Local Government in Tanzania Part 11
| Date | 01 April 1967 |
| Published date | 01 April 1967 |
| Author | Stanley Dryden |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/j.1099-162X.1967.tb00663.x |
Local Government in Tanzania
Part 11
by
STANLEY
DRYDEN
CMr
ll .Dryden is on the staff of the Institute of Public Administration at the University
o ege of
Dar
es Salaam.
ＭＭＭＭｾＭＭＭＭＭ
The
End
of
the
Native Authority
System
AT the time
of
independence in I96I there existed two categories
of
local
authority in Tanganyika: eleven urban» and six rural councils established
under the Local Government Ordinance of I953 and more than fifty other
rural councils brought to different levels
of
constitutional advancement under
ｴｨｾ
old Native Authority Ordinance. Though little practical difference
eXIsted
in the functions performed by rural authorities of whatever category,
the large majority of councils - those still functioning under the provisions
of the Native Authority Ordinance - were not yet fully representative (by
elee:t0ra!
process)
of
the local people; they lacked jurisdiction over non-
Africans
residing within their areas; and they had no power conferred upon
them by law to exercise functions in their own right.
The
policy
of
the
ｾｬｯｮｩ｡ｬ
government had been to remove these three disabilities as and when
CU'CUIllstances
appeared favourable in particular cases.
It
seems likely that
:ore
African district councils would have graduated to the status of fully-
edged local government bodies prior to independence but for the unwilling-
ness of most
of
them to accept a small element
of
non-African representation
as the.price
of
greater autonomy
of
operation)
This particular fear was removed by the attainment
of
independence. A
ｾｾｯｮ｡ｬ
government formed largely
of
elected representatives
of
the
U1digenous
African people was not interested in advancing its system of local
gOvernment
along multi-racial lines.
It
was not prepared to make special
ｾｮｾ･ｳｳｩｯｮｳ
to local non-African constituents.
The
latter could,
if
they so
Jestted, take their chance at the polls like anyone else. Thus It was that by
b
uIy,I962, all
of
those local authorities whose constitutional advance had
een retarded were duly endowed with a new status under the Local Govem-
ｾ･ｮｴ
Ordinance. Much of the subsidiary legislation made in I962 consists
of
lrders made by the Minister for Local Government to confer upon these
°eal
bOdies
statutory Instruments of Establishment.
-------------------------
n::·1
his article is concerned solely with Local Government in Tanganyika, the
)e
ｾｾｮＮ､
of the United Republic of Tanzania. Part II of Mr. Dryden's Article will
2Ex
ｉＺｓｨｾ､
In
the next issue of the Journal.
3F c uding the City of
Dar
es Salaam. . . .
'ep or example, the Provincial Commissioner of the Northern Province,
In
his annual
he
°rt
for the year 1957, commented:
"In
the sphere of inrer-racial local government,
:vidattempt to form a district council in Moshi was temporanly shelved, as It was
:::0
･ｮｾ
t,hat the Chagga were unsympathetic".
Two
years
ｾ｡ｴ･ｾ
the Provincifll
Ｚ［･ｾｾｳｬｯｾ･ｲ
of the Lake Province reported a
ｲ･ｶ･ｲｳｾｬ
of constitutional progress
.In
:oun ·flstrlct, where
"the
unreasoned opposition against
ｾｨ･
ne:-v
ｾｴ｡ｴｵｴｯｲｹ
dlstr!ct
ed t
CI.,
because it contained a tiny minority of non-Africans
10
ItS membership,
o Its abolition".
109
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