Villagers overthrow their local government

On the door to the office of the Village Executive Officer in Mkenge Village hangs a budget, which clearly indicates revenue and expenses of Mkenge Village. The overview gives the villagers in Mkenge an opportunity to keep track of the local revenue collected as well as the expenses of the local government.

However, this apparent transparency has not always been the case in Mkenge. On the contrary. Until November 2010 there was a constant conflict between a majority of the villagers and the local government. Not only did the local government refuse to call for the required village meetings every third month to discuss future priorities of the village – they allegedly sold off large portions of land in the area without collecting the required ten percent revenue for the village.

“We decided to strip them of their powers”

One of the villagers, who followed the actions of the local government and together with other villagers decided to take action is Mtunie.

“We, (the villagers) were left completely out of the decision making and we did not get any opportunity to contribute or question, because there were never any meetings held,” tells Mtunie, who adds that in the past, “nobody would have questioned the actions of the local authorities.”

But after participating in training by Naramatisho on the roles and responsibilities of the village councils as well as procedures for land allocation things have changed. According to the local government laws village councils are supposed to conduct village meetings every third months where development priorities are discussed and agreed upon. Further there are also very clear laws and guidelines on land management, which clearly state that when land is sold a ten percent revenue has to be paid to the village council for the benefit of the community.

“After the training, we realized that the village council was not following the procedures and that is why we decided to act,” tells Mtunie.

The villagers contacted the district officer who facilitated a meeting between the villagers and the village council. The village council presented report on its work during the year but a majority of the villagers refused to accept the report as it did not indicate the selling of land, which had taken place. During the meeting it was decided to vote on the future of the village council – and the decision was very clear. The village council got a vote of no confidence and was dissolved.

“I was very surprised about what happened in Mkenge because it is rare that villageres take such action. This is development,“ says Rajabu Madsenge, who is the ward executive officer and coordinates the activities for four villages in the ward.

“It is an important lesson to the village councils. They must include the people in their decisions and not act against their will. This is also what it says in the law,” he says.

In Mkenge people are now aware of the laws and know their rights after Naramatishos training.

Organisation:

Naramatisho is a membership based grassroots organization, which operates in Bagamoyo District in Tanzania. It mainly works to ensure marginalized pastoralists a better life through improved marketing and production of livestock products such as milk. However, as the pastoralists’ communities experience increased pressure against their access and use of land due to increased population growth, land grabbing and environment degradation, Naramatisho is increasingly working with the issue of land rights and the implementation of the land reforms in Tanzania.

The partnership with ActionAid Tanzania:

ActionAid Tanzania’s project with NARAMATISHO focuses on securing land through the development of village land use plans and by-laws in five villages. Village land use plans provide for participatory management of village land and natural resources. They also have the potential of reducing land conflicts and preventing village land being ‘grabbed’ by outsiders. ActionAid Tanzania also supports NARAMATISHO in activities such as local awareness-raising and training around land rights and land use planning and ensuring women’s participation in the village institutions.  This also involves activities such as developing village land use plans and by-laws, establishing village land registries in order to register and record land titles, and Strengthening capacity of the Village institutions such as village councils and village land councils in managing village land as well resolving land related conflicts. The project also provides institutional support to NARAMATISHO.