Managing revenue collection outsourcing in Tanzania’s local government authorities: a case study of Iringa Municipal Council

ABSTRACT

Due to their critical role in development and governance, local governments need adequate financial resources to deliver the many developmental functions. However, such financial resources are either not available or inadequate. One way of rising to this challenge has been scaling up revenue collection from local revenue sources. This is done through either in-house collection or outsourcing revenue collection. Extant research has focused on the benefits and challenges of outsourcing. This paper expands this body of knowledge by studying how local governments manage private collectors to maximise benefits of outsourcing. From interviews conducted with Iringa Municipality officials and staff, the paper shows that revenue collection outsourcing can be an effective tax administration strategy if properly managed.

KEYWORDS:

• Local government
• revenues
• outsourcing
• Iringa
• Tanzania

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael Greyson Mgonja

Michael Greyson Mgonja is an assistant lecturer in the Department of History, Political Science and Public Administration, and Development Studies at Mkwawa University College of Education (MUCE), a constituent college of the University of Dar es Salaam. He researches the broader issues of public administration, especially as they relate to human resource management and local governance in Tanzania.

Japhace Poncian

Japhace Poncian is a lecturer in the Department of History, Political Science and Public Administration, and Development Studies at Mkwawa University College of Education (MUCE). He is also a PhD (politics) candidate at the University of Newcastle, Australia. He researches extractive resource governance, community engagement in decision-making processes and broader governance and development issues. His most recent research has appeared in Development Studies Research and International Journal of Gender Studies in Developing Societies.