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 Tanzania’s public service reform has a long and distinguished history. At the time of independence, the emerging nation of Tanganyika inherited a public service designed to serve its colonial roots. The upper end of the public service was dominated by non-Africans; there were few African doctors, managers, and professionals. The size of government was small, with a focus on providing services to the colonial population. Reform, therefore, entailed the building of institutional and human resource capacity to respond to the needs of the new nation.
By the late 1960s, Tanzania adopted a policy of self-reliance, whereby government would be the primary producer and distributor of goods. This was intended to bring services closer to the people, a majority whom lived in rural areas. In terms of the public service, this led to a rapid expansion in both the scope and size of Government. However, by the mid 1980s, the economy was under-performing, there were shortages of essential goods, and the Government began undertaking a long and painful reform of its economic systems. By the early 1990s a consensus emerged that the shift towards a free-market economy (where the private sector was to serve as the engine of growth) needed to be better reflected in the structure and size of the nation’s public service. This consensus was expressed through designing and implementing the Civil Service Reform Programme (CSRP) from 1993-1998. CSRP focused on COST CONTAINMENT and the RESTRUCTURING of Government. During this period some of the main changes included: A redefinition of Government roles and functions. A Local Government decentralization programme began, Executive Agencies were created and non-core services were contracted out to the private sector. The exercise reduced ministries, departments, and units by 25 percent. The number of public service employees was significantly reduced from 355,000 in 1992 to 264,000 by end of 1998; and Salary levels were enhanced (in real terms) and a more transparent and efficient pay structure was created (by consolidating allowances into basic salaries)
By the late 1990s, it became apparent that CSRP had limitations in terms of scope and design and the impact it would have on improving the public service. First, the nature of the problem changed. Following significant downsizing and the achievement of macroeconomic stability, the need to impose further cost containment lessened. Second, Tanzania’s move towards political pluralism amplified citizens’ demands for improved service delivery. Such improvements were unlikely to arise through the Programme’s narrow focus on cost cutting. Third, by their very nature the CSRP reforms were painful to implement. The reforms imposed significant hardship on the general population, for example through the imposition of cost sharing arrangements. As public revenue collection increased, such initiatives became less relevant.
Based on the above limitations, the Government redesigned a more comprehensive Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP) whose implementation started in 2000. The main focus of PSRP is to improve Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) service delivery and regulatory functions through a more efficient Public Service. PSRP implementation is spearheaded by the President’s Office—Public Service Management. PSRP is implemented in a series of overlapping phases, each having a different theme: VISION The vision of PSRP II describes the kind of public service to be realized following the completion of the third round of Public Service Reforms (in 2017) as follows: “a national institution of excellence that plays a pivotal role in achieving sustained economic growth and prosperity, and eradication of poverty in the 21st Century” MISSION The Mission of PSRP II is: “to deliver quality service to the people of Tanzania with efficiency, effectiveness and the highest standard of courtesy and integrity” PSRP II GOAL The PSRP Goal represents the highest level of results envisioned under Programme as follows: “MDAs deliver improved services (in terms of quality, timeliness and efficiency), implement relevant, priority policies, and establish a predictable and well regulated environment for private sector growth and social development” CORE VALUES OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE Pursuit of Excellence in Service: Public servants will strive to achieve the highest standards in their work and to actively seek opportunities to improve those standards; Loyalty to Government: Public servants will loyally serve the duly elected Government of the day and will comply with the lawful instructions of their Ministers and managers; Diligence to Duty: Public servants will attend regularly during their hours of duty and will devote themselves wholly to their work during this time; Impartiality in Service: Public servants will not engage in political activities at the work place, nor allow their political views to influence the performance of their duties; Integrity: Public servants will not seek or accept gifts, favours or inducements in the course of discharging their duties. They will not use public property or official time for their own private purposes; Courtesy to All: Public servants will treat their clients and colleagues with courtesy. Public servants will regard themselves as servants of the Tanzanian people, and will be particularly considerate when dealing with vulnerable members of the public, such as the elderly, the poor, the sick and people with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups in society; Respect for the Law: Public servants will not commit any unlawful act in the course of their duties; and Proper use of Official Information: public servants will not withhold information which the public has a right to know, or information which is needed by Ministers or other public servants. They will not divulge or misuse official information which is confidential.
Strategic Imperatives for PSRP II The success of PSRP II will hinge on the following six strategic imperatives: Political support and commitment at the top levels; A commitment to decisively impact on service delivery; A strong pro-growth and anti-poverty focus; Effective coordination of public sector reforms; Ministries, Independent Departments’ and Executive Agencies (MDAs) ownership of the reform agenda; and Effective use of M&E results
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