Power Game: Position of the Dominant Actors in Public Assets Management of Forest and Wildlife Sectors

Abstract

This paper provides an understanding of the issues which emerged as a result of the prevailing power struggle to control agendas and resources that take place between actors in policy making process related to forest and wildlife management. The paper helps to learn the manner in which actors relate in the power game. The paper examines the way change in bureaucratic paradigm has affected other actors’ interests and beliefs in designing as well as implementing policies for improving forest and wildlife management in Tanzania. The paper reveals that more reform efforts are needed to eradicate classical public administration bureaucratic paradigm and increase the power of local communities and private sector by fully adopting the new public management in Tanzania public sectors of forest and wildlife conservation. The paper suggests that current poor policy outcomes are the result of the strong beliefs and adherence by bureaucrats to the existing policy, legal and regulatory frames on one hand, and loss of other actors’ interests and beliefs (i.e. local communities and the private sector interests and beliefs) into the current systems and processes which also include policy, legal and regulatory frames, on the other. The paper shows that the present policy, legal and regulatory frames collectively contradict and discourage participation of key actors in designing and implementing policies. The paper further indicates that local communities’ and the private sector’s ideas are without doubt weapons or strategic tools which can have political, social and economic influence, but unfortunately at the moment MNRT has not been able to make use of such weapons to improve the poor policy outcomes. Hence, paper suggests that the ideas which are needed to design and implement policies must serve the interests of the dominant actors (i.e. local communities and the private sector, according to Forest Policy 1998 and the Revised Wildlife Policy 2007) by strengthening their position in the power game of designing and implementing policies. Currently, the ideas which are being used in power game of designing and implementing policies are those coming from bureaucrats and development partners, thereby weakening the position of the local communities and private sector as dominant actors. The weak position of local communities and the private sector in the power game has led to the formulation and implementation of weak policy provisions and eventually produced poor policy outcomes. Therefore, paper further suggests that status quo of marginalisation of key actors in designing and implementing policies should and can be avoided. At the moment, bureaucrats may have designed policies, legislations and regulations that allows them to take more control over forest and wildlife resources. However, paper shows that local communities have more opportunities than the bureaucrats which increases their power to defy the laws and regulations introduced, such as preventing encroachments into the forest and wildlife reserves. Similarly, the private sector may choose to withhold their technical and financial prowess. Thus, MNRT should make use of the opportunities possessed by local communities and the private sector, as compared to current marginalisation. Additionally, MNRT should recognise that interaction and mutual trust are necessary in any established social system. Keywords: Bureaucratic Paradigm, New Public Management, Classical Public Administration, Forest and Wildlife Management, Tanzania DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/10-10-09 Publication date: October 31 st 2020