The Anatomy of Grand Corruption and its Impact on Healthcare Delivery

A Review of Ten-year Experience in Tanzania, 2005–2015

Abstract

Literature on the corruption menace in Tanzania are not in short supply. There are two levels of corruption, depending on how it manifests: grand and petty. In Tanzania, the former has been on the rise since the neoliberal era. Some past government regimes attempted to squarely fight the vice, while others exerted withered efforts toward fighting it. For instance, the epitome of grand corruption was highly evident between 2005 and 2015, and this resulted in the dwindling provision of social services, including health. Drawing from the state capture theory, and through synthesized literature, this article catalogues major grand corruption scandals of the time in Tanzania, and their far-reaching impacts on health service delivery. The article argues that the perverted grand corruption impairs national budget funds. It was observed that grand corruption affected the health system in terms of shortages of human resources for health and acute out-of-stock medicines and medical supplies. The vice also accelerated petty corruption and community mistrust of the health system. This necessitates solid mechanisms to curb it. It is thus inevitable that the leadership in power needs to continue sharpening the existing strategies that are in place to fight corruption, and designing new measures to curb new venues of corruption. It is suggested that legal instruments be strengthened to back up the strategies that are designed to tackle grand corruption.

Keywords: grand corruption, health services, Tanzania

https://dx.doi.org/10.56279/NJIY8787/TJDS.v22i1.2