Government information seeking behaviour of citizens in selected districts of Tanzania

The study assessed the information needs and information seeking patterns of citizens in Tanzania with a particular focus to three districts: Morogoro town, Njombe and Kinondoni districts. Questionnaire survey was self-administered to 450 citizens in selected districts, with a rate of return of 99.6 per cent. Findings revealed that citizens mainly required information on national examination results, which was followed by information on birth, death and marriage certificates, land, and health. Citizens relied on electronic sources and interpersonal communication with neighbours and friends more than explicit sources of information. Certain demographic factors related to education level and respondent’s age determined use of various types information sources. Common barriers of citizens’ information seeking behaviour were related to poor ICT infrastructure, difficulty in retrieving information, distant location and high costs of information sources. This is a comprehensive study that provides findings which might help the government in Tanzania and other countries with similar conditions to provide effective government information and services to their citizens