This study explored how the politically elected local leaders perceive and implement accountability notion in service delivery: using Dar es Salaam city council of Tanzania as a case study. The study adopted a case study strategy where five districts namely Ilala, Ubungo, Temeke, Kinondoni and Kigamboni were involved in the study. Qualitative method and approaches were used to generate qualitative data from individual interviews and focus group discussion. The overall sample of 146 informants were involved in the study through interviews and focus group discussion, whereby 40 individuals were sampled for in-depth interviews and 106 were sampled for group discussion. The selection of the key informants (the Subward leaders and Councilors) was done purposively through snowball quota sampling to reach the study’s informants. The Subward leaders and Councilors, who are the informants, are those politically elected local leaders serving the local community in Dar es Salaam local authorities. Documentary review was also adopted, where various documents related to the study were critically reviewed. The result demonstrated that local leaders in Dar es Salaam city council have misperception on accountability notion in service delivery, which appeared to cause mass complaints across the Dar es Salaam local community. Thus, the study recommends strengthening of accountability practices through restructuring accountability system and initiating comprehensive accountability training to the local leaders.
Volume 11 | 05-Special Issue
Pages: 874-882