The governance costs of legislating under a certificate of urgency in Tanzania's mining sector

Abstract

Extractive resource governance is a contested terrain all across the world because of the high value ascribed to the extractive resources and the conflicting interests that surround their extraction. Although resource governance is determined by policy, legal, regulatory and fiscal regimes, the process by which the legislative framework is put in place is important. This paper draws on the Tanzania experience to examine the governance implications of fast-tracked extractive legislative processes. The paper shows that a combination of electoral politics, the fear of manipulation by the international capital and the legacy of socialist ideology has consistently pushed Tanzania to make extractive laws certificates of urgency. This has severely impacted on the sector's governance in several ways including exacerbating the sectors unpredictability and instability and costing the country heavily in addressing the outcomes of fast-tracked legislative reforms. This calls for a rethink of Tanzania's government strategy for extractive resources legislative reforms.