On the 18-24 May 2015, Policy Forum – Local Government Working Group (LGWG) was invited to participate in the “World Village Festival” and other subsequent events organized by Kepa in Helsinki, Finland. The event brought in different NGOs from Europe, the Middle East and Africa to discuss the opportunities and challenges related to development that developing countries are facing but more specifically how decisions made in the north affect the lives of people in poorer countries.   

The National Budget for Financial Year 2015/16 is currently being discussed in Parliament. The consolidated government budget will be tabled by the Minister for Finance after the ministerial budgets have been discussed. Given the importance of this event to the nation, the members of the Policy Forum Budget Working Group, would like to contribute to this key process by sharing our analysis. 

Africa loses a big chunk of money as a result of illicit financial flows (IFFs).  Different studies have indicated that these IFFs are responsible for draining the African continent of resources for development and are detrimental to revenue mobilization efforts. For example the recent report by the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows (AU/ECA HLP) from Africa, show that the continent loses more than $50 billion annually through IFFs.

Policy Forum elected its new Board of Directors during its 2015 Annual General Meeting held in Dar es Salaam on the 30th of April. The outgoing board members are Israel Ilunde-Youth Partnership Countrywide (YPC), Martina M.

Engaging with government officials during Social Accountability Monitoring (SAM) interventions is key to harvesting good outcomes.This was emphasized by SAM practitioners during a five-day workshop organized by Policy Forum in collaboration with the Public ServiceAccountability Monitor (PSAM), Agricultural Non-State Actors Forum (ANSAF) and ActionAid-Tanzania that took place in Dodoma on the 18th – 22ndof May 2015.

Stakeholders have called upon the government to amend the Constituency Development Catalyst Fund (CDCF) Act of 2009 and to address the current governance deficits in its implementation.

SUBJECT: YOUR SUPPORT FOR INCREASED DOMESTIC RESOURCE MOBILISATION AND AN INTER-MINISTERIAL MEETING ON TAX AS PART OF THE 3RD FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE IN ADDIS ABABA, JULY 2015

The government needs to come up with a resettlement policy that addresses the needs of people displaced due to investment initiatives established in the country. This was said by Dr.

Towards the end of the year 2014, the Government of Tanzania prepared several Bills to be discussed by the National Assembly. Among these was the Budget Bill. Understanding the role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the Parliamentary Budget Committee sought inputs from Policy Forum so as to improve on the proposed Bill.

The Budget Bill was shared among members of the Budget Working Group and several other organizations made their contribution. This was compiled together and sent to the Bunge Office in Dar es Salaam in February, 2015.

​​​​Stakeholders have urged the government in co-operation with other stakeholders to establish a legal framework for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices as to ensure its effective implementation and compliance for the benefit of both national and international interests.