Employees’ adherence to the National Code of Ethics and Conduct for Public Service: A Case of Four Selected Local Government Authorities

Abstract

This paper aims to determine adherence to the national code of ethics and conduct (hereafter the code) by public employees in four selected Tanzania Local Government Authorities (LGAs). The study was a cross-sectional one that employed a sample size of 400 randomly selected respondents. Descriptive statistical analysis determined the level of adherence to the code. While Ordinal Logistic Regression analysed factors influencing adherence to the code, the correlation between the code and factors supporting its level of adherence was also determined. The findings showed that the code was highly adhered to in both rural and urban LGAs, although in some aspects the level of adherence was a bit higher in rural LGAs. Ordinal logistic regression showed that loyalty to the government and diligence were significant at the 5% level (0.05) of significance. Findings also indicated significant positive associations between the code and both individual values as well as the working environment (p < 0.01) in rural LGAs. It is concluded that disparities in some aspects of adherence to the code between rural and urban LGAs are due to existing diversified adherence enforcement mechanisms. It is recommended that the Ministry of Regional Administration and Local Government should monitor, oversee, and emphasize training, specifically training related to adherence to the code. LGA disciplinary committees should strengthen rewarding and punishing mechanisms against unethical behaviour, and public servants should take into consideration ethical variables while executing their daily operations.