Individual Corruption

According to the 2008 CMI study Corruption and Industrial Fishing in Africa, dynamite fishing is an illegal act in Tanzania where NGOs, donors and industry representatives have been fighting against it. However the progress seems to be minimal. In a February 2009 article by Illegal Fishing Info it is reported that corruption among fisheries officers and a lack of funds hinder the anti-dynamite fishing awareness and campaigns. Some fisheries officers in Dar es Salaam and Tanga have been reported to be corrupt; alleging that they receive bribes instead of arresting offenders. Furthermore, dynamiters are given warnings prior to the arrival of Fisheries Patrol Unit.

Business Corruption

CMI reports in a 2009 study that corrupt government officials allow for national and international companies to plunder resources in the fisheries and wildlife sector in exchange for a share of the profit the companies make.

Forest officers receive bribes to grant permission for cutting down more trees than are allowed in the licences or to free suspects caught with unauthorised forest products.

Companies report that bribery is not uncommon when dealing with environmental inspections in Tanzania. For instance, Global Integrity 2010 reports that business inspections by government officials to ensure public environmental standards are usually carried out in an arbitrary and ad-hoc manner, and bribes are extracted from companies in return for favourable treatment or expedited processing.

Political Corruption

According to a 2009 CMI U4 report on natural resource programmes in Tanzania, corruption is pervasive in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, which is responsible of managing forestry, fisheries and wildlife resources. The report states that the legal acts, policies and strategies governing the management of these natural resources are of international standard, but that the political will to enforce them is lacking. Furthermore, hunting and fishing licences are granted at a price much lower than the market price, thus depriving the Tanzanian state of huge amounts of money. For example it is estimated that the loss of potential state revenues due to the underpricing of fishing licences for trawlers amounts to USD 20 million annually.

According to a 2007 article by the Danish organisation U-landsnyt.dk, corruption in logging budgets is a big problem in many areas of the country. Increasing Chinese demand for timber and Tanzanian demand for firewood have made logging a profitable business. However, the CMI report reveals that illegal logging and corruption cause Tanzania a USD 52 million loss of potential revenue annually. In the article from U-landsnyt.dk it is reported that most companies engaging in either timber imports or exports have close ties to top level politicians.

Frequency

U-Landsnyt.dk: Lokal dansk NGO-chef: Tanzanias skove presses hårdt af korruption og Kina-eksport - donorer bør oppe sig, 25 June 2007:
- Only 5% of the revenues from timber go to villages and to local authorities for cutting and transporting the wood.

- It is estimated that approximately 95% of the revenues end up in the pockets of corrupt politicians, ministers and companies.