Dar es Salaam. An international panel has endorsed the Big Results Now (BRN) initiative noting, however, that the shortfalls identified in the first year of its implementation should be resolved.
If the shortcomings are addressed properly, the team dubbed Independent Review Panel (IRP) comprising eight international experts, said there was high potential that Tanzania would benefit from the initiative in the long run.
They gave the nod to the programme during the second day of meeting on the implementation of BRN on Friday and involved ministries, development partners and other dignitaries.
The IRP members include Mr Festus Mogae, former President of Botswana, Mr James Adams, the former Vice President of World Bank, Mr Knut Kjaer, the chairman of US based Trident Asset Management, Lord Peter Mandelson, the chairman of UK based Global Counsel.
Others are Ms Linah Mohohlo, the Governor of Bank of Botswana, Dr Nkosana Moyo, the founder of Mandela Institute for Development Studies, Dr Sipho Moyo, the Africa Executive director, ONE, and Prof Jeffrey Sachs, an Economics don at Columbia University and senior UN adviser.
Presenting the conclusion of their review, Mr Mogae said sustaining the programme is critical to its full impact.
“The panel underlined the importance that the programme continued to be supported by future governments,” said Mr Mogae when reading the conclusion statement of the panel.
He said panel was satisfied with the stage of implementation of the programme in less than a year and hoped it to yield more results in future if the noted challenges are addressed.
“Reflecting on the day’s discussions and the information provided on BRN, the panel has a clear view that this programme offers the opportunity over time to bring about fundamental improvements in development programme in Tanzania,” he said.
Some of the panellists who gave their individual views urged Tanzanians to embrace the programme for it gives the country’s future development brightness.
“BRN has come at the time when the country is preparing for the post-development agenda this year, hence all the citizens need to be part of this drive,” commented Dr Moyo.
She said BRN is an initiative geared towards enabling citizens to hold their government accountable with emphasis on transparency and accountability. In her comment, the governor of Bank of Botswana, Linah Mohohlo said not all the governments in Africa take the Tanzania’s path to involve international experts in reviewing their development programme. “We are here to say what has gone well, what was wrong in the process, the challenges and propose the way forward for the country to realize its objectives,” she said.
Briefing the press after the meeting, President’s Delivery Bureau chief executive officer Omari Issa said in February this year the Bureau will release a detailed report on findings, observation and recommendations made on the first year of implementation of BRN.
Together with the panel appreciating the BRN, it also pointed issues that need attention like addressing a lot of start-up issues that were noted by an independent auditor, none of the sector programme could address all the constraints faced in the early stage, put in place system to monitor and collect the data necessary to enabling the government and other stakeholders to monitor the programme.
It was noted that people’s voice on the initiative should be noted.
The Citizen
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