|
MKURABITA, MKUKUTA how familiar are they to the people?
2007-04-15 10:36:54
By Rayner Ngonji
MKURABITA,Tanzania`s Property and Business Formalisation Programme(TPBP)and MKUKUTA are interrelated economic interventions effected by the government in an effort to provide relief to the Tanzanian masses of medium and lower ranks.
While MKURABITA focuses petty traders as a whole, MKUKUTA targets all the poor in their struggle to improve their welfare.
Initially, MKURABITA was to empower the marginalised majority in the informal sector by recognising their properties and register them to be used as colateral.
The move followed a research finding by the University of Dar es Salaam\'s Social Research Foundation which established that some 25bn/- could not be absorbed in the national economy because they were in the hands of informal sector where they could not be accounted for any economic activity.
It was therefore thought a way should be sought where they could be integrated in the national economy to bail out the poor--hence the birth of MKURABITA.
The idea behind was to make maximum use of their properties and business assets as well as other opportunities to secure loans for opening up small scale projects thereby raising their income.
Under such facilitation they could effectively participate in the reduction of income poverty and contribute to the attainment of Medium Development Goals (MDG) targets.
Mkurabita, Tanzania’s Property and Business Formalisation Programme, was founded to empower the marginalised majority in the informal sector so that they can use their properties and business assets and other opportunities in the modern market economy, and thus increase their income.
Under such facilitation they can effectively participate in the reduction of income poverty and contribute to the attainment of Medium Development Goals (MDG) targets.
MKUKUTA meanwhile has been founded with the mere objective of reducing poverty amongst Tanzanians in general. With its acronym National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty its strong outcome focused and has deliberately set out to mainstream cross-cutting issues as integral to the strategy and not as ``an add on``.
The focus is outcome orientated and organized around three clusters - Growth and reduction of income poverty, improved quality of life and social well-being, and governance and accountability.
A very important feature of the development of the review leading to MKUKUTA has been national ownership and the implementation of extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders on the content and focus of the strategy with the aim to make it a national strategy.
Monitoring MKUKUTA progress across these clusters is a large and important task. To do this the monitoring system has a structure which includes coordination by the MKUKUTA Secretariat and three multi-stakeholder Technical Tanzania Development Partners Group (DPG)
MKUKUTA is based on the achievement of three major clusters of broad outcomes for poverty reduction, namely--growth and reduction of income poverty; improved quality of life and social well being; and good governance and accountability.
However, with all these good intentions the two terms apparently are not familiar to the majority of Tanzanians.
A cross section interview carried out by one of the local TV stations established that many people neither know existence of the terms nor their functions.
Of all the interviewees covering people of all walks of life except children none could tell what MKURABITA or MKUKUTA is all about and for what purpose has it been established.
Some simply said they had heard of it but don`t know what the two terms are. What is even surprising is that some of the petty businessmen who were caught operating beside MKURABITA and MKUKUTA offices did not know what the offices are there for.
Some suggested that implementors of the two programmes should embark on massive education campaign to educate them on their activities so that they improve their businesses and contribute to the national economy.
Indeed, educating beneficiaries on any programme under implementation is of paramount importance. Once they understand that they will be in a position of contributing magnificently materially and morally because they would take it as theirs. Failure to that they would take it as a government entity.
This in a way has led to failures of a number of projects especially those executed in the rural areas. After all there is no point of initiating a project and then you sideline the target groups.
|
