Sauti za Wananchi
Senior Member
- Sep 2, 2014
- 113
- 138
Key highlights for Tanzania
Rais wa Ufaransa Bw. François Hollande akihutubia washiriki katika ufunguzi wa mkutano wa 4 wa mpango wa Uendeshaji wa Shughuli za Serikali kwa uwazi(OGP)
Several key themes emerged at the summit, many of which have significance for Tanzania. Most
notably, this includes the following:
Further, it is important to note that many participants were surprised and disappointed at the low level of participation by the Tanzanian government at the summit. For a country that has historically had a high profile at the OGP, this absence was very noticeable. Approving and submitting Tanzania’s third National Action Plan (NAP III) at the earliest opportunity will help counter these concerns.
Background to the Summit
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) was launched in 2011 to provide an international latform for domestic reformers committed to making their governments more open, accountable, and responsive to citizens. Since then, OGP has grown from 8 to 70 participating countries, including 10 in Africa. In all of these countries, government and civil society are working together to develop and implement ambitious open government reforms.
The Paris Summit was the fourth global OGP Summit, and involved 3000 representatives from 70 countries. Participants included the President of France, François Hollande, and (via video-link) he President of the United States of America, Barack Obama), as well as numerous ministers, public servants, members of parliament, local authorities, civil society representatives, technological innovators, researchers, journalists and others.
Tanzania has always been a leading light in the OGP at global level. Having joined very early in the process, national leaders have been prominent figures in the OGP at global level, and Tanzania’s progress in the OGP has previously attracted positive comments from other global leaders.
Key Themes of the Summit
The summit covered a wide range of topics, including several that are of direct relevance to Tanzania. In large part, this relevance relates to the anti-corruption drive of President Magufuli, and how open government strategies could build on the President’s momentum in this direction and strengthen his anti-corruption campaign with systemic changes that help reduce opportunities for corruption. Three particular themes are highlighted below:
Beneficial ownership disclosure
There is increasing recognition that opaque corporate ownership records provide opportunities for the corrupt to hide their activities and wealth from the authorities. Where companies are required to provide governments with clear information on their true owners, and where such information is made public, it is much harder to hide tax evasion, conflicts of interest in public procurement, and other corrupt activities.
The United Kingdom has earned widespread acclaim for setting the agenda in this area, having recently launched an open register of beneficial ownership and with plans to go further to require similar information from foreign companies that own property in the UK or enter into contracts with the UK government. Other countries have similarly recognised the value of beneficial ownership registers, most notably including Kenya. There is a growing momentum behind the idea, such that it is well on the way to becoming the new norm. Countries that require minimal information from companies or that maintain private corporate registers will soon be the exceptions.
Tanzania has made some small commitments in this direction, specifically to establish and make public a register of corporate ownership of extractive industry companies. This commitment is expressed through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the proposed third national OGP action plan. However, there is room for Tanzania to expand this to include all companies registered in Tanzania. This would ensure Tanzania does not get left behind either in open government reforms or in the fields of tax justice and anti-corruption work.
Civic space and media freedoms
Civil society in many countries – including South Africa, India, Hungary and others – has raised concerns that space for open public debate is being closed down. This includes legal measures such as new laws that restrict key freedoms such as freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, and changes in government and/or policing in practice. In Hungary, a dispute between civil society and the government on closures of civic space led to an investigation by the OGP leadership, which found that civil society had strong grounds for their complaints. The Hungarian government subsequently decided to withdraw participation in the OGP.
These concerns have led to growing calls for the OGP to give greater attention to the issue of civic space. This recognises that civic freedoms are a foundation of open government and that respect for civic space is among the best protections against corruption and mismanagement. Some called for criteria for participation in the OGP to be tightened, such that only countries where basic standards of media freedom and democratic space are respected should be eligible to join the OGP. Others called for tougher responses from the OGP when countries are seen to be moving to restrict civic space.
In the case of Tanzania, the OGP community has concerns about various laws passed since 2015 – otably the Cybercrime Act and Media Services Act – and about moves to restrict space for public assembly and political action. In part, the concern is that these will undermine President Magufuli’s campaign against corruption and waste.
Open government at the subnational level
As the first global OGP summit since the launch of the OGP subnational pilot programme – in which Kigoma Municipal Council is a participant – there was much excitement at the potential of open government reforms in local government. This attitude was typified by Mo Ibrahim of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, who celebrated particularly the three African participants in the pilot. This excitement largely stems from the potential for a wider range of open government reforms, and for a new group of emerging open government champions.
Tanzania’s Third National Action Plan (NAP III)
At national level, the Open Government Partnership is operationalised through national action plans (NAPs), each covering a two-year period, developed and implemented by both government and civil society. Tanzania recently completed preparations of a third action plan (NAP III), building on progress of two previous plans and feedback from the OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM), and extending open government work into some new areas.
NAP III focuses on seven priority areas: Access to Information; Open Data; Open Budgets; Land Transparency; Extractive Industries; Health Services; and Performance Management. The plan has not yet formally been approved by the Government of Tanzania. Approval and submission of the plan at the earliest opportunity would ensure the government’s ongoing commitment to the OGP is recognised globally.
Read OGP Paris Summit - Highlights for Tanzania.pdf
Rais wa Ufaransa Bw. François Hollande akihutubia washiriki katika ufunguzi wa mkutano wa 4 wa mpango wa Uendeshaji wa Shughuli za Serikali kwa uwazi(OGP)
Several key themes emerged at the summit, many of which have significance for Tanzania. Most
notably, this includes the following:
- Beneficial ownership disclosure: There is growing momentum behind requiring companies to provide information on true owners of those companies, and for the information to be made public. This is rapidly becoming the global norm for countries committed to combatting corruption and tax avoidance.
