ETHICAL ISSUES IN URBAN LAND ADMINISTRATION IN TANZANIA

Transcription

1 ETHICAL ISSUES IN URBAN LAND ADMINISTRATION IN TANZANIA A Research Report on Strategic Studies on Corruption Submitted to the Prevention and Combating Corruption Bureau (PCCB) Prepared by Prof. P. Kamuzora, C. Ngindo and L. Mutasingwa Institute of Development Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O.Box 35169, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. May, 2009

2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report has been prepared by Prof. Kamuzora P, Mr. C. Ngindo and Ms L. Mutasingwa from the Institute of Development Studies. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all who made this study a success. While we are extremely grateful to all of them, a few groups deserve special mention. We are particularly indebted to the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) who donated the funds which made this study possible, departments of town planning, and regional government administrators for supporting this study in one way or another. We wish to extend our appreciation to all individuals especially from all regions visited for sparing their valuable time for the interviews conducted. ii

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This study is about ethics in the provision of services by the urban land administration. The focus of the study was on the services that were related to land surveying and allocation of plots in urban areas; valuation of properties, issuing of title deeds and transfer of ownership. The aim of the study was to investigate factors that cause corruption and how to curb it in urban land administration in Tanzania. The study investigated issues with respect to corruption in the urban land department namely; the land service areas where corruption mostly took place; loopholes leading to corruption in information transmission; the conditions and loopholes that made land employee to ask for bribes; the effects of corrupt practices on urban land administration; and the measures required to prevent corruption in the town planning department. The primary data was gathered through in-depth interviews. The study involved a sample of 216 respondents, where, out of this, 16.7% and 83.3% were land officials and beneficiaries. The study revealed six main loopholes used by the land officials to ask for bribes from beneficiaries namely; limited bank of surveyed land (100%); low staff salaries and poor working conditions (97.2%); shortage of equipments and inadequate resources allocation to the land department (91.7%); pressure from some beneficiaries enticing staff to take bribes from them (69.4%); unethical behaviors among workers in land department (47.2%); and heavy workload and unequal power relations among the workers (44.4%). The findings revealed that respondents came up with eight categories of effects encountered due to corruption in urban land administration namely; loss of governments legitimacy (83%); increase in poverty levels (69.4%); loss of citizen s rights(100%); increase in land related conflicts (55.6%); increase of squatter areas (87.9%); loss of government revenues (91.7%); increase of the value of plots (31.5%); and acquisitions of plots by foreigners (33.3%). iii

4 With regard to prevention of corruption, town planning departments in all six studied areas have taken several measures to deal with corruption but the major ones are the creation of surveyed land banks through special projects, sensitizing the public about the importance of town planning and advertising the availability of plots to the public through newspapers, radios, television and postings in various notice boards. The study, however, came up with several measures namely; taking disciplinary actions against corrupt workers (92.6%); transparency and openness in service provision processes (83.3%); educating people about their land rights (69.4%); the government should increase projects on surveyed land banks (63%); the government should improve salaries and working conditions (60.2%); decentralization of powers of the commissioner of lands (59.2%); citizens should be sensitized and participated during land acquisition (52.8%); leaders should refrain from corrupt practices (51%); frequent transferring of civil servants in town planning departments (47.6%); and provision of equitable resources and modern instruments (16.7%). In conclusion, this study found out that the effects of corruption have negative effects to both public who are the beneficiaries of the land and the government at large. As a result this study recommends that the policy makers have to intervene in the following areas namely; educating the public about the services available at town planning department and the proper procedures to be followed by the land beneficiaries; educating the public about their rights to services and just pay to services; increasing pace of residential surveyed land banks; improving workers salaries, equipments and working conditions; and leaders, civil society organization and the public at large should be committed to fight corruption at any level. iv

5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS... v List of Tables... viii List of Boxes... viii List of Abbreviations... ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY General Introduction Background to the Research Problem Statement of the Problem Research Objectives Research Questions... 3 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW... 4 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Methodological Approach Sampling Sample size Data collection techniques In-depth interviews Surveys Documentary review Data analysis v

6 3.6 Profile of Respondents Respondents profile Key characteristics of the sample Age Marital status Level of education Occupation status CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS Introduction Factors leading to corruption in urban land administration Knowledge about the service delivery procedures Knowledge of the procedures followed during plot allocation Procedures followed during property valuation Procedures for obtaining a title deed Procedures in transferring of property ownership Time involved in service delivery Time involved in processing applications for plots allocation Time taken to obtain title deeds How procedures in land administration are likely to invoke corruption Loopholes used by staff to ask for bribes from the beneficiaries How did staff use loopholes mentioned by beneficiaries to ask for bribes from beneficiaries Taking advantage of processing and selection of successful plot applicants...22 vi

