According to critique by various actors and stakeholders, both internal and external, the previous Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRSP I), provided inadequate emphasis to cross cutting issues such as Gender, Environment and HIV/AIDS. PRSP (I) did not account effectively for many of the key priorities of women, youth and the destitute. For instance, need for improvement of maternal health services, support for food production or marketing within the country, and eradication of gender discriminatory practices within social services and economic infrastructure were not satisfactorily handled[1].
On the other hand, PRSP (I) progress reports clearly reflect the need for increased mainstreaming of gender and other cross cutting issues into sector policies in quest to eradicate poverty and other socio-economic misgivings. Main weaknesses in the PRSP (I) as regards gender content were widely noted in various sporadic efforts to add on explicit gender inputs at alternating intervals. Progress reports on the PRSP outline Government’s commitment to: promote gender equality; to ensure that poverty data analysis is engendered; and, that gender sensitive indicators are used in monitoring.
The Government therefore on 15th October 2003, launched a public appraisal of the PRS as a precondition for development of PRS II. The process aims at bringing on board all stakeholders and the public at large into informing the sectors on their imperatives for reducing poverty. The process is aimed at enabling these stakeholders share with other actors in a consultative way, on substantive issues of gender, environment and HIV/AIDS. The purpose is to bring on board these issues systematically for incorporation into the new PRS II strategies for the concerned sectors. The process is thus expected to imbue the involved actors with basic gender analysis capabilities in order to facilitate them contribute into the PRS Review processes.
This gender review study of the rural roads sub-sector is therefore designed to looking into the current gender and poverty related issues and the trends over the last three years as regards the roads sector component of the PRS I. The study shall focus on: assessing achievements in regards to gender aspects identified in the first PRS; trends in implementation in the past 3 years; lessons learned from the experience so far; challenges and constraints on furthering the process; existing gaps in gender and poverty; existing plans, strategies and programmes for gender and cross cutting issues; as well as provide recommendations for the way ahead.
The study shall therefore provide suggestions on how gender mainstreaming and cross cutting issues in the rural road sector could best be incorporated in the PRS II document. The suggestions shall be in the form of: a selection of practical interventions; gender disaggregated monitoring indicators; and eventually, essential measures for enhancing positive outcomes in addressing gender and cross cutting issues, as well as minimize poverty through the rural roads sub-sector.
Accessibility, Mobility, and Rural Travel Planning
Access to social and economic facilities, goods and services is a daily prime concern of all human beings. This daily endeavour demands facilitation of movement of people to the goods, services and facilities providing them. Rural households, as well as urban households, meet their needs and priorities most effectively if the means for accessing them are in place. However, in order for this to happen, a multi-sectoral integrated planning approach that puts into consideration all aspects of household access needs is required. It is an established fact that poor access to subsistence, economic and social needs leads to isolation and therewith poverty. Mobility needs at the household level require the provision of appropriate transport infrastructure.
Present conventional approaches to rural transport needs assume that rural road improvements lead to improved access, and that continued state investment in the physical infrastructure for motor vehicles enables the transport needs of every community member being catered for. This approach subordinates road planning to the needs of agriculture, and therefore roads are justified towards agricultural harvests only. The approach neglects the fact that women and girls are prime movers in most rural areas, but they are not considered as prime targets for transport planning. It is obvious that most transport activities take place in and around villages, and have little use of the formal road network.
Current studies in rural or village level transport and travel patterns have revealed that there are specific gender aspects to be taken consideration of. These aspects include: division of labour (e.g., women doing a larger share of trips and burden of head-loading), infrastructure (e.g., poor access to essential services), and ecological conditions (e.g., dispersal of firewood and other goods and services such as water, markets, farming fields, etc).
Integrated rural accessibility planning therefore defines access needs of rural households in connection to social and economic services that households require. The method integrates mobility needs at the household with the siting or location of essential social and economic goods and services. This approach pays attention to purpose of travel, availability of services, condition of the transport infrastructure, means of transport, and the availability of social and economic services. The planning identifies development needs, problems, and priorities which can be addressed by improving access to facilities and services.
