About the Zanzibar Database of Civil Society Organisations
This database is an initiative of the Ministry of Good Governance and Constitutional Affairs which is charged with the responsibility of registering and coordinating the work of CSOs in Zanzibar. Technical assistance in the development of the e-database with CD ROM and printed versions has been made possible with the generous support of the NGO Resource Centre, a project of the Aga Khan Foundation. The database is an attempt to develop a centralised source of information on the operation of civil society organisations in Zanzibar.
Over the last 10 years Zanzibar has seen a sharp increase in the number and variety of civil society organisations (CSOs), i.e organisations established with neither the objective acquiring political power nor for the purpose of generating profit for sharing among members. In Zanzibar, these organisations range from community based organisations including village development committees, faith-based organisations, and organised labour, non-governmental organisations, ethnic associations and professional bodies, among others.
The government of Zanzibar has recognised the important role that these organisations play in complementing her efforts to fight poverty and address social problems at community level. The national Poverty Reduction programme (MKUZA) has not only recognised this vital role but has also allocated significant responsibility for CSOs to contribute to national poverty eradication efforts.
The process of developing this database went in three key phases; The first step involved extracting the complete list of organisations Registrar's Office at the Ministry of Good Governance and Constitutional Affairs. With this list we sought to verify which among these organisations do exist on the ground. A standard Information Request Questionnaire was developed which the Ministry then sent out asking all CSOs in the government record to update or verify the information contained in their previous application forms. Both radio and television announcements were made explaining the purpose of this exercise and giving alternative drop-off points for filled in questionnaire. The third and final step involved physical verification to check the facts in the questionnaires. Once CSOs filled in and returned these questionnaires, we selected a random sample of half all registered CSOs to verify their actual existence and the facts as stated in their filled forms. Our physical verification revealed among others that all the 226 organisations that managed to fill in and send back the questionnaires within the stipulated time actually exist.
The data base of CSOs in Zanzibar 2007 does not cover all the CSOs working in Zanzibar. Rather it includes only those CSOs that responded to request for information on their activities within the stipulated time of call and those that were verified by the field team to be conducting the activities listed in their registration forms. We encourage those organisations that did not meet this deadline to move fast to fill in the questionnaire so that they can be included in this database. This applies to newly registered organisations as well as existing ones.
While every effort has been made to enter as accurately as possible information as provided by respective CSOs, neither the Ministry nor the NGO Resource Centre will take responsibility for erroneous information provided by the organisations. Listed CSOs are required to take an early opportunity to correct any information that in their view has been entered wrongly in this database especially where translations may have changed the meaning of information provided. To the extent of this exception we believe that this is the most reliable record of CSOs registered and operating in Zanzibar as at end of year 2007.