Follow the money: a resource book for public expenditure tracking in Tanzania

This toolkit looks at different ways in which public expenditure tracking (PET) can be carried out. The manual is targeted at local authorities and journalists, and aims to help raise awareness about PET whilst promoting accountability and transparency of local government.

The authors argue that PETS as described in this manual can be a very effective way of addressing many of the challenges facing district officials, councillors and NGO’s in their daily work. A detailed list of ways that PETS can address these challenges is put forward. This includes:

•NGOs can play a more effective role in promoting effective information flow between communities and district level
•district officials can allocate spending more effectively and efficiently
•both councillors and district officials can gain greater credibility and legitimacy through the delivery of better public services
•the district as a whole will be in a better position to make the case to central government for the resources it requires as it will know more precisely than before, the nature and scope of the needs in different sectors and communities.