Corruption in Tanzania: The Case for Circumstantial Evidence By ...

The central theme of this study is in total agreement with Deepa Narayan’s⁴⁵ elaboration on the role of institutions in the lives of the poor by either responding to or repressing their needs, concerns, and voices. When the poor and rich compete for services, the rich will always get the upper hand and priority. The fight against corruption becomes effective where the community is involved through public education, sensitisation, and outreach programmes at the community level. In addition, this cause can also be fought for through interactions found in development and social assistance involving the civil society, private sector organisations, and the media. They are found along a continuum, from the micro or local level to the macro or national and international levels.

The intent of combating corruption in Tanzania was translated into an institutional framework in the form of the NACSAP infrastructure. NACSAP is meant to correct the negative effects of corruption by strengthening systems of integrity, transparency, and accountability in public institutions. NACSAP focuses on causes and effects of corruption, plugging up loopholes in systems, procedures, rules, regulations, and laws, and changing the mind-sets of all players—particularly the citizens, through their civil society organisations, the media, and the private sector. Our theme is one area that NACSAP has to address, particularly the law against corruption (cap. 329), which is weak and has been overtaken by the demands of time that require an overhaul of that law in order to incorporate the best practices, such as the utility of circumstantial evidence in corruption cases, by examining the best practices in other jurisdictions and domesticating regional and international instruments against corruption, which Tanzania has ratified.⁴⁶

NACSAP is national in its outlook, sectoral in its focus, and action oriented since it aims to strengthen systems that are transparent and accountable. The objectives of NACSAP are as follows: