Auditing Information and Knowledge Accessed and Utilised from Community Resource Centres in Bunda District, Tanzania

Abstract

The study audited information and knowledge accessed and utilised from Community Resource Centres (CRCs) in Bunda district, Tanzania. Using a mixed methods research approach, the study audited the knowledge and information available, accessed and utilised by rural communities. The study found that the established CRCs in the district under review have yet to yield positive results in terms of the accessibility and usability of information and knowledge that meet specific expectations of rural-based poor. The information available, accessed and utilised in the wards surveyed, were too insufficient to bring about significant rural development. On the other hand, the results indicate that there are some positive and promising indicators associated with the establishment of rural resource centres in Bunda district. Thus, there is an urgent need to re-think and re-orient the development thrust and deploy community resource centres towards redressing the situation and supplementing development information and knowledge that are not covered by other outlets. Doing so can, in turn, help enhance productivity in agriculture and small businesses that many of the poor in Bunda are engaged in to alleviate poverty and accelerate the pace towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).