Abstract:
The study on contribution of CDI TASAF in the reduction of poverty was conducted in
Zanzibar Urban West Region. Specifically, the study aimed at assessing community
awareness on the process of implementation of the TASAF projects; to determine the
contribution of TASAF on initiation and implementation of community development
initiative (CDI) projects; to determine the contribution of TASAF projects on improving
the standard of living of the community and lastly to assess people’s attitudes towards
TASAF CDI projects. A cross-sectional research design was employed, and Semi
structured and structured interview schedules and FGDs were used to collect primary data.
The sample size of 120 respondents was drawn through stratified random sampling and
simple random sampling. The data were analyzed using SPSS version11.5. The FGDs were
used to verify the responses from the respondents. Generally, the findings reveal that the
majority (82%) of respondents, were aware of the procedures used in the initiation and
implementations of the TASAF projects. Also findings show that TASAF contributed
more in education related projects, (about Tsh 400 million), than to health and water
supply projects at Tshs 322 million and Tshs 300 million respectively. Further, the study
revealed that the majority, (96.0%), of the respondents accept that CDI through TASAF
has improved their living standard. Based on the findings of the study it is concluded that
TASAF has increased initiation and implementations of community development projects
and has contributed toward poverty reduction. It is recommended that to achieve greater
poverty
reduction, more area based development programme/projects are needed in the
pro-poor growth areas
