With new found gas reserves in Tanzania, there has been adequate talk of how the extraction of the resource can be maximized for the benefit of locals in the country. Observers have called for Government to demonstrate high commitment towards enhancing local content in the sector and international oil & gas companies to demonstrate the concrete steps they will take on this including  development of human resources.

Policy Forum elected its new Board of Directors during its 2014 Annual General Meeting held in Dar es Salaam on the 25th of April. The outgoing board members are Hellen Kijo Bisimba - Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), Nemence Iriya – Macsnet, Aida Kiangi – ActionAid Tanzania and Godfrey Wawa- Forum Syd who retired during this AGM leaving behind Israel Ilunde-Youth Partnership Countrywide (YPC), Martina M. Kabisama-SAHRINGON and Betty Missokia / Godfrey Boniventura - Hakielimu to stay on for another year so that there is a balance between replacement and continuity on the Board.

Policy Forum recently took part in the Kanumba Day, to commemorate the late Steven Kanumba, a film Director and actor who had worked with the network to dramatise the Social Accountability Monitoring concept.

The screenplay concept that Policy Forum, its scriptwriters and Kanumba jointly developed, resulted in the production of the movie “Kijiji cha Tambua Haki”, a tale that depicts the everyday struggles of rural community members in the fight for accountable local governance.

“’Local Content' means the local component of goods, services and human resources employed in the conduct of Petroleum Operations under this contract” – Model Production Sharing Contract (2003)

Poorer persons in Tanzania are more exposed to crime and tend to be more fearful for their safety, a recent research has revealed.  Speaking at the Policy Forum March Breakfast Debate, Rose Aiko, the Director of Governance and Service Delivery at REPOA said the findings were based on the Afrobarometer survey which is a comparative series of public opinions conducted across countries in Africa.

In early 2013, SDC, a core funder of Policy Forum (PF), set up a Social Accountability Small Grants Fund (SASG) aimed at supporting CSOs working at the local level to complement advocacy efforts of national level organisations such as PF and reinforcing links between work at the national and local levels. The central hypothesis behind this is to draw out experiences at local level and use them to impact national level policy processes.

BRICS states have been urged to become more active and transparent in the Tanzania development dialogue with stakeholders as they seek to contribute to the country’s poverty reduction efforts as articulated in MKUKUTA. Tanzania has also been cautioned to be careful in handling foreign investors coming to the country offering contracts without transparency.

Policy Forum is supporting efforts to ensure that transparency, accountability and participation are at the heart of the United Nations’ Post-2015 framework. The network has joined groups such as Transparency International, the International Budget Partnership, CAFOD, Save the Children, Integrity Action, Development Initiatives, Publish What You Fund and Global Witness to formulate this framework that will succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

To: Ministers of Finance of The Republic of Burundi, The Republic of Kenya, The Republic of Rwanda, The United Republic of Tanzania and  The Republic of Uganda

Subject: End tax incentives in the East African Community

We, participants of the Tanzania Alternative Mining Conferencedrawn from Faith Based Organisations (FBOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSO), Academia, representatives from the mining communities, Mining Companies, and regional representatives from South Africahaving gathered at Blue Pearl Hotel  in Dar Es Salaam from 13th -14th November 2013 extensively deliberated under the theme   “ Effective  Management of our Natural resources ,Our promising  Future ”;