The Impact of Legal Framework on Regulatory Authorities in Tanzania: A Case Study of The Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA)

Kikoyo, Oscar Ishengoma (2014) The Impact of Legal Framework on Regulatory Authorities in Tanzania: A Case Study of The Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA). ["eprint_fieldopt_thesis_type_phd" not defined] thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

It should be noted that shortly after independence in 1961, Tanzania chose Ujamaa (African Socialism) which was christened as “Arusha Declaration” as its social-economic policy. The chosen policy did not, though, deliver to the expectations of the country. The 1980s for instance, experienced economic decline and macroeconomic imbalances which had an adverse effect on real GDP. Due to that economic decline, the Government took bold decisions to reverse some of the tenets of socialist policies spelt out in the Arusha Declaration. The government withdrew from offering some social services letting the private sector fill in the gap. The role of Government, as the tenets of the market economy require, was to set policies on production and distribution of goods and services. Regulatory authorities were consequently established to spearhead the market economy by promoting competition, nurturing the private sector and safeguarding consumers by setting regulations, standards and tariffs of the regulated goods and services. The absence of a legal framework for the established regulatory authorities, though, was a setback to achieve the intended goal. This study, therefore, analysed the impact of the legal framework put in place to enable regulatory authorities to spearhead the market economy in Tanzania. SUMATRA was used as the case study whereby data were collected and analysed using the Software Package of Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings indicated that regulatory authorities were neither independent, transparent nor predictable due to unwarranted political interference in their operations. The study therefore recommended that the current legal framework should be overhauled because it creates room for political intervention in regulatory operations.

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