Evaluation of externally funded regional integrated development programmes (rideps) in Tanzania: case studies of Kigoma, Tanga and Iringa regions.

PhD-Thesis

The importance of regional integrated development programmes and projects (RIDEPs) as pub lie policy instruments of rural change in Tanzania cannot be over-emphasized. S i nee have played purposefully directed towards increasing agricultural production and improvement in the quality of regions in the country. Soon launching of programme in July 1972, the (PMO), the then newly created super ministry responsible f or all rural development ma 11ers, formula ted and adopted a RIDEP policy and strategy. One of the key elements of i n the preparation and implementation of regional integrated development plans. Although donor response i n the preparation and writing of the RIDEP plans was enormous, culminating in each region having plan ready (i . e. on the she If) by the late seventies, follow-up funding was realized f or only ten of the twenty of the Tanzanian regions. I n the later years, the rate of donor dropout became a serious problem by 1986 only three RIDEPs were still running with donor support. The present study is regional integrated deve1opment programmes and projects of three Tanga (West Germany) and a significant role a number of as public Interventions which have been the administrative decentralization regions in Tanzania Kigoma (World Bank), this policy was to encourage donor participation after its own Prime Minister's Office life of the rural people in an ex-post evaluation of externally funded so that the early seventies RIDEPs I r i nga (EEC)). A rev1ew of eva1uat i on methods i s undertaken to estab 1i sh the i r link with and re 1evance to the obj ec t i ves and hypotheses of the study. The chosen methods and i nd i ca tors of the s t udy are d i scussed and the i r appropr i a teness is demonstrated. The chosen methods are ’bef ore and af ter’ compar isons, ’with and wi thout’ compar i sons and surveys. These eva1ua t i on methods are c ons i dered more appropr i a t e to the c ircurnstances of ianzan i a than others such as cos t-benefi t ana 1ys i s, f i nanc i a 1 investment ana 1ys i s, p1ann i ng-programmi ng-budget i ng system, etc., wh i ch usua11y resort to computer i sed ana 1yses. G i ven resource const ra i nts (f unds, manpower wi th the appropriate skills and equipment), s i mp1e methods are t o be preferred to the more soph i st i cated ones, if the re 1i ab i1i t y of the cone 1 us ions is similar. Each regional integrated development programme or proj ec t i s d1scussed and eva1ua t ed. A deta i1ed exami nat i on of <1) the obj ec t i ves, <2) appropriateness of the planning methodology and (3) exten t of implementation of each RIDEP i s carr i ed out and analysed to determi ne the i r ach i evements and failures. The purpose of the evaluation activity i s to pinpoint the ach i evements and the reasons f or the non-ach i evements of the RIDEPs when compared wi th their stated object ives. Through the evaluat ion exerc i se strengths and weaknesses of the RIDEPs as instruments of rural change are ident i f ied and recommendat ions are advanced to improve the effectiveness of the on-going RIDEPs and, mos t i mportant1y, of RIDEPs as a methodology of rural development planning and implementation in Tanzania.

School of Development Studies of the University of East Anglia, Norwich.