Topic 2

THE GOVERNMENT
OF
TANZANIA

BY: Apila @ 2018

The concept of government

What is Government?
Government is the group of people who
are responsible for controlling a country or
state. Or
Government is a group of people within a
community who have -
The concept of government

power and authority to perform

administrative functions. These include
planning, making decisions and even the
implementation of policies.
 TYPES OF GOVERNMENT

There are two major types of government

which are;-
i. Democratic government
ii. Non-democratic government
1. Democratic Government

A Democratic Government is a type of

government whose political power is
determined by popular vote.
This type of government acquires
legitimacy from the people through free
and fair elections.
1. Democratic Government

A good example of a democratic

government is the presidential system of
government in USA as well as in Tanzania
where the president is the head of state,
head of government and commander in
1. Democratic Government

chief who comes into power through the

general election.
 Characteristics of Democratic
Government
The following are characteristics of
democratic government.
i. Existence of separation of power.
ii. Present of rule of law
iii. Presence of free and fair election
 Characteristics of Democratic
Government
iv. Leaders are accountable and
responsible to the people.
v. Presence of citizen participation.
2. Non-Democratic Government

A Non-democratic government is the type

of government which normally does not
come into power by popular election. Or
It is the type of government which gets
into power without majority will and
people’s legitimacy.
2. Non-Democratic Government

In most cases a non-democratic

government results from military coup due
to the interest of some leaders. A good
example of a non-democratic government
is the dictatorship governments like that of
Adolf Hitler of Germany and
2. Non-Democratic Government

Mussolini of Italy. Other examples are

those of Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) formerly Zaire under Mobutu
Seseko and Uganda under Idd Amin Dada.
 Characteristics of Non-Democratic
Government
The following are characteristics of non-
democratic government.
i. Existence of leaders who are not
answerable to the people
ii. Presence of leaders who are not chosen
by the people
 Characteristics of Non-Democratic
Government
iii. Presence of leaders who come to
power by force.
iv. Presence of abuse of power.
v. Disrespect and dishonor of the
constitution
vi. Presence of unfree and unfair election
 FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

There are so many forms of government in

the world. The following are the dominant
ones.
1. Republic Government

A republic government is a form of

government whereby head of the
government is the president. The president
is elected by the people and exercises
power on behalf of the people. Example of
republic government are D.R.C, Kenya,
Uganda etc.
2. Union Government

This is the form of government which is

formed when two or more nations join
together to form a single state. Example
the United Republic of Tanzania was
formed when Tanganyika united with
Zanzibar, the United Kingdom is the
2. Union Government

union of England, North Ireland, Scotland

and Wales.
3. Federation Government

This is a form of government where by

two or more governments join together
and share some powers at the central
government. The governments surrender
some of their power to central government
while remaining with some
3. Federation Government

authority, for example the government of

India, Russia federation, United States of
America and Nigeria.
4. Revolutionary Government

This is a system of government which is

formed after overthrow of the oppressive
government by the majority people who
were previously governed and oppressed.
Example, Zanzibar revolution government.
5. Transitional Government

This is the form of government which is

created temporarily by the people within a
country while waiting for permanent
government. This happens when there is
sudden change of government or
leadership due to
5. Transitional Government

political instability in the country.

However this form of government is not a
formal system.
6. Communist Government

This is a form of government in a

communist country, in which the
government owns the major means of
production including land. The
government provides people with free
health care, education and social welfare.
6. Communist Government

A Communist government always results

from socialist revolutions. A good example
of communist government is North Korea
and China.
7. Dictatorship Government

This is the form of government whereby

the leadership rests in the hand of an
individual or group of people who come
into power mainly through force. Example
Adolf Hitler of Germany and Benito
Mussolini of Italy governments.
7. Dictatorship Government

Sometimes dictatorship government is

known as Totalitarian Government.
8. Anarchy Government

This is a situation whereby there is no

government. This can happen after a civil
war in a country, whereby the government
is destroyed and rival groups are fighting
to take its place.
9. Monarchy Government

This is the form of government which is

ruled by a king or queen. A king or queen
come into power by inheritance. Example
of monarchy governments are Swaziland,
Morocco, United Kingdom (UK) and
Netherland.
 Types of Monarchy Government

There are two types of monarchy

government. These are;-
i. Absolute monarchy
ii. Constitutional monarchy
(a) Absolute Monarchy

This is the type of monarchy government

whereby both the state and government is
headed by a king or queen in the country.
For example Swaziland, Saudi Arabia and
former King Louis of France.
(b) Constitutional Monarchy

This is the type of monarchy government

whereby a king or queen is only the head
of state and prime minister in the head of
government.
The prime minister is elected by citizens in
a general election and
(b) Constitutional Monarchy

After being elected he or she forms a

government. For example Sweden, Japan,
Jordan, Netherlands and Britain follow
constitutional monarchy government.
 IMPORTANCE OF GOVERNMENT

1. It provides citizens with social services

like health care, education and safe
water.
2. The government constructs and
maintain infrastructure like roads,
schools, buildings and hospitals.
 IMPORTANCE OF GOVERNMENT

3. It Maintains peace and order in the

country
4. Government initiates and maintains
relationship with other countries.
 IMPORTANCE OF GOVERNMENT

5. The government collects revenue for

development of the country.
6. It guides the country by preparing and
implementing good policies.
 IMPORTANCE OF GOVERNMENT

7. It protects Individual rights of citizens