The Role of Improved Opportunities and Obstacles to Development Actors in Sustainability of CommunityBased Development Initiatives: A Case of Morogoro District Council, Tanzania

Joel Chongela, Maria Sawala, and Hamza Shemkambi
The Local Government Training Institute, Dodoma Tanzania
Corresponding Author: chongela@yahoo.com /joel.chongela@lgti.ac.tz

Abstract: The study was conducted to assess the role of improved opportunities and obstacles to development actors in sustainability of community–based development initiatives. The study was conducted in Morogoro District Council because it was among the five (5) districts piloted for the implementation of project known as “Strengthening Participatory Planning and Community Development Cycle for Good Governance” popularly known as O and OD (PMO-RALG, 2008). Purposive sampling technique was employed to select the sample size of 70 respondents representing actors at district, ward and village levels including; one (1) DED, seven (7) CTF, six (6) WFs, two (2) WEOs, two (2) VEOs, two (2) group leaders from twelve (12) community development groups(2*12) and twenty eight (28) community members. The study findings revealed that fifty seven (57) of respondents’ equivalent to 81% of the total respondents supported that social preparation as one of the major factors for sustainability was done by Council Task Force. Whereas sixty four (64) respondents equivalent to 91% of the respondents supported that social preparation was done by Ward Facilitators, sixty (60) respondents equivalent to 86% of the respondents supported that awareness creation was done by Ward Facilitators, and fifty (50) respondents equivalent to 71% of the respondents supported that organization formation was facilitated by Ward Facilitators. This implies that Ward Facilitators are the principal organ in operationalization of improved Opportunity & Obstacles to Development and hence realization of Decentralization by Devolution (D by D).