7 Plot selection and taking advantage of shortage of equipment and resources Lack of transparency in determination of value of properties and in showing actual size of the land Cheating during property valuation Unnecessary delays in preparation of title deeds Why did staff in land department involve themselves in corruption? Low salaries and poor working environment Shortage of equipment and inadequate resources allocation Unethical behavior among staff Pressure from beneficiaries enticing workers to take bribe Limited surveyed plots Effects of corruption on urban land service delivery Introduction Effects of corruption on urban land administration Prevention and combating of corruption in urban land administration Measures taken to prevent and combat corruption in the town-planning departments Measures recommended for corruption prevention in service delivery in town planning department CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary of the main study findings Recommendations from the study Conclusion REFERENCES vii

8 List of Tables Table 1: Distribution of respondents involved in the study with respect to sex Table 2: Distribution of respondents by Age Table 3: Distribution of respondents by marital status Table 4: Distribution of respondents by education Table 5: Distribution of respondents by occupation Table 6: Procedures taken to acquire a plot mentioned by the respondents Table 7: Procedures during property valuation Table 8: Procedures involved in obtain title deeds Table 9: procedures involved in transfer of property ownership Table 10: Time taken to process applications for plots allocation Table 11: Time taken to obtain title deeds Table 12: Procedures likely to involve corruption in plot acquisition, surveying and valuation of properties, issuing of letter of offer and title deeds, and transfer of ownership..19 Table 13: Reasons for asking for bribes Table 14: Effects of corruption on urban land administration Table 15: Measures recommended for corruption prevention in town-planning department Table 16: Summary of the key findings of the study List of Boxes Box 1: Main loopholes used by workers from land department to ask bribes from land beneficiaries Box 2: Main reasons for staff in land department to ask for bribes from beneficiaries. 25 viii

9 List of Abbreviations MLHSD NGOs PCCB URT WCR Tanzania Ministry of Lands and Human Settlements Development Non Governmental Organizations Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau United Republic of Tanzania Warioba Commission Report ix

10 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1.1 General Introduction The aim of this study was to investigate the causes of corruption and how to curb it in urban land administration in Tanzania. The study focused on four services provided by the land departments: land surveying and allocation of plots in urban areas, valuation of properties, issuing of title deeds and transfer of property ownership. 1.2 Background to the Research Problem Much attention has been given to the problem of corruption around the globe in recent years because of its negative impact and its fatal and crippling effects. Corruption has increased in recent years and is a crosscutting and devastating phenomenon be it economic, social, political or cultural. It undermines society and development, the poor are always vulnerable. Corruption is a major problem and a major public issue in Tanzania. In 2005 the Ministry of Finance estimated that 20 percent of the government's budget in each fiscal year was lost due to corruption, including theft, fraud, and fake purchasing transactions. Corruption was especially pervasive during the election campaign in The fight against corruption in Tanzania dates back to 1966, but the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry against Corruption known as the Warioba Report of 1996 is seen as the starting point for the current anti-corruption efforts. Following the Warioba Report on the state of corruption in the country, several corrupt high level officials have been removed and the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau' (PCCB) has been strengthened. In 1999, the URT came up with an Anti-Corruption Strategy which included a broad stakeholder-approach, covering government institutions, the private sector, Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and donors. Furthermore, all ministries and regional government agencies must report quarterly on the status of corruption within their jurisdictions. In spite of these initiatives, both grand and petty corruption remains a big problem in Tanzania. For example Transparency International 1

11 reported in its 2005 Corruption Perceptions Index that citizens perceived slightly less corruption than in 2004 but considered corruption to be a "severe" problem as the country's rating did not change from Statement of the Problem The government of Tanzania in November 1999 adopted an ant-corruption strategy which provides a useful framework for corruption prevention (URT, 1999). The strategy calls for establishing mechanisms for involving the civil society in corruption prevention, creation of effective legislative and institutional frameworks and mobilization of political will to fight corruption. In doing this, the strategy places emphasis on an integrated framework, participatory and action-oriented approaches. Following this initiative, the Tanzania Ministry of Lands and Human Settlement Development (MLHSD), has taken a number of measures to deal with the problem of corruption in the land sector. Within the framework of the National Anti-corruption Strategy, the MLHSD has formulated an action plan for which was prepared to guide the fight against the use of public office for private gain. It consisted of four action areas, namely: (i) delivery of 20,000 new urban plots within a 14 month period in various cities and regional towns of Tanzania; (ii) review and harmonize existing laws and regulation on land use that seemed to be in conflict; (iii) raise awareness and skills whilst providing needed data and information in the delivery of services; and (iv) ensure adherence to procurement regulations and professional ethics among lands sector staff. According to the public expenditure review study report of 2004 there was a growing demand for plots. In relation to this the Lands Sector Ministry applied for a loan of 21 billion shillings in 2002/03 financial year from the Central Government to provide planned, surveyed and serviced urban plots in Boko, Bunju, Goba Mbezi, Kwembe and Kiluvya in Kinondoni; Pugu and Kinyerezi in Ilala; and Kigamboni and Mbagala in the Temeke Municipalities. This has now become known as the 20,000 Plots Project. Nation-wide the ministry used the same approach of increasing planned urban plots to meet the demand. As a consequence, the government urged the municipalities to borrow 2

