enacting a Bill of Rights with exception clauses the state hoped to curtail the powers of the judiciary to uphold and protect peoples' rights.

The freedom of association is provided by Article 20 of the Tanzanian Constitution subject to the "procedure provided by law." Thus, a citizen has to exercise this freedom in accordance with Parliament-enacted legislation. For example, political parties are regulated by the Political Parties Act of 1992; Trade Unions are governed by the Organization of Tanzania Trade Unions Act of 1991. Cooperative Unions are governed by yet another piece of legislation. NGOs and most civil society organization are governed by a very restrictive piece of legislation-the Societies Ordinance of 1954. This Ordinance was passed by the British colonial government in order to curtail the demand of independence by Africans. The independent government left this piece of legislation unamended when it assumed power. The Societies Ordinance restricts the activities of NGOs by demanding that they register to become legal organizations to operate in the country. It requires that any branch of an organization exceeding 10 members be registered as an independent society. And it requires NGOs to furnish the Registrar with audited financial statements of their financial dealings. Above all, the Registrar is given power to deregister any NGO whenever he or she deems fit. The requirements and the powers of the Registrar effectively restrict NGO activities, especially advocacy and independent monitoring of the state.