Public Expenditure Tracking Survey - A tool for empowerment?

Abstract: Empowerment is a well-known slogan that symbolizes the struggle of marginalized groups against social injustices. This thesis is another contribution to the field of empowerment, addressing the issue of misusing public funds. Public Expenditure Tracking Survey, PETS, is a methodology that has been carried out in order to fight against this issue. In this study, the aim is to scrutinize whether PETS has affected the empowerment process in Lushoto district, Tanzania. The discussion is based on four elements of empowerment (inclusion/participation, access to information, accountability and local organizational capacity). Focus group discussions, interviews and reports regarding PETS have been utilized for this study. A hermeneutics approach has been applied to analyze the material. The findings indicate that awareness about PETS is low among local leaders, PETS teams and community members. Its implementation in the district is weak because of previous tensions between the PETS teams and local leaders. Both sides require training seminars regarding the purpose of PETS in order to make the methodology function in Lushoto district.