12 money from the Ministry to conduct surveys and allocate surveyed plots to the citizens who are in need. With all these initiatives, however, the ministry of lands, housing and human settlement development is still facing some problems in allocating and distribution of the surveyed plots due to corrupt practices among civil servants (Warioba Commission Report, 1996; URT, 2004). A few studies have been conducted about corruption in land administration and management specifically on allocation, evaluation and issuing of urban surveyed plots. This study aims to explore the existing corruption patterns in land surveying, evaluation of crops, and allocation of plots and issuing of title deeds. 1.4 Research Objectives The research sought to address the following objectives: a) To identify factors leading to corruption in urban land administration b) To find out the effect of corruption in land management and administration especially in valuation of crops, allocation of plots and issuing of title deeds c) To find ways of preventing and combating of corruption in surveyed plots/land delivery 1.5 Research Questions The study was guided by the following research questions: a) What are the factors which give rise to corruption in urban land administration? b) What are effects of corruption in urban land administration? c) Which measures should be taken to prevent and combat corruption in surveying land, crop valuation, plot allocation and issuing of title deeds for surveyed plots in Tanzania? 3

13 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW Many scholars have dealt with the term corruption. They have conceived the term as being one form of the unethical behavior among both civil servants and non civil servants in developing world. Furthermore the concept of corruption has no universal definition; hence it is complex (PCB, 2004:3). This study employs the UN/Habitat s definition that sees corruption as 'the misuse of office for private gain' (UN/Habitat, 2004). Some common forms of corruption are: bribery ( abuse of discretion in favour of a third party in exchange of benefits given by the third party ); Fraud ( abuse of discretion for private gain without third parties involvement ); favoritism, nepotism and clientelism ( abuse of discretion not for self-interest but for the interest of family, clan, political party, ethnic group etc (UN/Habitat, 2004). Other scholars like Robert Klitgaard (2000) have developed a formula defining corruption as C=M+D-A, whereas, C stands for Corruption, D for Discretion, M for Monopoly and A for Accountability. This implies that corruption increases as monopoly and discretion increase and it decreases as accountability increases. This definition helps in determining the causes of corruption and in designing ways of combating it. According to this definition, corruption can be traced in three categories of interrelated causes, namely, monopolistic practices, discretionary decision-making processes and failure in upholding accountability principles, rules and procedures. And its remedies can also be classified into the three categories of measures corresponding to the preceding causes, namely, minimization of monopolistic practices, putting in place clear rules and procedures which minimize discretion and putting in place and enforcing principles, rules and procedures which enhance accountability. From the above definitions one can pose a question as to whether corruption has any positive impact on many societies around the world. There are two arguments; there are those who see corruption as having a positive effect on economic development. For example, Leys (1965) argues that if the civil servants are ineffective and use cumbersome procedures in issuing permits, it may be necessary to bribe the bureaucrats to cut red 4

14 tapes to speed up the establishment of a new firm. However, if this argument is placed in the context of land administration only wealthier people will have access to many plots in planned areas in Tanzania, hence denying the poor and the low income earners to own surveyed plots in urban areas. Furthermore, if this argument is entertained, service providers in land departments will exploit the poor and low income earners and allow the rich to enrich themselves. The other argument comes from the moralist school of thought who regards corruption as unethical behavior that creates high levels of inequality in society. hence corruption is bad and against public interests (McMullan, 1961). In addition, the school stipulates a number of negative effects of corruption in society. They include: injustice, inefficiency, mistrust, waste of public resources and discouragement of foreign investment to mention a few. In this study land administration is referred as a process of determining, recording, and disseminating information about ownership, value and use of land; when implementing land management policies (UN/ECE 1996). Access to land and land related benefits are an important factor to reduce poverty and create economic growth (WB, 2003). Abuse of discretion might easily apply to the land issue, as the administration and management of land belongs to the domain of government authority. Formal decisions are necessary to register a property, to grant a mortgage, to impose or lift restrictions and to allocate a certain land use, which implies discretionary powers of the public authority. Nepotism, Favouritism and Clientelism might easily apply to the land issue, as access to land in many situations is dependent on kinship, especially under customary law. By consequence, in a world where corruption is getting more and more an issue (UN/Habitat 2004, Törhönen, 2006, OECD 2000,UN, 2005), paying attention to corruption in the field of land administration and land management is inevitable. The issues of land administration in Tanzania are not free from corruption. A major finding of the 1996 Warioba Commission Report (WCR) shows the fact that corruption 5

