Influence of Budgetary Practices on Budget Performance of Local Government Authorities in Tanzania

Abstract

The local government authorities (LGAs) in Tanzania were restarted in 1980 and since then the government has gone in different programs of reforming them. However, the implementation of budget in LGAs in Tanzania is failing to produce intended outcomes. This study investigates effects of budgetary practices on budget performance of LGAs in Tanzania. The study used survey research design carried out at Ilala Municipal Council. Data collected using questionnaire was subjected to Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23 for running the quantitative analysis. The research adopted Exploratory Factor Analysis (KMO and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity), simple regression analysis and correlation analysis to investigate the influence of budgetary practices (measured by budget planning, participatory budget and budget execution) on budget performance (supported by efficiency and effectiveness) of LGAs in Tanzania. Findings of the study indicate that budget planning, participatory budget and budget execution are directly related and they have close relationship with budgetary performance. Among the three budgetary practices tested, it was found that budget planning is a significant driver of budget performance. This study has implication to various stakeholders and actors alongside budget operations especially in Tanzania as well as the research community, where it provides new insights relating to budget practices and performance metrics that can be used to accelerate budget performance of LGAs. Decision makers in LGAs should put more emphasis on enforcing policies that improve performance of budget operations by addressing the benefits and weakness experienced in the past.