The starting point is the access needs of rural households. Key access interventions that are considered in improving access include: rural infrastructure (e.g., tracks, foot paths and footbridges); rural transport mobility (e.g., low cost IMTs); environment for rural mobility (e.g., facilitating purchase of IMTs, training in operation and maintenance); accessible locations or sites for facilities and services (e.g., water supplies, sanitation services, health centers, market facilities, grinding mills, etc); and, environmentally friendly measures (e.g., Energy efficient stoves, woodlots, etc).
It is such articulated issues that the rural roads sub-sector should address, rather than ending its analysis on the provision of roads for its unlinked sake. In order to further the analysis let us view how the sub-sector identifies and deals with rural roads.
Rural Roads and Rural Transport
According to the Ministry of Works, the road sector is considered as a major contributor in facilitating socio-economic development of poor rural areas. The road sector is said to contribute towards 5% of the overall GDP and handles 70% of internal freight traffic and 60% of transit cargo. Existing data shows that Tanzania
- 10’300 kilometers of trunk roads.
- 24’700 kilometers of regional roads.
- 2’450 kilometers of urban roads.
- 20’000 kilometers of district roads.
- 27’550 kilometers of feeder roads.
However, only 4’000 of the above kilometers are paved (5%). In closer detail, the Ministry of Works (through TanRoads and Road Fund), is responsible for 35’000 kilometers of the roads in Tanzania, while PORALG (through its local authorities), deals with the remaining 50’000 kilometers.
The Tanzania
Development and maintenance of the rural roads and transport infrastructure was previously assumed being gender neutral. In our time, various studies have revealed that men and women have varying transport needs and constraints that are affected differently by rural transport interventions. Rural women, who balance the productive, social, and reproductive roles in their local societies, are highly in need of a gender responsive rural transport infrastructure that can enhance their income generation and participation in decision making activities[3]. It is in this spirit that rural roads are extensively championed by different stakeholders as instrument for alleviating poverty. The purpose is to raise living standards among the poorest inhabitants in rural areas by engaging them in the rehabilitation of existing feeder, district and regional roads through labour promoting methods and technology.
Labour intensive technology is one of the most convenient tools for poverty reduction through the road sector. Ministry of Works has already acknowledged appropriateness of using the Labor Based Technology in rural roads as a way forward to development in the rural sector and alleviating poverty. Labour based technology, in comparison to capital intensive technology, creates more employment, increases incomes to rural residents, and helps re-distribute incomes[4].
Policy Guidelines for the 1996/97 National Labor Based Road
· Creation of jobs in rural areas where other wage earning opportunities are few.
· Reduced dependency on heavy equipment that is often difficult to maintain, especially when working in areas remote from main suppliers, workshops and manufacturers agents.
· Reduced requirement for foreign exchange, as more of the costs are local costs.
· Boost to local economy through the spending power of worker’s wages.
· The acquisition of skills by workers employed on road construction and maintenance.
· The provision of work opportunities for women as the recruitment of road workers is usually organized close to worker’s homes, a situation necessary for most women.
· Encouragement of a sense of ownership of the roads by the rural people through their involvement in their construction and maintenance.
· Assisting with poverty alleviation to the extent that the laborers who seek work on the roads are often poorer people who have few other options, for example those who have little or no land to cultivate.
· Reducing migration to urban areas, particularly through large scale national programmes that offer a steady number of work opportunities in rural areas.
It is hereby obvious that the advantages of employing labour based methods in the maintenance of rural roads, as well as other types of roads, have been well articulated by the Ministry of Works much earlier. Such revelations have been amassing from within and without the country, as can be attested by the Case Study from Uganda
Rural Roads Sector and Experiences in PRSP
The overall objective of the road sector[5] is “to have a road network that is well maintained, serving all parts of the economy, and one which is well integrated to other modes of transport providing services that are relatively inexpensive and safe”. The strategy selected to achieve this objective includes: rehabilitation of sections of the road network currently in poor condition to good condition. The aim was to start with roads which serve the most vulnerable districts (in most vulnerable 12 regions[6]), and focusing on the potential for agricultural production.
Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (March 2000)
The Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper[7] (March 2000) first and foremost highlights the process (e.g., consultations with stakeholders, civil society and development partners), for the development of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, which was to be produced by August 2000.besides stating that the paper was not to replace existing sectoral programmes but instead strengthen the prioritization of actions on targeting poverty in each sector, the paper indicated the need for each sector to set poverty reduction targets and monitorable indicators and shift budgetary allocations to meet the specified poverty reduction targets. The paper hence touches on the enactment of legislation, of December 1998, for dedicating 90% of the Road Fund towards maintenance, as a major policy accomplishment. The paper also mentions establishment of a National Road Agency (TanRoads) in July 2000, as a way for ensuring effective and efficient management of the country’s road network from a poverty reduction perspective.
Draft Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (July 2000)
By July 2000 another more detailed Draft PRSP was issued by the government. The document identifies poor rural transport, especially “roads are not good enough to attract private transporters to operate”, as one of the causes for poverty (page 13). Furthermore, the document reiterated the focus on poverty reduction by the road sector as being application of “labour intensive technology and increased use of local contractors” in the rehabilitation and maintenance of all rural roads network. Nevertheless, it is disturbing to see the emphasis that “priority will be given to rehabilitating to weather standards a total of 4’500 kilometers by 2003 under the Urgent Roads Rehabilitation Programme in 12 identified regions” (page 28). This focus seems to overstretch the definition of rural roads as well as the list of the most deprived regions into proportions that won’t be easily achieved bearing in mind the resource envelope at hand.
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (October 2000)
The Final PRSP, the National Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), was issued in October 2000. The document provides a more comprehensive and consolidated overview of the poverty reduction consultation process and measures to be implemented by the various sectors in Tanzania Tanzania
In the section on rural sector development and export growth, the PRSP categorically states that “local communities will play a more active role in rehabilitating and maintaining rural roads” (page 21), a fact that provides proof on the intended goal of involving, through employment, more rural residents in the rural roads sector. The paper also indicates that particular attention was to be directed at deprived regions. The proposed budgetary allocation for the rural roads sector was: 46.9 billion shillings in 1999/00; 86.8 billion shillings in 2000/01; 92 billion shillings in 2001/02; and, 76 billion shillings in 2002/03. The proposed funds were supposed to cater for subventions to local government authorities, Road Fund allocations to districts, and Ministry of Works Sub-Vote on Other Charges. The projected results after the three year period were supposed to consist of:
- 4’500 kilometers of rural roads rehabilitated in twelve regions identified as the poorest (e.g.,
- Routine and periodic maintenance promptly undertaken on all rural road networks.
The improvements were anticipated to be achieved through increased budget allocations to rural roads. Secondly, through application of labour based technology in the rehabilitation and maintenance activities. Thirdly, through increased utilization of local contractors. Lastly, through strengthened capacity for managing district roads by local contractors.
The First Draft Progress Report on PRSP I (2000/01)
The May 2001 Draft Progress Report on the PRSP I[8] assessed the government’s particulars on the contents of the rural road component in the PRSP and the cost estimates on interventions required to meet targets with regards to district, trunk and regional roads. The Progress Report also responded to specific issues raised by stakeholders concerning substance and practicability of the rural roads programme. Generally, the resource envelope for the roads sector experienced a shortfall averaged at 47% of the required amount for the road sector in totality, as well as 22% of the requirement for the rural roads in specific (Table 23). The assessment encouraged the Government to develop an outlook on interventions required for seeing improvements on rural roads through to 2010. The outlook included a costed programme for the three-year period ending fiscal year 2003/04.
The Draft report also presents plans to review the roles of the Regional Consultative Committees (RCC) and the Regional Road Board with the aim of avoiding duplication in their respective mandates. Efforts were being made to strengthen the offices of District Engineers and clarify the role of the TanRoads in this sub-sector. However, while the launching of the Road Fund, Road Fund Board, and TanRoads was a welcome development, the construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of trunk and regional roads continued to be constrained by shortage of resources. For instance the resource gap for the rural roads maintenance and rehabilitation was projected as being: 593.5 million shillings in the 2001/02 fiscal year; 924.2 million shillings in the 2002/03 period; and, 713.7 million shillings in the 2003/04 period. Altogether, the roads sector was facing a resource gap of: 37 billion shillings in 2001/02; 43.5 billion in 2002/03 and 45.2 billion in 2003/04. The government also tried to refocus on the poverty reduction objective under PRSP in linking it to the improvement of regional roads, domestic and cross boarder traffic, and traditional exports.
