Local Government Capacity on E-Participation in Tanzania

Abstract

Rapid development of information has made governments to employ e-participation by using ICT tools for the purpose of involving citizens in government policy issues. The purpose of this study was to examine e-participation tools and local government capacity on e-participation with reference to technical, financial and human resource in Tanzania. The study employed descriptive statistics whereby qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied. The data collection methods used were questionnaire and in depth interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics while qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The study findings revealed that the municipality does not have adequate technical and financial capacity for e-participation. The findings also revealed that websites and emails were the only e-participation tools used by the municipality. To improve capacity of Kinondoni Municipality in e-participation it is recommended that more funds should be injected to ICT infrastructures and that staff should be recruited and trained for ICT use.