Governance challenges of regularisation of informal settlements in peri-urban Tanzania: perspectives from local stakeholders

The regularisation of informal settlements has become a common initiative for addressing urban development and growth in many cities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, its governance is still complex and unexplored. This study thus aims to examine and understand the governance challenges of regularising informal settlements in peri-urban Tanzania. A case study design with a combination of discussions from two participatory workshops and document analysis was used to collect empirical and theoretical data. Findings show that the regularisation of informal settlements is challenged by existing structural governance operations driven by stakeholders, particularly community leaders and planning and surveying firms. Consequently, regularisation processes are delayed or halted, which demoralises the landholders. To ensure effective and efficient governance structures for regularisation activities, it is essential that responsible actors diligently play their roles as mandated in the policy and legal documents. Accountability and transparency should be reinforced in the operation and implementation of regularisation schemes to ensure adherence to guiding policies and laws.