It was against that backdrop that the Government pledged to set aside 1.8 Billion shillings on a monthly basis (starting May 2001) in order to improve transport links to the northwestern and southern regions, of the country. The initiative was to be accompanied with efforts to accelerate implementation of externally funded road projects, and to bolster resources of TanRoads.
The Second Draft Progress Report on PRSP I (2001/02)
The Second Draft Progress Report[9] of the PRSP I, contains clear and detailed achievements in the road sector. While the focus was to improve the condition of the road network with special attention to the most vulnerable and poor regions of the country, the detailed planned interventions for the roads sub-sector were identified as being:
- Allocation of 1.8 Billion shillings on a monthly basis to improve the transport link to the northwestern and southern regions of the country.
- Increase of normal budget allocations to facilitate rehabilitation and maintenance of eight most vulnerable and poor regions of the country
- Rehabilitation of feeder, district, and regional road network in the poorest eight regions.
- Special attention to footpaths, tracks and trails and to mobilize communities in carrying out needed improvement.
- Carry out routine maintenance, emergency repair and spot improvement in all districts to ensure uninterrupted use of roads.
- Develop and prepare a program similar to the “Urgent Road Rehabilitation Programme” (URRP) for the districts, feeder and urban roads.
- Improve the capacity of district engineers to manage execution of road maintenance works at district level.
The above planned interventions were all presented in a manner that failed to create a definite link to cross cutting issues or poverty reduction.
Budget Speech and Provisions on Cross Cutting Issues
It is also imperative to assess the Ministry of Work’s commitment to addressing cross cutting issues in its annual resource allocation statements as captured in the budget speech read in Parliament by the Minister. These statements provide an indication on what development issues the ministry focuses on annually and how it intends to deal with the issues.
The 2001/02 Ministry of Works Budget Speech
The 2001/02 Budget Speech[10] allocated seven paragraphs (or 4 pages), to addressing labour based technology matters (e.g., 2 paragraphs), as well as women participation (e.g., 4 paragraphs). The labour based paragraphs touched on the distribution of 435 manuals (out of 500 copies), to regional engineers, district engineers, contractors, consultant engineers as well as other stakeholders. The minister also mentioned the resolve to strengthen the Appropriate Technology Institute in Mbeya (Kiwira), and the issuance of guidelines on labour based technology to all stakeholders.
Besides reminding that the ministry had engaged efforts to increase women’s participation in road works since 1992/93, the minister stated that already 20% to 35% of labour in road works was contributed by women. The intended focus was to increase women’s employment in road works; mobilize more girls into science subjects; and, train 30 government workers to mobilize school girls into science and technical subjects. The minister also mentioned that Denmark
The 2002/03 Ministry of Works Budget Speech
The 2002/03 Budget Speech[11] allocated six paragraphs (or 4 pages), to addressing labour based technology matters (e.g., 3 paragraphs), as well as women participation (e.g., 3 paragraphs). On the labour based technology, the focus remained on distribution of guidelines; dissemination of a Labour Based Technical Manual (Volume 4); assisting Mbeya’s ATTI center with equipment; developing a National Framework for labour based technology; and, developing the Labour Based Documentation Center.
On the women participation side, the minister mentioned that progress achieved was mainly: 14 regions were now involved in piloting women’s involvement in road works to between 20% and 35% of labour force (e.g., Lindi, Mbeya, Iringa, Ruvuma, Morogoro, Dar Es Salaam
The 2003/04 Ministry of Works Budget Speech
The 2003/04 Budget Speech[13] allocated three paragraphs (or 3 pages), to addressing labour based technology matters (e.g., 2 paragraphs), as well as women participation (e.g., 1 paragraph). On the labour based technology side, the minister linked poverty reduction with labour based methods, by stating that “kutumia nyenzo na nguvu kazi zinazopatikana humuhumu nchini” is a way of increasing incomes for rural residents. The minister said the focus in the past year was: follow up on the labour based technology interventions in various regions; training District Engineer on DROMAS ( District Roads Management System); facilitating the ATTI center in Mbeya; and the preparation of a policy that shall guide the application of labour based technology in Tanzania (the Framework Document had already been prepared).