15 in Tanzania has extended veins in all sectors of the economy, but sectors that offer rare services are more prone to corruption than others. The report was critical on the difficulty of acquiring land by local and foreign investors, both in rural and urban areas. It is worthy recalling that at the time of the Warioba Corruption Report, urban plots had become a rare commodity in Tanzania for over a decade. The situation with regard to plot delivery in the period immediately after the Warioba Commission Report was reported in the first two Public Expenditure Review Studies of 2000/01 and 2001/02 respectively. The average number of urban plots surveyed and registered stood at 8,200 for over 120 Towns and as low as 5,400 in a year. There is little in terms of literature on corruption in land administration and management in Tanzania. However, two types of corruption in land administration and management, namely petty corruption and grand corruption have been reported. These differ in nature and scale; the later being practiced by ministers, directors of important offices in land departments and politicians which involve millions and billions of money. The former encompasses low rank officers in civil services (UN, 2001). The causes of corruption practices in land administration in Tanzania can be explained differently by different scholars. The findings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry against Corruption (1996) points out that grand corruption in public service was a result of excessive greed for wealth accumulation and money by high level leaders and public servants whose earnings were adequate to meet their basic needs and who had enough property and money. It further points out that petty corruption is also rampant among lower cadres of employment in lands department which is caused by the lower incomes they earn. Mutabihirwa (1995) explains the cause of corruption as an attitude of mind; whereas Mwaikasu (1995) sees corruption as a result of a psychological problem caused by entrenchment of the spirit of individualism or self centeredness. There are those who see poor pay as the main cause of petty corruption, but Mutabihirwa (1995) rejects the idea by arguing that experience has shown the rich are more corrupt than the poor. 6

16 Other scholars like Mwaikasu (1995) sees culture as playing important role in corruption. He traces culture in traditional societies where members were obliged to give something to a person who rendered a service. He argues that such culture was entrenched in some of the traditional communities that today people from such communities cannot contemplate any possibility of getting deserved services without having to offer a reward of some kind to a person expected to render a service. This study supports the view by Musiba (1995) that there are several causes of corruption. That is, the interplay of socioeconomic, political, legal, environmental factors is responsible for corruption practices. Various scholars have advocated different views on how to curb corruption. Preventing and combating corruption efforts in Africa have faced serious problems. As Olivier de Sardan (1999) argues, corruption in Africa cannot be eliminated due to lack of political will among the African leaders who publicly denounce being corrupt at the same time fail to take legal proceedings to those committing corruption practices. Lumbanga (1995) argues that in order to curb corruption nation states need to strengthen legal mechanism in public service departments. Mtatifikolo and Lugoe (2007) emphasize the same by pointing out that to curb corruption in land administration, the lands sector anti-corruption action plan ( ) needs to be effectively implemented. Marquette (1999) is of the opinion that participatory methods in curbing corruption are necessary. He argues that civil society participation in curbing corruption is necessary as their participation seems to create social empowerment among Tanzanian citizens. PCCB (2007) emphases the role of stakeholders engagement in curbing corruption in Tanzania and the emphasis being the role of media in sensitizing and informing the public on the negative effects of corruption. 7

