Browsing by Author "Makalanga, L. B."

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    Participation of women local political leaders in water services in Tanzania
    (Springer, 2021) Makalanga, L. B.
    Purpose: This paper develops a basis for women political leaders’ participation in improving water services. To achieve this, the paper is guided by objectives; to examine the status of water sources, to examine the strategies used by women political leaders and to examine community members’ perceptions on water services in the study councils. Methodology: Descriptive research design was used. A cluster sampling technique was used to obtain 3 wards, 3 villages and 3 mitaa (Mtaa (in singular) Mitaa in (Plural) means a lowest government administrative structure in an urban area in Tanzania which include a number of streets). 390 household heads were drawn from the population and data collected were analyzed and presented in tables. Findings: The findings revealed that, women political leaders influenced decisions affecting the accessibility of water supply. As a result, water sources were improved through different strategies and community members satisfied with the water services provided. Research Implications: The study focused on women political leaders in selected villages/mitaa in local government authorities in Tanzania. Practical Implication: The knowledge advanced in this study will inform women political leaders the capacity they have in influencing decisions related to water services in their respective localities. Social Implication: The information generated from the study, will help decision makers and development practitioners to provide more opportunities where women can contest for community development. Originality: The present study lies in gender and development framework on water services. It inform the government and community at large, the capacity women have in influencing decisions for community services.
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    Women Political Leadership in Provision of Quality Education in Selected Local Government Authorities in Tanzania
    (International Conference on Gender & Women’s Studies, 2022) Makalanga, L. B.
    The initiatives for provision of quality education has been a concern in Tanzania since independence in 1961. Different scholars in the globe have been dealing with community participation in many countries, but few of them are directly linking women local leaders with the improvement of quality education provision in the society. The tendency in both developed and developing countries has been to increase the number of women representatives in local decision-making organs. However, little is known on whether women in local decision-making organs in Tanzania have strength to influence decisions for improving quality education provision. Hence, this, paper intends to present and discuss findings in an academic interactive manner, the part of women political leaders in improving quality education in selected local government authorities in Dodoma Region as a case study. Data were collected using household survey, Focus group discussion (FGD), semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation and documentary reviews. Quantitative data were analyzed with the help of the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. The findings of the study showed that there are aspects of the capacity of women political leaders, explicitly through: leadership style that tends to be self-governing, motherly and shared; decision-making aspects in attaining the community needs of both boy and girls-children and features of family provision as an outside power in carrying out women’ role as a political leader. The study concludes that, women political leaders have a significant role in improving quality education provision in the study area especially at the community level. The capacity of women is influenced in fulfilling their gender roles as women leaders, family care takers and community members; thus women influenced decisions in ensuring that gender equality is enhanced in school enrollment among boys and girl-children in the society. The study recommends that, more women should be encouraged to hold political posts to work out their leadership roles as care takers, members of the community and political leaders. This will enable women as vulnerable group in the society to act as catalysts in stimulating provision of quality education as men do in the society.
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    Women political leaders’ participation in local decision-making structures in Tanzania
    (Arca Academic Publisher, 2022) Makalanga, L. B.; Kilonzo, R. G.; Nguyahambi, A.M.
    Purpose: This paper envisioned examining the participation of women political leaders in the local decision-making organs in Tanzania. Specifically, the study aimed to examine the number of women represented in the study local government structures (LGSs), the motives behind women participating in the LGSs and the duration of service in the study LGSs. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study used a cross-sectional descriptive research design. A cluster sampling technique was used to obtain the study villages and Mitaa. Both quantitative and qualitative research approaches with different data collection methods were used. To collect quantitative data, questionnaires were administered to 390 household heads both men and women in the study villages/Mitaa, while qualitative data were gathered using an interview guide, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and non-participant observation checklist. Quantitative data collected were analyzed and presented in tables and figures while the qualitative ones were thematically analyzed. Findings: The study revealed that the number of women's participation in various local committees in the study of local government structures has increased by 50% (Dodoma City) and 30% (Bahi District). However, motives for women leaders’ participation are constrained by limited continuity of tenure in the political office. Therefore, suitable interventions are recommended to address the existing capacity gaps. Research Limitation: The study targeted to involve an equal number of men and women household heads in each study village and Mitaa, however in some villages it happened to have less number of women than men household heads. Practical implication: This study recommends that more spaces should be given to women to participate in local decision-making structures and hold seats to enhance gender equality in politics. Originality/Value: This study focuses on the gender parity framework in local politics. It brings an understanding to the various government departments, ministries responsible for women and other stakeholders regarding the opportunities available for women to participate in local politics.