- Civic space and media freedoms: There is widespread concern that many countries –including Tanzania – are not respecting civic space and freedom of the press. There is a recognition that the OGP needs to take civic space more seriously, including working with countries seen as problematic in this area.
- Open government at the subnational level: There is excitement about the potential of open government in local government, through the sub-national pilot programme, in which Kigoma Municipal Council is participating. Among many others, Mo Ibrahim of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation expressed his strong support for localising open government.
Further, it is important to note that many participants were surprised and disappointed at the low level of participation by the Tanzanian government at the summit. For a country that has historically had a high profile at the OGP, this absence was very noticeable. Approving and submitting Tanzania’s third National Action Plan (NAP III) at the earliest opportunity will help counter these concerns.
Background to the Summit
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) was launched in 2011 to provide an international latform for domestic reformers committed to making their governments more open, accountable, and responsive to citizens. Since then, OGP has grown from 8 to 70 participating countries, including 10 in Africa. In all of these countries, government and civil society are working together to develop and implement ambitious open government reforms.
The Paris Summit was the fourth global OGP Summit, and involved 3000 representatives from 70 countries. Participants included the President of France, François Hollande, and (via video-link) he President of the United States of America, Barack Obama), as well as numerous ministers, public servants, members of parliament, local authorities, civil society representatives, technological innovators, researchers, journalists and others.
Tanzania has always been a leading light in the OGP at global level. Having joined very early in the process, national leaders have been prominent figures in the OGP at global level, and Tanzania’s progress in the OGP has previously attracted positive comments from other global leaders.
Key Themes of the Summit
The summit covered a wide range of topics, including several that are of direct relevance to Tanzania. In large part, this relevance relates to the anti-corruption drive of President Magufuli, and how open government strategies could build on the President’s momentum in this direction and strengthen his anti-corruption campaign with systemic changes that help reduce opportunities for corruption. Three particular themes are highlighted below:
Beneficial ownership disclosure
There is increasing recognition that opaque corporate ownership records provide opportunities for the corrupt to hide their activities and wealth from the authorities. Where companies are required to provide governments with clear information on their true owners, and where such information is made public, it is much harder to hide tax evasion, conflicts of interest in public procurement, and other corrupt activities.
The United Kingdom has earned widespread acclaim for setting the agenda in this area, having recently launched an open register of beneficial ownership and with plans to go further to require similar information from foreign companies that own property in the UK or enter into contracts with the UK government. Other countries have similarly recognised the value of beneficial ownership registers, most notably including Kenya. There is a growing momentum behind the idea, such that it is well on the way to becoming the new norm. Countries that require minimal information from companies or that maintain private corporate registers will soon be the exceptions.
Tanzania has made some small commitments in this direction, specifically to establish and make public a register of corporate ownership of extractive industry companies. This commitment is expressed through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the proposed third national OGP action plan. However, there is room for Tanzania to expand this to include all companies registered in Tanzania. This would ensure Tanzania does not get left behind either in open government reforms or in the fields of tax justice and anti-corruption work.
Civic space and media freedoms
Civil society in many countries – including South Africa, India, Hungary and others – has raised concerns that space for open public debate is being closed down. This includes legal measures such as new laws that restrict key freedoms such as freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, and changes in government and/or policing in practice. In Hungary, a dispute between civil society and the government on closures of civic space led to an investigation by the OGP leadership, which found that civil society had strong grounds for their complaints. The Hungarian government subsequently decided to withdraw participation in the OGP.
These concerns have led to growing calls for the OGP to give greater attention to the issue of civic space. This recognises that civic freedoms are a foundation of open government and that respect for civic space is among the best protections against corruption and mismanagement. Some called for criteria for participation in the OGP to be tightened, such that only countries where basic standards of media freedom and democratic space are respected should be eligible to join the OGP. Others called for tougher responses from the OGP when countries are seen to be moving to restrict civic space.
In the case of Tanzania, the OGP community has concerns about various laws passed since 2015 – otably the Cybercrime Act and Media Services Act – and about moves to restrict space for public assembly and political action. In part, the concern is that these will undermine President Magufuli’s campaign against corruption and waste.
Open government at the subnational level
As the first global OGP summit since the launch of the OGP subnational pilot programme – in which Kigoma Municipal Council is a participant – there was much excitement at the potential of open government reforms in local government. This attitude was typified by Mo Ibrahim of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, who celebrated particularly the three African participants in the pilot. This excitement largely stems from the potential for a wider range of open government reforms, and for a new group of emerging open government champions.
Tanzania’s Third National Action Plan (NAP III)
At national level, the Open Government Partnership is operationalised through national action plans (NAPs), each covering a two-year period, developed and implemented by both government and civil society. Tanzania recently completed preparations of a third action plan (NAP III), building on progress of two previous plans and feedback from the OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM), and extending open government work into some new areas.
NAP III focuses on seven priority areas: Access to Information; Open Data; Open Budgets; Land Transparency; Extractive Industries; Health Services; and Performance Management. The plan has not yet formally been approved by the Government of Tanzania. Approval and submission of the plan at the earliest opportunity would ensure the government’s ongoing commitment to the OGP is recognised globally.
Read OGP Paris Summit - Highlights for Tanzania.pdf
