The Challenges of Enforcing Public Accountability: Experience from Tanzania

This article explores some challenges of enforcing public accountability in Tanzania using secondary data. In so doing, the article employs the institutional perspective to identify and discuss five challenges within the institutional architecture that constrain enforcement of public accountability. The main argument is that most of the challenges facing enforcement of public accountability are resulting from the institutional architecture, which presents a paradox of two contradictory logics. One logic is that citizens are the principals with the power to hold their leaders accountable. The other logic is that the ability of citizens to hold their leaders to account must be restricted. Previous research offers explanations for accountability deficits in Tanzania. However, these studies under emphasize the contradictions in the legal framework and the role of political culture thereby obscuring an understanding of constraints to public accountability in Tanzania. This article expands this discourse by exploring the contradictions within the legal framework and between the formal and informal institutions in a way that subverts the ability of citizens to hold their leaders to account. The article also identifies the gap between the theory and practice of accountability to appreciate the role of political culture among citizens as a significant agency in enforcing accountability.