The Republic of Tanzania consists out of a total of 26 administrative regions (mkoa) spread out over the mainland area (21 regions) and the islands of Zanzibar (3 regions) and Pemba (2 regions). Zanzibar Island has a special status within the Republic with its own assembly and president, the president of Zanzibar is also a cabinet member in the Tanzanian national government. The 26 regions are divided further into 127 districts (wilaya) who form the basis of local government. A difference is made between rural and urban districts both headed by elected councils of which there are 133, some districts such as the capital of Dar Es Salaam have multiple local council authorities. Local officials are elected for a period of 5 years most recently in 2009. New elections are tentatively planned for 2014.
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Prior to a major reform program of the public sector in 2002 which included local government the position of local authorities was represented through and by the Prime Minister’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG). The Local Government Reform Program (LGRP) set out to make local authorities more independent, accountable and better capable of delivering crucial services to the population. In addition to the already existing local government legislation of 1982, 1983 and 1997 the LGRP further facilitated the legal structure in which localities were to operate. For example the role of line ministries was altered to be more supervisory and supporting. Another example is the Local Government Service Regulations law intended to outline the responsibilities of local authorities in respect to basic service provision.
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Since the comprehensive LGRP was set in motion in 2000, the PMO-RALG has continued with the implementation of new additional programs and projects. The 2005 Local Government Support Project (LGSP) continues down the path started by the LGRP providing budgets and grants to develop community specific themes. Also the staff of local authorities is receiving training through the Local Government Training Institute and the 2010 Training Strategy for the Local Government Authorities aimed at improving the knowledge and operational capacity of local government officials.
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