On the women participation side, main observations by the minister were that all regions were now involved in addressing promotion of women’s participation in road works through use of various IEC materials. The goal was still to increase women’s participation from the present 35% to 50% in 2005. Mobilisation of secondary school girls into science and technical subjects, as well as gender budgeting training were the other ongoing interventions. The latter was supposed to cover, TanRoads managers from all regions as well as budget officers from the ministry.
The Medium Term Plan for Growth and Poverty Reduction
The “Medium Term Plan for Growth and Poverty Reduction”[14] identified opportunities and potential for the road sector development as including: a large pool of cheap labour; plentiful sources of construction materials such as gravel, aggregates, lime, sand, water, etc; as well as, articulated policies for sustainable development and poverty reduction.” (page 66). The plan identified the road network as one of the key sector for economic growth and proposed that the reduction of poverty will in the medium term period be adopted from the following objectives for the road sector:
- Support the development of human resources.
- Build a competitive climate in the road construction industry, and,
- Train and assist local contractors in capacity building to enable them compete equally for construction works.
- Mobilizing rural communities to carry out the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of rural roads.
- Promote the use of local private sector consultants and contractors.
- Mainstream gender issues in road sector policies, plans and budgets.
- Evolve efficient road maintenance technologies especially those which are labour intensive.
As was stated in the Household Budget Survey, “Income poverty has only significantly declined in urban areas. While the proportion of people living below the poverty line has decreased, their numbers has increased.” The survey showed that 87% of the poor population lives in rural areas, with 36% of Tanzanians living under the basic needs poverty line.
Lessons Learnt in Rural Roads Sector
Generally the road sector is a complex area. As things stand at the moment, the sector is proliferated with quantitative set of criteria fro prioritizing rates of return to improvements of existing networks.
As seen in the preceding sections above, it appears that the sector is handicapped in regards to creating strong associations to poverty and labour based elements. This is proved by the fact that goals and targets in the road sector component are always based strongly on physical lines rather than socio-economic gains at individual, household and community level. Criteria used to allocate road projects, though argued on regional deprivation indices, raises distributional concerns.
Arguments tendered for the justification are based on internationally traded commodities (cashew nuts or cotton), reduced transport costs (mainly for trucks not buses), and competitive internal trading systems (which are imply more aggressive entrepreneurs gaining). All of the itemized are factors that favour the better placed rural or urban residents instead of otherwise. Households based outside the market system normally do not benefit because impact depends on geographical location and actual economic potentials. The problem is that the economic based criteria used for developing roads favours the more affluent individuals, politically well disposed communities or resource rich areas.
Local Government Authorities
- Local Government Authorities lack capacity to manage district, urban and feeder roads.
Ongoing reforms in local government authorities should go further to establishing a mechanism that will ensure that the road network under their jurisdiction is managed properly by local authorities. It should then be the role of the Director of Roads to ensure that all local government authorities use the same decision making process as other roads in terms of selecting and prioritizing investments in the road construction, maintenance and improvement.
Ministry and District Road
- The delay in rolling out is that the programme needs funds for rolling out. It is therefore important that PO-RALG take the lead to identify funding for this important activity. The Ministry has planed for the Urgent Road Rehabilitation Program (URRP), under the Trunk and Regional Roads Network and the Ten Year Road Sector Rehabilitation Programme (10 Year Plan), while the District and Feeder roads have developed District Roads Management System (DROMAS), which needs to be rolled out to other Districts.
Resources and Capacity
- Thus lack of resources and inadequate capacity are issues to be addressed for the success of the programme. There must be a deliberate move by the Government to underscore the importance of strengthening capacity at the district level. Strengthening local government capability through training and allocation of skilled manpower.
- With respect to poverty reduction strategy the Ministry is currently employing more than 700 people (mostly laborers) at the Chalinze – Melela roads rehabilitation project. Out of these about 12% were women, which have an impact on poverty reduction. While on the Makuyuni –
Income Opportunities to Women
- In the Southern Highland Zone, several small scale contracts were awarded to village contractors and communities involving women. In Arusha for example 50% of small scale contracts executed were awarded to women. The effect is that income is generated to local communities, which ultimately contributes to poverty reduction in the country.
