Transparency and Community Participation in Constituency Development Catalyst Fund (CDCF) Disbursed for Projects in Vwawa Constituency, Tanzania

Abstract

In recent years, many developing countries have adopted one of the many forms of Constituency Development Funds (CDFs) approaches. These are expected to provide people with another development opportunity by ensuring that an alternative community development expenditure funding is closer to them. This paper presents the findings from a study, which examined transparency and community participation in Constituency Development Catalyst Fund (CDCF) in Vwawa Constituency. The study was conducted in Vwawa Constituency, in Mbozi District, Songwe Region in Tanzania. The study involved various CDCF stakeholders including community members, Village Executive Officers, Ward Executive Officers, and Constituency Development committee members. Purposive sampling was used to obtain 20 key informants and focus group discussion (FGD) participants comprising of 8 to 10 members. Data were collected through semi-structure interviews, FGD, observation, and documentary review methods. The data were later transcribed and subsequently thematically analyzed. The findings revealed that, transparency and community participation in CDCF activities were observed in the study area; yet, it was not clear how far reached/involved the community members were. Based on the findings, the study concludes that it is vital for community members to have access to information as a key aspect of transparency. Well-informed individual villagers can participate effectively in community activities. The study recommends proactive measures to be taken to educate and enlighten community members about the CDCF; as such, the individual villagers ought to be aware of development matters in their communities.