17 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.2 Methodological Approach This study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches in the collection and analysis of data. This was important because analysis of corruption needs a wide array of information from a wide range of sources. Thus qualitative methods provided the description of the corruption phenomenon whereas quantitative approach provided the quantity of the phenomenon. 3.3 Sampling Cluster sampling was used in the selection of the study units. Tanzania is made up of 21 regions and 122 local authorities. The authorities are clustered as district, town, municipal and city councils and all these provide land services. However, the study focused on the City, Municipal and Town Councils as the study was interested in the urban areas where pressures and demand for land ownership and use is high. For convenience purposes (easily accessible from Dar es Salaam) the urban areas along the major roads from Dar es Salaam city to the north and southern parts of the country qualified for selection. Thus, six study units - two municipal councils, one town council, two city councils (along major road to the south) and one municipal council (towards the north) were selected Sample size In order to cover a wide array of information on corruption in land administration the study mainly focused on providers and beneficiaries of land services and goods. The sample consisted of 216 respondents: 36 key officials from the land departments, 30 street chairpersons and 150 land beneficiaries (owners and non owners of surveyed plots). Since it was important to seek information from land department employees, key officials of the department including land officers, surveyors, town planner and valuers automatically qualified for the study. Street chairpersons (at least 5 in each study area were selected) were randomly selected. The street chairpersons were selected for the 8

18 study because of their positions as leaders who deal with lower level administrative matters in the society and they are close to the people. Land beneficiaries were randomly selected from the list of names kept in the lands registry and from the streets where the chairpersons were selected. 3.4 Data collection techniques The study gathered data from primary and secondary sources. The primary data was gathered through in-depth interviews, surveys and secondary data was collected through documentary review In-depth interviews We conducted in-depth interviews with 6 key informants. These were people who provided important information on land administration. The key informants were from the public servants in land departments in all cities and municipality chosen for the study and the clients from the public at large. The main instruments used were interview schedules Surveys The study employed a survey method in collecting information from the land departments and clients-public at large. Questionnaires were the main instrument for data collection. Two sets of questionnaires were designed: one for the senior civil servants in land departments and lower cadre workers at land departments and the other for the land beneficiaries (the public) Documentary review Secondary data was obtained from documents such as newspapers; journal articles; research reports and government land department s profiles and official records. 9

19 3.5 Data analysis Qualitative data were analyzed through thematic code frame, where issues emerging from data elicited by various themes related to objectives and research questions of the study were structured. Quantitative data were entered and analyzed by using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and presented by frequencies and cross tabulation. 3.6 Profile of Respondents Respondents profile Table 1 provides a summary of the respondents involved in the study. Overall, the findings and discussion presented in this chapter were based on primary information collected from 216 respondents. Out of the 216 respondents, 16.7% were land officials and 83.3% were beneficiaries selected from the public. Table 1: Distribution of respondents involved in the study with respect to sex Respondents category Male Female Total Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Land Officials Beneficiaries Total N= Key characteristics of the sample This section provides additional details on respondents with respect to marital status, age, education, occupation status and area of study Age Table 2 gives a summary of the respondents age. Overall, the respondents age ranged between 30 and slightly above 61 years. The majority of the respondents (31.9%) were of age between 41 and 50 years followed by respondents aged between 51and 60 years (29.6%). 26.4% respondents were of age between 30 and 40 while a few respondents were the age of 61 and above (12.0%). 10

20 Table 2: Distribution of respondents by Age Age Frequency Percent Total N= Marital status Table 3 provides a summary of the respondents distribution with respect to marital status. Overall, table 3 shows that many of the respondents were married (86.6%). The rest were either single (12.0%) or divorced (0.5%) and widows (0.9%). Table 3: Distribution of respondents by marital status Marital status Frequency Percent Single Married Widow Divorced Total N= Level of education Table 4 provides a summary of respondents distribution with respect to education level. The majority of the respondents i.e. (73.1%) had attained primary school level, (16.2%) had attained higher education, (9.7%) had attained secondary school and only (0.9%) had not attended school. Table 4: Distribution of respondents by education Education Frequency Percent No education Primary Secondary Higher education Total N=216 11

21 Occupation status Table 5 provides a summary of respondents distribution with respect to occupation status. This variable was included because of differences in positions and views by various people in different sectors on the issue of corruption. Table 5: Distribution of respondents by occupation Occupation Status Frequenc Percent y Employed Not employed Self employed Retired Total N=216 Overall, table 5 shows that the majority of respondents, i.e. (67.6%) were not employed followed by (23.6%) who were employed and (8.3%) self employed. Only one (0.5%) respondent was retired. 12

22 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 Introduction This section discusses the findings under three main topics reflecting the objectives the study set out to achieve. These include identifying factors leading to corrupt practices in urban land administration, effects of corruption on urban land administration, and prevention and combating of corruption in urban land administration. 4.2 Factors leading to corruption in urban land administration This section discusses the factors that lead to corrupt practices. The section starts by looking at the knowledge of beneficiaries about various procedures to be followed in service provision and how corrupt practices may arise when the public follow these procedures. The section further looks at the time frame for the various services provided by the land department and how duration can be used as a loophole of corruption. The final part of the section provides the loopholes used by the staff of the land departments to ask for bribes from the beneficiaries Knowledge about the service delivery procedures This section aimed at assessing knowledge of the respondents about the procedures taken for the services provided by land department Knowledge of the procedures followed during plot allocation The respondents were asked to indicate the procedures taken before an applicant acquires a plot. Table 6 gives a summary of respondents knowledge on the procedures taken before acquiring a plot. 13