- Limited financial resources to raise the condition of roads to maintainable status, implying a need to go beyond the Road Fund Resources.
- More needs to be done with respect to road sector reforms to ensure smoothness of operations in road works in road works and road network administration.
- Enhancement of technical and managerial skills by the Local Government Authorities.
Challenges and Constraints
Resources for the Road sector
· Inadequate budgetary allocation to road rehabilitation and periodic maintenance and spot repairs for the entire planned network.
Use of Labour Based Technology and Methods
· Use of Labor Based Technology which promotes employment of women and men, in rural areas, in rehabilitation, routine, periodic and spot improvement for the whole network has not been very successful. Constraints include resistance by engineers at district and national levels in accepting labour based methods instead of equipment based methods.
Employment of Women in Maintenance Work
· National average on women employment in the road sector (30%), does not tell the entire story on variations within different districts and regions.
Capacity Building
· Improvement of capacity of District Engineers to manage execution of road maintenance works at district level, should also include their acknowledging and appreciating the necessity of applying labour based technology and methods within road works in their districts.
Engendering Various Manuals
· Need for preparation of technical manuals for road rehabilitation and maintenance works, contract administration & managements, technical standards and work specifications, unit rates, procurement procedures, environmental guidelines, road sign & safety, gender and social issues, M&E etc., to 113 districts.
Popularisation of Village Based Accessibility Needs
· Late up scaling and dissemination of VTTP programme package tools to 113 districts (including training, baseline access study, capacity building, guidance notes etc.
· Footpaths tracks and trails and to mobilize communities in carrying out needed improvement not given sufficient emphasis.
[Extracted from a report titled “Priority Sector PRS Review from a Gender Perspective: Ministry of Works.” By Edward H. Mhina and Richard Kundi. Dar Es Salaam, April 2004.]
[1] Bell , E.; Gender and PRSPs: With experiences from Tanzania , Bolivia , Viet Nam , and Mozambique
[2] Page 20, The Tanzania Development Vision 2025, The President’s Office Planning Commission, Dar es Salaam
[3] World Bank; Transport and Gender Equality: Gender and Development Briefing Notes; www.worldbank.org/gender/transport/
[4] Halifa Msangi and Geert Muijser; Experience of using Rehabilitation and Maintenance of District and feeder Roads (Medium Term Impact on people and the Government of Tanzania); 2003; 10th Regional Seminar for the Labor Based Practitioners.
[5] Page 23 onwards: United Republic of Tanzania
[6] The most deprived regions (in regards to food security; income and production; education; health and nutrition services, were Dodoma
[7] United Republic of Tanzania
[8] United Republic of Tanzania
[9] United Republic of Tanzania
[10] Pages 52-55: Hotuba Ya Waziri wa Ujenzi, Mheshimiwa John P. Magufuli (MB), Akiwasilisha Bungeni Mpango wa Maendeleo na Makadirio ya Matumizi ya Fedha kwa Mwaka 2001/02. Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania
[11] Pages 27-31: Hotuba Ya Waziri wa Ujenzi, Mheshimiwa John P. Magufuli (MB), Akiwasilisha Bungeni Mpango wa Maendeleo na Makadirio ya Matumizi ya Fedha kwa Mwaka 2002/03. Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania
[12] MoW’s recommended guidelines on women’s participation are based on a study that was prepared by IDSWSG for NORAD in March 1987, based on the rural Roads Maintenance Programme (RRMP) in Mbeya and Tanga regions.
[13] Pages 35-38: Hotuba Ya Waziri wa Ujenzi, Mheshimiwa John P. Magufuli (MB), Wakati Akiwasilisha Bungeni Mpango wa Maendeleo na Makadirio ya Matumizi ya Fedha kwa Mwaka 2003/04. Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania
[14] Page 66: Medium Term Plan for Growth and Poverty Reduction. 2003/04 and 2005/06. Volume 1. Macro and Sectoral Policies, Strategies and Objectives.
[15] Page 68: Medium Term Plan for Growth and Poverty Reduction. 2003/04 and 2005/06. Volume 1. Macro and Sectoral Policies, Strategies and Objectives.
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