Shukrani K Mbirigenda | University of Dar es Salaam (original) (raw)

Papers by Shukrani K Mbirigenda

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Corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects that do not involve communities where they are bas... more Corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects that do not involve communities where they are based stand a greater chance of either failing from reaching their objectives or being rejected by their intended beneficiaries. Community involvement is not just about being nice; it is a central pillar in the business of CSR. Some external secondary stakeholders in Tanzania are rejecting or ignoring local CSR projects affecting them, which raises a question of whether they have been consulted at all in the relevant decision making. Using the experience of communities in the area of the Geita Gold Mine (GGM) in Tanzania and stakeholder theory, this qualitative study analyses the relationship between CSR and involvement of non-consumer stakeholders in decision making processes and their outcomes. The study used a combination of questionnaires, interviews with key informants, and focus groups to obtain information, opinions and perceptions of company administrators, business people, governme...

Coastal environments globally are recognised for their highly dynamic and unstable nature. The tw... more Coastal environments globally are recognised for their highly dynamic and unstable nature. The twin processes of erosion and accretion are constantly changing the face of the coastal environments. The Golspie beach situated in Sutherland, Highlands of Scotland is not spared from these processes which have been attributed to natural and anthropogenic factors. To minimise the effects of the rampaging erosions, beach sand feeding has been proposed to protect a section of the beach. To evaluate the success of the proposed project a high resolution digital terrain model (DTM) of the current position of beach in 2014 was necessary. This was achieved with the use of terrestrial laser scanning technique to acquire highly dense point cloud with a 5cm point spacing or resolution over a 1km length of beach. As part of the aims of this study the changes in the beach between 2013 to 2014 was assessed using photogrammetric ally generated DTM from 2013 aerial photographs and DTMs of 2014 from terrestrial laser scanning techniques. These DTMs were used to assess the height and volumetric changes at the study area. The results from the change analysis revealed areas with significant loss and gains in height. Some sections were observed to have experienced height loss of approximately 0.25m to 1.5m especially around the frontage of the south end of the golf course and a section at the frontage of the Kart track. However the trend of height change recorded revealed more of gains than losses. From the volumetric analysis performed the areas with losses in sediments were highlighted. A total change of approximately 30,129.4m3 in sediment volume of the entire study area was recorded out of which the loss and gain represents 30% and 70% respectively. Overall a net gain of approximately 11,929.6m3 was recorded from the sediment budget of the entire beach with a southward movement of these sediments. The general outcome from the study revealed the success of using both techniques in beach studies, as all the aims and objectives of the study was achieved.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is said to be of mutual benefit for both corporations and t... more Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is said to be of mutual benefit for both corporations and the local communities. However, local communities in Tanzania are either reluctant to cooperate or outright reject CSR programs. This study interrogated the CSR management systems that are in place in Tanzania to see whether they provide opportunities for the development of local communities or challenge it, and if these management systems have relationship to reception or rejection of the CSR projects. The study was purely qualitative, that used interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs) and observations to understand the relationship between firms and communities, how the two relate and co-exist and how that relationship could be improved by CSR. The study found that, among other things, there are no common CSR management systems put in place by companies in Tanzania, there is no common definition of CSR, and communities are involved only at the later stage of implementation and not in ...

The role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in stimulating and contributing to community de... more The role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in stimulating and contributing to community development among local communities is fast being acknowledged globally. However, it is argued that development projects and initiatives that have no inputs from the beneficiaries tend to fail overtime. There are documented evidences that some local communities in Tanzania have refused CSR projects. This study was carried out to assess the challenges, opportunities and communities' participation in CSR decision making process offered to local communities by mobile companies in Tanzania. The main objective of this study was to find out how mobile companies in Tanzania identified problems, prioritised and managed communities that are beneficiaries of the CSR programmes, at what stage the communities that are the beneficiaries participated in the decision-making processes and the impact of their participation. The study employed questionnaire survey method to collect data from 41 responde...

Utafiti

East African countries are growing and the economic cooperation and integration of these countrie... more East African countries are growing and the economic cooperation and integration of these countries is a matter of necessity. Urbanization is increasing and consequently, regional economic cooperation and integration that aims at political union in East Africa needs to work on the future regional cities that are planned as most cities in the region and African as a whole just spring up and unplanned. These cities need to face the challenges of urbanization such as unemployment, sewage system, crime, noises, social and economic polarization, traffic, terrorism and segregation. This paper therefore looks at the future of the East African regional cities and the possible role of Corporate Social Responsibility in shaping these cities as the countries strive to economic cooperation and integration. The paper uses secondary sources to analyse the present cities and project the future cities. Corporations have varying experiences and are more innovative, and thus they can shape the cities better than national states. Besides, the future of the cities is the future of the corporations, since these future cities open up myriad of economic possibilities. It concludes that corporations can play their part in development better if they start to influence these future cities in a positive way for sustainable economic development of the countries involved.

This paper outlines the flows of private capital that lie behind the growth of the for-profit pha... more This paper outlines the flows of private capital that lie behind the growth of the for-profit pharmaceutical sector in Tanzania, and analyses the policy, access and equity challenges posed by the shift to increasing private sector participation in medicine provision. The study was implemented within the Regional Network for Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa (EQUINET) by the Institute of Development Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, in a regional programme co-ordinated by the Institute for Social and Economic Research, South Africa. Case studies of three Tanzanian public-private partnerships (PPPs) were undertaken, focussing on the policy and legal terrain of the pharmaceutical industry and the impact on distribution of and access to medicines in Tanzania. The study established the types of production taking place in Tanzania and the distribution of resultant products for internal use and for export. Access to medicines is affected by many factors, including the qualit...

