For many years, the implementation of volunteering systems in Tanzania's Public Service has been faced with various challenges related to procedures, the welfare of volunteers, and the efficiency of services provided due to the lack of specific guidelines to manage these activities. Public Institutions have been operating with different and non-uniform procedures and systems, thus causing an inequitable distribution of opportunities, complaints, and a lack of effectiveness in building the capacity and job skills of Volunteering Youth.
An assessment of the actual situation indicates that the acquisition of Volunteering Youth has been affected by informal systems, including giving opportunities to youth through acquaintances, a situation that impedes equity among volunteering youth within the Public Service. Furthermore, differences in standards and allowances among Public Institutions have caused low participation of Volunteering Youth in important areas of some Public Institutions. Additionally, the lack of clear specification of rights and responsibilities, along with the absence of standards for management and performance for Volunteering Youth, have contributed to the existence of administrative and legal conflicts within and between Public Institutions.
This situation has led to the need for robust national guidelines directing the implementation of volunteering activities, improvement of management, and assurance of youth rights. Considering these issues, these Guidelines aim to provide operational direction for bringing equity and efficiency in this important area of social and economic development.
1.1 Objectives of the Guidelines
These guidelines have been prepared for the purpose of establishing a good procedure to be used by all Public Institutions, Volunteering Youth, along with other stakeholders, in providing opportunities for graduates from colleges recognized by the Government to volunteer in Public Institutions. The goal is to enable Volunteering Youth to gain work experience, develop skills, and strengthen proficiency in the professions they studied.
Specific Objectives of these Guidelines are:
i. To establish a procedure for acquiring, deploying, and utilizing Volunteering Youth;
ii. To establish a procedure to be used in obtaining or seeking funding sources to finance volunteering activities, along with the standards to be used;
iii. To ensure the existence of a policy, legal, regulatory, and guidelines framework on volunteering matters among Public Institutions;
iv. To prepare procedures and systems for maintaining a database of Volunteering Youth in all Public Institutions to facilitate the management and coordination of volunteering matters; and
v. To inculcate ideas, culture, and a spirit of volunteering in order to build patriotism among graduate youth so that ultimately they can contribute to the development and efficiency of the Public Service.
CHAPTER TWO
CURRENT SITUATION
2.0 Issues Identified in the Area of Volunteering
Evaluation shows that the absence of specific National Guidelines for managing matters of Volunteering Youth in the Public Service has caused major differences in the implementation of volunteering programs in Public Institutions. Some of the identified issues include:
2.1 Acquisition of Volunteering Youth
Currently, there is no national procedure or guideline explaining how to obtain and manage Volunteering Youth in the Public Service. Thus, some Public Institutions have been using different methods, including giving volunteering opportunities through favoritism or acquaintance, giving opportunities to youth who submitted volunteering applications, using employment committees to obtain Volunteering Youth, along with using the former Tanzania Employment Services Agency (TaESA). This situation has caused a lack of equity, transparency, and fairness in the acquisition of volunteering opportunities among Public Institutions, thus leading to complaints from graduate youth and various stakeholders.
2.2 Benefits
There has been a large disparity in the levels of allowances and benefits provided to Volunteering Youth among Public Institutions. This lack of uniform standards has caused an inequitable distribution of Volunteering Youth in Public Institutions, complaints from youth receiving lower allowances compared to their peers in other Institutions, and a decline in the spirit of volunteering among youth depending on the disparity of benefits.
2.3 Duration of Volunteering
There is an absence of a specific duration for volunteering in Public Institutions, where some Public Institutions set a period starting from one (1) month to ten (10) years. Furthermore, some Institutions have reached the point of changing the terms of Volunteering Youth by proposing to be given permanent employment terms after a long period of volunteering, including applying to the Permanent Secretary (Public Service) for permission to change the volunteering terms. This situation has been violating the requirements of Article 4(2) of the Human Resource Management and Employment Policy in the Public Service, Second Edition of 2008.
2.4 Rights and Responsibilities of Volunteering Youth
The absence of guidelines specifying the rights and responsibilities of Volunteering Youth has caused each Institution to have its own procedure. This situation can be a cause for the emergence of administrative and legal tensions between Volunteering Youth and Public Institutions.
2.5 Performance and Discipline Management
There is an absence of a specific procedure for managing accountability and performance appraisal of Volunteering Youth in Public Institutions. This situation has caused Institutions to fail to make proper service and administrative decisions regarding Volunteering Youth, thus resulting in a lack of accountability on both sides.
2.6 Completion of Volunteering
Although some Public Institutions have their own Volunteering Guidelines, there is ambiguity in concluding the volunteering period for Youth, where some Public Institutions have been issuing a Certificate of Completion of Volunteering to Youth while other Institutions do not issue that certificate, which adds value to a Volunteering Youth when applying for jobs.
2.7 Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting on the Implementation of Volunteering Matters in the Public Service
The lack of a formal structure guiding the division of responsibilities, work ethics, and monitoring and evaluation procedures has contributed to a lack of clarity regarding the duties of youth and employers, non-observance of work ethics in the volunteering environment, and a failure to measure the contribution of these programs to the development and efficiency of Institutions and the Government as a whole.