23 Table 6: Procedures taken to acquire a plot mentioned by the respondents Procedures Frequency Percent Sending and paying application form for a plot Selecting a plot Making payments for a plot Delivery of the plot to the owner Don't Know the procedures N=180 The table 6 indicates that there were five responses on procedures taken before acquiring a plot. They included i) sending and paying application form for a plot; ii) selecting a plot; iii) making payments for a plot; iv) delivery of the plot to the owner; and v) don t know. Overall, the majority of the respondents (58%) indicated that they don t know the procedures of acquiring a plot. The second procedure indicated by the majority of the respondents (46%) was sending and paying application form for a plot, followed by making payments for a plot which was indicated by 38% of the respondents. The other respondents (23%) indicated delivery of the plot to the owner as one of the procedures to be taken before acquiring a plot. And the last procedure indicated by the respondents was selecting a plot. This was mentioned by (15%) respondents. Even though some respondents identified the procedures taken by the land department for a person to acquire a plot but the data shows that the majority (Table 6) of respondents don t have knowledge on the procedures Procedures followed during property valuation Table 7 provides a summary of the respondents views about the procedures taken during valuation of property. Overall, the respondents came up with five responses namely, i) call for public meeting/sensitization, ii) photographing owner s property, iii) valuation of properties, iv) payments of compensation and v) don t know. First, the majority of respondents (75%) cited valuation of properties as one of the procedures done to establish the value of the property that the owner is required to surrender for town planning and development. It was further elaborated that valuation of property is followed by compensation before the owner surrenders the property. 14

24 Table 7: Procedures during property valuation Procedures Frequency Percent Call for public meeting/sensitization Photographing owners property 9 5 Valuation of properties Payment of compensation Don t know N=180 Second, 37% of the respondents mentioned payment of compensation as a procedure during valuation. Again 37% of the respondents said that they don t know, meaning that they don t have any knowledge on valuation procedures. Lastly, only 5% of the respondents mentioned photographing owner s property as a procedure during valuation. The results imply that at least the majority of the respondents have knowledge on some procedures taken during property valuation but the problem mentioned by respondents was the way the procedures were handled. Some respondents said that the land officials went for valuation in their areas but when it comes to compensation it is quite different from what they were promised. For example a land official, would say an acre would be compensated for Tshs. 900,000 but the amount appearing on the cheque is different. Even if the respondents have knowledge on the valuation procedures but the problem arising is that some procedures may create loophole of corruption as some respondents said, the payment of compensation is always different from our expectation. Most of us always go and ask why that happens but also we get discouraging answers hence others have to pay in order to be considered favourably Procedures for obtaining a title deed Table 8 shows that respondents came up with four responses on the procedures taken to obtain title deeds: i) making payments for the plot, ii) being given a letter of offer, iii) waiting for a title deed from registrar s office and v) don t know. Interestingly, (71%) respondents said that they don t know the procedures involved in obtaining title deeds. Second, (29%) respondents mentioned being given a letter of offer, followed by (27%) 15

25 who mentioned making payments for the plot while (16%) of respondents mention waiting for a title deed from the registrars office as one of the procedures in obtaining a title deed. Table 8: Procedures involved in obtain title deeds Procedures Frequency Percent Making payments for the plot Being given a letter of offer Waiting for a title deed from registrar's office Don t know N=180 The results above show that even though the land department offers title deeds to all who receive plots allocations this service is not known to the majority of respondents. Lack of knowledge on the procedures of obtaining title deeds may give rise to corrupt practices as one of the respondents remarked, if the public do not know that the land department offer title deeds, the land officials may use this as a loophole to ask for bribe Procedures in transferring of property ownership According to table 9, the majority of respondents (81.7%) mentioned that they don t know the procedures involved in property ownership transfer. The other respondents mentioned at least the three procedures: submission of legal agreement showing amount agreed was mentioned by (11.7%), valuation by valuer by (0.6%) and payment of capital gain tax to TRA by (81.6%) respondents. These responses indicate that the respondents knowledge about the procedures of transferring of property ownership is low. This may drive some people to engage themselves in corrupt practices. This may also lead to selling properties (plot) without involving the local authorities, which may later lead to problems. Table 9: procedures involved in transfer of property ownership Procedures Frequency Percent Submission of legal agreement showing amount agreed Valuation by valuer Payment of capital gain tax to TRA Don't Know N=180 16

