Aid Coordination and national dialogue structure

With the engagement of a high number of DPs in Tanzania where close to 40 percent of the national budget is funded with development aid, coordinating aid in a coherent and consistent manner is of paramount important. To guide the coordination of aid, the government of Tanzania and its development partners have developed and are following a Joint Assistance Strategy for Tanzania (JAST) and strategic document linking the JAST with the MKUKUTA through a Joint Program Document.

Principles for engagement and dialogue between DPs internally and with government of Tanzania is organised around the structure of the national development framework for Mainland Tanzania MKUKUTA. In 2008 the Government of Tanzania endorsed a new Dialogue Structure that is to be led by the Government, which guides the coordination between the government, development partners and domestic stakeholders by integrating all major national and sectoral development interventions into a single structure, whilst retaining government exclusivity on its internal dialogue. The structure covers four main levels: Sector and Thematic area Working Groups, Cluster Working Groups, MKUKUTA-PER Main group and the Joint Coordinating Group.

Sector and Thematic Area Working Groups

The Sector and Thematic Areas Working Groups represent the lowest level in the new Dialogue Structure. All Sectors and Thematic Areas follow the clusters of the MKUKUTA, based on policies and strategies for a particular sector/thematic area. Sectors include: Agriculture, education, water, health, industry and trade, infrastructure, energy and minerals, whilst Thematic Areas covers Governance, Domestic accountability, Public Service Reform, HIV/AIDS, Anti-corruption reform and Gender.

Cluster working groups

Four Cluster Working Groups (CWGs) work to maintain dialogue between government, development partners and domestic stakeholders on all issues relating to MKUKUTA clusters and macro-economic and financial management. They also provide important forum for the General Budget Support (GBS) dialogue are envisioned to be a critical forum for PER MKUKUTA dialogue. Each of the four existing clusters build on a number of Sectors and Thematic Areas, e.g. Cluster 1 (Growth and Income Poverty) builds on Agriculture, Industry and Trade, Energy and Minerals, Natural Resources and Tourism, Lands and Human Settlement and Infrastructure Sectors in addition to the Employment Thematic Area.

MKUKUTA-PER main group

The MKUKUTA-PER main group maintains dialogue between government, development partners and domestic stakeholders on the national MKUKUTA implementation and budget/Public Expenditure Review process with General Budget Support (GBS) and the Joint Assistance Strategy for Tanzania (JAST) processes being integrated within these processes.

Joint Coordinating Group

The Joint coordinating group is intended to provide the highest level of dialogue in the coordination of development assistance, including overarching development policy discussion and harmonisation and alignment of development partners’ programmes, projects and budget support in support of the implementation of MKUKUTA and MKUZA. The JCG includes participants such as Permanent Secretaries and DP Heads of Cooperation.

The work of the JCG is complemented by an informal forum for dialogue, the Development Cooperation Forum (DCF), chaired by the Government’s Chief Secretary and attended only by a selected number of DP representatives (at Ambassador-level).