Abstract

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit Tanzania is the most democratic nation in the East Africa region although according to UNDP n d popular attitudes towards democratic practice in the country are ambivalent Sunday Citizen 15 01 2012 A comparative civic study done by Riutta 2007 concluded that Tanzanians were generally interested in politics Despite this there is also a sense that citizens do not get the chance to truly engage in the political process for several reasons includng fear apathy and domination by a single party for a good part of the country s political history Citizens often lack awareness of their rights and how these rights can be voiced and channelled into the government system Indeed according to critical analysts Chaligha et al 2002 Schellschmidt 2006 Jensen 2010 Tanzanian villages are more used to receiving government directives than being involved in making decisions that involve the government In 1993 the renowned judge Lugakingira had occasion to observe that Tanzanins found contentment in being receivers rather than seekers and hinted that over the years since independence Tanzanians have developed a culture of apathy and silence Lugakingira 1993 Lange et al 2000 found that the culture of silence that developed during one-party rule seemed to prevail and apparently there was no culture of voicing discontent not to mention taking action An African Afrobarometer Survey of 2002 concluded that Tanzanians exhibited a high level of patience which was manifested through uncritical and passive acceptance of the status quo Chaligha et al op cit The survey went on to claim that there was a tendency among Tanzanians to accept whatever their leaders gave them resulting in a paradox whereby trust in government institutions and satisfaction with the performance of political leaders endured even if people were disgruntled The same survey found that civic competen