26 4.2.2 Time involved in service delivery The respondents were asked to mention the time involved in processing applications for plots allocation, obtaining of title deeds and in transferring of property ownership. However, according to the key interviews conducted, the official time for plot allocation and obtaining title deeds ranges from two weeks to six months Time involved in processing applications for plots allocation Table 10 provides a summary of respondents responses with regard to time taken to process application for plots. Table 10: Time taken to process applications for plots allocation Time taken Frequency Percent two weeks to six months six months to one year A year Don't know N=180 According to table 10, respondents came up with at least four responses, namely i) two weeks to six months, ii) six months to one year, iii) a year and, iv) don t know. The majority of respondents (54.4%) mentioned that they do not know how long it takes for a client to be allocated a plot. The remaining respondents were thinly spread as follows: one year (22.8%), two weeks to six months (15.6%) and six months to one year (7.2%). Thus, the results show that the time taken to process application is not well known by beneficiaries. Because if for the same application each person gets the results differently there is a problem as one of the respondents said, we sent application for plots allocation in May but one of us got the response in July while two of us got the responses in December. Another respondent said because sometimes you are told the application will take six months if you want this procedure to take few days just come to our office.. Such kind of statements we always lose hope because it may go beyond six months and take one year. 17

27 Time taken to obtain title deeds Attempt was made to ask questions about the time taken to obtain title deeds. Table 11 provides a summary of the respondents views about the time taken to obtain title deeds. The majority of respondents (83%) mentioned that they don t know how long it takes to acquire a title deed. 42% of the respondents mentioned that it can take two to six months, (47%) said that it can take a year, (2%) mentioned two weeks to one month and (6%) mentioned seven months to one year to obtain a title deed. Table 11: Time taken to obtain title deeds Time taken Frequency Percentage Two weeks - One month 4 2 Two - Six months Seven months - One year 11 6 One year Don't know N=180 Thus, the data show that the time taken to obtain a title deed is erratic. As the respondents said while waiting for a title deed you may face uncertainty and become impatient. For example, if you ask when I will get it, you are told that until it comes from the commissioner of lands in Dar es Salaam. The respondents continued saying that we are told that the land department needs to collect and send a good number of application forms and not sending one form. One of the respondents remarked that if you want your application form to be sent and returned quickly you just have to pay for the bus fare for the land department staff to collect your application form from Dar es Salaam. The respondent continued saying that this situation creates doubt and corruption and they saw this as a way of creating a loophole for making money on the part of the land department staff How procedures in land administration are likely to invoke corruption This section gives perceptions of beneficiaries on how procedures in land administration can be used as a loophole of corruption. The respondents were asked to give their perceptions on how corruption takes place during the process of plot allocation/delivery; 18

28 surveying and valuation of properties; issuing of letters of offer and title deeds; and during the transfer of ownership. The following were the responses: Table 12: Procedures likely to involve corruption in plot acquisition, surveying and valuation of properties, issuing of letter of offer and title deeds, and transfer of ownership Main Procedures likely to create loopholes of Minor procedures likely to create loopholes Frequency of corruption corruption Plot acquisition/delivery Plot selection Application processing and selection of successful applicants Delivery of plot to the owner N=180 Surveying and Valuation of properties Percentage Determination of property value Owner being absent during valuation Surveying and determination of plot sizes Land Valuation N=180 Issuing of letter of offer Preparation of title deeds and title deeds Signing of title deeds Pressure from customers enticing staff to take 80 bribes 44.4 N=180 Transfer of Ownership Understanding of Capital gain tax Valuation process-(over or under estimation) under valuation N=180 Table 12 summarizes the responses in each area of the procedures that are likely to involve corrupt practices. The majority (94.4%) of the respondents indicated that corruption is taking place during the delivery of the plot to the owner as one respondent cited that the staff would ask for transport/taking a taxi or refueling their car so that one could physically see your plot. 90.5% of responses mentioned that corruption takes place during application processing and selection of successful applicants. Analysis of in-depth interviews indicates that in the final selection of successful applicants, favoritism, nepotism and corrupt practices widely taking place in order to allocate a plot to someone. The minority of respondents (40%) indicated that corruption is taking place during the process of plot selection. Furthermore we asked respondents to show how corruption is taking place during surveying and valuation of property. Table 12 shows that the leading (83.3%) avenue that 19

