PURPOSES AND FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT
(CTL CLASS – NOVEMBER 10, 2011)
© JABA SHADRACK, Department of Public Law, School of Law (Formerly, Faculty of law) at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Outline:
(A) Definition of key terms
1. Government
2. State
3. Types of states or Forms of Government
(B) Types of states and forms of Government
(C) Functions of Government
Definition of key terms
Government
May be defined as follows;
(a) The people or body who control a country, region, or town and make decisions about its laws and taxes. Divided into central government (government for an entire country) and local government (government for a town or area).
(b) Organization of law-making and enforcement: the form and institutions by which law and order are developed and maintained in a society.
(c) Governing body of persons in a state, community or nation and etc.
State
Can be referred to as;
(a) A nation or country
(b) Is a self-governing political entity
(c) A division of a federal state
(d) A group of people which have acquired international recognition as an independent country and which have a population, a common language and defined and distinct territory.
Types of states or Forms of Government
May be defined as;
(i) Forms of state governance
(ii) Regime type
(iii) System of government
(iv) A set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organised.
Types of states and/ or forms of Government
1. Republican government: Has a president who is a head of the state and government, e.g. Tanzania.
2. Presidential government: the head of the executive branch is also head of state, and is not a member of or directly responsible to the legislature, e.g. Tanzania, Kenya, and US.
3. Parliamentary government (Westminster model): the chief executive is a Prime Minister who is a member of and is responsible to the legislature, e.g. U.K., Israel
4. Monarchical/Monarchy government: government headed by a monarch and hereditary in nature. Is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house (King or Queen), e.g. U.K.
5. Single-party government/communist/Totalitarian: only a single political party legitimately operate or govern the state. A form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state. Usually, freedom of political association is restricted. A constitution for a single-party state is apt to be something of a political manifesto. E.g. China, former Soviet union, Cuba and etc.
6. Federal government: is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central (federal) government. In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of the central government. E.g. US, Australia, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and etc.
"Tanzania is a part-federation, since Zanzibar has exclusive fields of competence both in theory and in practice; but, for political reasons the term 'federal' does not appear in the constitution inasmuch as it implies a degree of disunity as well as diversity". De Smith (1981:25-26).
7. Unitary/union government: government formed after a union of two or more sovereign states. A state is governed as a one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that their government chooses to delegate. e.g. Tanzania (Zanzibar and Tanzania mainland), U.K (Scotland, Wales, N. Ireland and England). and etc.
8. Autocratic government: is a form of government in which one person is the supreme power within the state, e.g. Libya under Khadafy, Iraq under Saddam.
9. Democratic government: a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives.
10. Dictatorial government: rule by a single leader who has not been elected and may use force to keep control. In a military dictatorship, the army is in control. Usually, there is little or no attention to public opinion or individual rights, e.g. Uganda under Iddi Amin, Germany under Hitler and etc.
11. Theocratic government: A form of government where the rulers claim to be ruling on behalf of a set of religious ideas, or as direct agents of a deity, e.g. Iran.
12. Revolutionary government: government formed after the existing structure is overthrown by a completely new group. The new group can be very small - such as the military - or very large - as in a popular revolution. After a period of time, this 'becomes' one of the other types of government (unless there is another coup or uprising).
Functions of Government
There are three main classes of governmental functions; the legislative (legislating), the executive (executing or administering) and the judicial (adjudicating). These functions are derived from the traditional organs of government in a state, i.e. the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary.
The legislative functions and the legislature (Articles 62 and 63 of URT Const.)
(i) Enactment
(ii) Redressing general public grievances
(iii) Scrutinise the executive
(iv) Approval of budget and appointment
(v) Ratification of treaties and other agreements
The executive functions and the executive (Chapter two of URT Const.)
· Implementation of policies
· Initiation of legislation/bills
· Maintenance of order
· Enforce law
· Promotion of social and economic welfare
· The conduct of foreign affairs
· The summoning and dissolution of national assembly (Article 90 of URT const.)
· Appointments to the public services
· Control of armed forces
· Making of by-laws and etc.
Judicial functions and the judiciary (Article 107A of URT const.)
(i) To declare the law and interpret statutes
(ii) To scrutinise powers of other organs
(iii) To resolve disputes of litigants (adjudication).
REFERENCES
The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania (URT Const.), 1977 (RE: 2008).
De Smith, S.A., et al.(1981) Constitutional and Administrative Law (4th ed), England: Penguin Books Ltd.
Wade and Bradley (1970) Constitutional Law. 8th Ed. Longman (pp. 18-22).
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