International Journal of Arts and Entrepreneurship Vol.1, Issue 5, 2013 http://www.ijsse.org ISSN 2307-6305 Page | 1 THE CREEPING DECENTRALIZATION IN TANZANIA: IS THE STRATEGY ACCORDED FULL SUPPORT BY THE GOVERNMENT? Cliford Ringo School of Public Administration and Management, Mzumbe University, Mzumbe Zuena Kilugwe Khamis School of Public Administration and Management, Mzumbe University, Mzumbe Andrea Peter School of Public Administration and Management, Mzumbe University, Mzumbe Rukia Pazi School of Public Administration and Management, Mzumbe University, Mzumbe CITATION: Ringo, C., Khamis, Z. K., Peter, A., & Pazi, R. (2013). The creeping decentralization in Tanzania: Is the strategy accorded full ssupport by the Government? International Journal of Social Sciences and Entrepreneurship, 1(5), 204-227. ABSTRACT Decentralization by devolution is the strategy which has gained much popularity in the political and administrative arena in Tanzania. This strategy aims at devolving powers and authority from the central government to the local government to facilitate participation and quick decisions for local development. Since adoption of this strategy in 1997, it is more than a decade now but yet the sought powers and authority is significantly held by central government. This paper examines six case studies from three councils; Morogoro urban, Morogoro rural and Kilosa district to enlighten the state of affairs of decentralization specifically on community’s autonomy in airing their voices through participation in development projects using Opportunity & Obstacle for Development (O & OD) strategy. The paper (Ringo, Khamis, Peter, & Pazi)employed secondary data analysis from various documents. It was found that community voice was minimally reflected in the Council Development Plans (CDP) and in most cases development projects