29 is being used to ask for bribes is during the Surveying and determination of plot sizes acquired from the citizens. 61.1% of responses also said that corruption is taking place during the determination of the property value. The respondents complained that if you do not give bribes to the valuers, he/she can over or under value your property. Other avenues that corruption takes place is during the follow-ups of the absentees during the days of valuation within the acquired lands by (22.2%) responses, whereby one can be asked to give bribe in order her/his name to be included in the list of people who would be compensated. 21.1% of responses said that the conflict of interests between the valuers from either land department and TRA can lead to corrupt practices during valuation process. The buyer and the seller of the plot would like to pay less the capital gain tax, hence the buyer give bribes to two of them and hence penalizing the government in mobilizing revenues. Table 12 further indicates that corruption occurs during the issuing of letters of offer and title deeds. 56.7% of the respondents indicated that unnecessary delays in processing title deeds at the town-planning department creates an opportunity for the staff from land department to ask for corruption in order for someone s title to be processed in a reasonably short time. 54.4% of responses indicated that a long bureaucratic process gives a room for beneficiaries and staff from land department to give or ask for a bribe if one needs a fast track services in the department. 44.4% of the responses responded that pressure from the beneficiaries/customers enticing staff to take bribe so that they can get fast services beyond normal scheduled days. Looking at how corruption takes place during the transferring of ownership, the following statistics from Table 12 shows that the majority of the responses (98.8%) cited that cheating in property valuation process leads to corrupt practices. They mentioned that cheating can be either in over or under valuing of the property so as to pay little money to TRA for the capital gain tax or in order for someone to borrow from financial institutions hence over valuing of the property. 19.4% of the respondents indicated that poor understanding of capital gain tax can lead to corrupt practices. 20

30 4.2.4 Loopholes used by staff to ask for bribes from the beneficiaries This section provides responses of the land department staff indicating why they attempted to ask for bribe and how they used loopholes mentioned by both beneficiaries and workers to ask for bribes from the beneficiaries of land services. In the first instance we asked the staff from the land department to say why workers in land department were tempted to ask for bribes from beneficiaries of the land services. Table 13 shows that 100% of the responses indicated that the leading reason for the staff to ask for bribes from the land beneficiaries is a limited bank of surveyed land; (97.2%) of responses responded that low staff salaries and poor working conditions; (91.7%), indicated shortage of equipment and inadequate resources allocation to the land department; and (69.4%), of the respondents mentioned pressure from some beneficiaries enticing staff to take bribes from them. The other reasons include unethical behaviors among workers in land department which accounted for (47.2%) of the responses followed by heavy workload and unequal power relations among the workers. Table 13: Reasons for asking for bribes Reasons for asking bribes Frequency Percentage Low salaries and poor working environment Shortage of equipments and inadequate resources allocation Unethical behaviors among working staff Heavy work load and unequal power relations among workers Pressure from beneficiaries enticing workers to take bribe Limited land bank N=36 The next two sections analyze the patterns emerging from the findings and discussion of the conditions and loopholes leading to corruption in the land department. 21

31 4.2.5 How did staff use loopholes mentioned by beneficiaries to ask for bribes from beneficiaries The respondents explained how staff from land department used the loopholes to ask for bribes from beneficiaries of land services. The main loopholes are shown in box 1. Box 1: Main loopholes used by workers from land department to ask bribes from land beneficiaries Taking advantage of processing applications and selection of successful applicants Plot selection and taking advantage of shortage of equipment in delivering the plot to the owner Lack of transparency in determining value of property and size of plot Cheating during valuation process Unnecessary delays in preparation of title deeds and long bureaucratic procedures in signing of title deeds Taking advantage of processing and selection of successful plot applicants Analysis of the in-depth interviews indicated that staff from land department and plot allocation committee deliberately used their positions in order to ask for bribes from land beneficiaries during processing the plot applications. Taking the advantage of the scarcity of surveyed plots, the plot distribution committee uses this opportunity to tell few people or middleman about the availability of the plots and hence creating a room for taking bribes from the beneficiaries. As one of the key interviewees in one of the councils remarked, the members of plot allocation committee usually ask for bribes from plot applicants in order to be given first priority during the final selection. Further discussions with other key interviewees in one of the councils, it was observed that although there are some criteria used for plot allocation, there are tendencies of nepotism and favoritism when it come to final selection of successful applicants as one of the interviewees observed, my brother, look here, we human beings have relatives, close friends, once it comes to decisions, always you will favor them, especially in sensitive issue such as land allocation Plot selection and taking advantage of shortage of equipment and resources Responses from land beneficiaries, land department staff and discussions from key informants indicated that shortage of equipment and other resources in the land 22