Meaningful governance at the local level cannot be imagined without effective citizen participation. Local Government Reform (LGR) in Tanzania, envisaged local governments whose leadership is chosen through free and fair elections, and local governments that “facilitate the participation of the people in deciding on matters affecting their lives, planning and executing their development programmes, and fostering partnerships with civic groups”. This brief focuses on citizen participation as a key to democratic local governance. It also compares results from some of the recent citizen surveys with those from previous surveys, to discern whether or not there has been any improvement in citizen participation between 2003 and 2013.
