Oversee the Overseers: An Insight from Ethics Secretariat

This paper explored the contextual setback of the Ethics Secretariat in managing public leaders’ ethics in Tanzania. Specifically, it examines functional relations between the ethics secretariat and the Executive, Parliament, Judiciary and other ethical governing institutions and how these functional relations affect the institution in discharging its duties. The study employed the principal agent model and its methodology was primarily qualitative. The findings relied heavily on interviews and documentary reviews. Generally, it was found that the contextual setback of the Ethics secretariat in managing public leaders’ ethics originated from interferences made by the three organs of government namely Executive, judiciary and legislature as well as weakness in functional relations between the ethics secretariat and other ethics governing institutions namely Prevention and Combating Corruption Bureau (PCCB) and the Commission for human rights and good governance (CHRGG). The paper concludes first, that under inappropriate law, and inappropriate functional relations between the Ethics secretariat and other ethics governing institutions it is difficult for the institution to perform its constitutional powers; at best, it is likely to remain an elusive phenomenon. Second, in a context where unethical behaviour public leaders are rarely controlled, some leaders have an opportunity to act according to their wishes and not according to the law, hence affect negatively the provision of public goods and services. The study recommends substantial amendment of the Constitution of united republic of Tanzania and the leadership code of ethics Act in order to make the ethics secretariat free in performing its duties