Mitigating HIV and AIDS among youth has been a major policy agenda both internationally and natio... more Mitigating HIV and AIDS among youth has been a major policy agenda both internationally and nationally, within Tanzania. Two concerns associated with mitigation efforts are increasing sexual activity at young ages and a burgeoning population of out-of-school youth whom poverty, lack of supervision, and unemployment seem to push into alternative life patterns that present risks to their health. This situation poses a serious challenge for Tanzania, where half the population is categorised as young. This study was set out to understand the sexual behaviours youth engage in that increase their risk of acquiring HIV and influence the HIV epidemic, assess youths’ knowledge about HIV and AIDS and sexual and reproductive health (SRH), investigate how gatekeepers and health service providers are positioned to address risky sexual behaviours among youth, and analyse the social, cultural, economic, and legal challenges to addressing these behaviours in youth in the rural and urban areas of Mbeya Region in Tanzania The study focused on 54 individuals (27 males and 27 females) from three identified categories: youth ages 15–24 years old (30 respondents); gatekeepers (16 respondents); and health service providers (8 respondents). Data collection involved qualitative techniques: in-depth interviews (IDIs), focus group discussions (FGDs), and document review. The study found out that majority of youth studied had heard about HIV and its related effects; however, condom use, and attendance at SRH services is very low among this population. The government, parents, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), religious institutions, and health service providers play a role in addressing risky sexual behaviours among youth. Parents have some responsibility for engagement by youth in risky sexual practices: poor marital relationships and instability in the home, supervising their children poorly, failing to communicate with their children about HIV and prevention, and putting their children in unsafe and vulnerable situations. However, many other factors contribute to participation by youth in risky sexual practices, such as the lack of education about HIV and SRH by schools and other institutions, lack of decision-making power, drug and alcohol abuse, household poverty, desire for material goods, lack of appropriate income-generating activities for youths and poor implementation of policies and laws that have the potential to decrease HIV transmission. The study concludes that despite increased government and NGO measures against HIV and attempts to minimise youths’ vulnerability to the disease, the community still does not fully support these efforts, and youth behaviour change remains a challenge. The study recommends that the Tanzanian government remain engaged and demonstrate leadership by effectively contributing to initiatives that address the HIV epidemic and create an environment supportive of access and use by youth to SRH services.

The author argues that the introduction of Private Higher Education (PHE) institutions in Tanzani... more The author argues that the introduction of Private Higher Education (PHE) institutions in Tanzania has brought back what the Arusha Declaration tried to avoid, which is the challenge of access and equity. PHE institutions have made education a commodity for sale without care for access, equity and quality. Though the PHE institutions in Tanzania outnumber public ones, they enrol only 21.5 percent of the total number of students in a year, this is because majority of people in the country are poor thus cannot finance their education and that of their children.
The paper looks at the history of education in Tanzania from colonial time, independence time (with Arusha declaration as a landmark) which introduced education for self and national reliance to the present time of quasi-capitalism. The paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of higher education during the time of Ujamaa vis a vis present time of mushrooming of PHE institutions focusing on access and equity. The paper uses different documents, books, journal papers and conference papers to analyse higher education in Tanzania. The author finds that though PHE institutions are good and needed, they however are increasing the gap of those who have and those who do not have which threatens peace and security of the country. In addition, while no one wants to talk about it, it is evident that considerable public subsidy for higher education in Tanzania benefit the already socio-economically well to do families.
It is argued that in the Tanzanian context it is almost impossible to propose a viable model or framework for financing higher education because of intense and deliberate politicization of the issue and because of the entrenched mindset of “free higher education” among the majority of Tanzanians. The author proposes that financing higher education in both public and private institutions in Tanzania lies in collection of the debts from those who paid their fees through the loan board and this can only work if the loan is paid according to the income one earns (those who earn more to pay more) and if there is clear mechanism in collection of loan, just like the one that exists for Pay as you earn.

Drafts by Shukrani K Mbirigenda

The author argues that the major change in the world history in the 1980s brought with it what Fr... more The author argues that the major change in the world history in the 1980s brought with it what Friedrich Nietzsche prophesized as the death of God and the rise of Superman. While in the era of the reign of God, values were created, bargained, vetted, accepted and instituted in the society, the author argues that in the recent few decades under globalization, with man becoming " god " (Homo-Deus), anyone can produce values and live or throw them to the society without the vetting process;it is what the author calls the user-oriented value production system. However, values should be bargained, vetted, accepted and instituted by those who have the knowledge, the philosophers. The philosophers were and still should be the producers and the gatekeepers of the values production system. However, with the death of God being replaced by ICT under liberal democracy, anybody is a producer and gatekeeper of values. This deteriorates and ultimately destroys, not only community values but also the concept of universal value. The author therefore, recommends going back to the drawing board and start to consult, listen and trust the professionals than the user-oriented knowledge and values because values should be a result of systematic, organized and thoroughreasoning process. Lastly, the author concludes that despite of the shortcomings, if it is well directed and nurtured, the Homo-Deus value production system has a potency of coming up with a new value on environment and possibly religion on Green God.

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