The Animation Model: fostering more inclusive and accountable extractive industries in Tanzania
This case study sheds light on the animator model and its successes in galvanizing communities to hold powerbrokers accountable to managing natural resource revenues to address community needs and respond to their priorities.
Oxfam’s extractives industry program in Tanzania—largely funded by Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) since the country’s 2014 gas boom—has been advocating for transparency and accountability in the management of natural resources, solidifying relationships between communities, government, and industry stakeholders. Partners Mighty Society Against Poverty (MSOAPO),[1] Lindi Association of NGOs (LANGO),[2] and Northern Coalition for Extractives and Environment (NCEE)[3] have established important local accountability networks in some of Tanzania’s most exploited regions. These networks of animators—citizens who work collectively with local government authorities, councilors, the private sector, and CSOs to monitor the utilization of oil and gas revenues in communities—have become the driving force behind local transparency and accountability. Animators are further mobilizing around social welfare issues such as access to social services, water reserves, and economic opportunities, all while holding those in power to account.