Tanzanians bullish about growth prospects, back economy handling

By KATARE MBASHIRU

MOST Tanzanians have rated high the country’s economic performance, with a greater percentage of respondents expressing optimism that the country is moving in the right direction, a new survey has revealed.

Policy Research for Development (REPOA) yesterday released Afrobarometer 7th survey titled ‘Citizens’ Perceptions of the Economy and Lived Poverty in Dar es Salaam, which concluded that the government was doing well in handling the economy. Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues in 36 African countries.
Through the findings, ordinary citizens have a voice in policy-making processes that affect their lives. In Tanzania, Afrobarometer surveys are conducted through REPOA, which collects and publishes high-quality, reliable statistical data on Africa which is freely available to the public.
Presenting the findings of the survey that was conducted between April and June 2017, REPOA researcher, Thadeus Mboghina, said the findings suggest that the Fifth Phase Government’s intensified efforts to improve the management of public resources are yielding impressive results. “Popular approval of the government’s performance is high, mainly with regard to addressing education needs, improving basic health services and providing water and sanitation services,’’ he said.
However, the findings suggest that still, more than a half of respondents see their personal living conditions as fairly bad especially in rural areas, manifested by a proportion of them going without enough food, clean water and cash income. Key findings, according to Mr Mboghina, suggest that six out of 10 Tanzanians who were interviewed believe that the country was moving in the right direction (62 per cent) and that the government was handling the economy fairly well or very well by 59 per cent.
The survey further found out that popular assessments of the government’s performance had improved on a range of issues, including management of the economy. But, only one-quarter (23 per cent) of Tanzanians said during interviews that the government was doing well on food security, down from 43 per cent during the 2014 survey. According to Mr Stephen Mwombela, a researcher at REPOA Afrobarometer team in Tanzania, they interviewed 2,400 adult Tanzanians between April and June 2017. “ A sample of this size yields country level results with a margin error of +/-2 per cent confidence level,’’ he said.
A growing number of Tanzanians were reportedly going without basic necessities, including four in 10 respondents who went without enough clean water (42 per cent) and without medical care (40 per cent). Seventy six percent of respondents said they went without a cash income at least several times.
REPOA Executive Director Dr Donald Mmari said apart from the 7th survey, previous surveys were conducted in Tanzania in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2012 and 2014 respectively.
"The purpose of the survey is to generate and stimulate debate from the emerging perceptions from other researchers who have so far done similar surveys.’’ he said. The REPOA Executive Director said his institution was committed to giving the public a voice in police making by providing high quality public opinion data to policy makers.