Update on the merger process between ActionAid International Tanzania and MS Tanzania

July 1st 2010 will be a historic day. Sixteen former MS Tanzania staff members will position themselves in their new chairs in the offices of ActionAid International Tanzania.

By Kristian S. Petersen, Country Director

01. februar 2010

The former MS Tanzania staff members will be carrying with them the current MS Tanzania programme portfolio including the Country Programme Strategy, all existing partnerships and the thematic teams. The new ActionAid International Tanzania will have been registered as a Tanzanian organisation with its own board and constitution. A corporation agreement for the period from July 2010 to end of 2011 will have been signed between MS ActionAid Denmark and ActionAid International Tanzania, in which it is agreed that the latter is responsible for the implementation of the MS Tanzania programme portfolio.

In other words, the contours of the new and merged ActionAid International Tanzania are becoming much clearer as we now move into the last phases of the merger process which was formally begun a year ago. Throughout 2009 the Change Management Committee (CMC), composed of three members from each of the two organisations, have been meeting at least monthly to analyse, deliberate, negotiate, decide and implement the many aspects of the process.

Major decisions and milestones in the merger process so far:

MS Tanzania’s current Country Programme Strategy runs until end 2011. In the meantime, a new Country Strategy Paper will be formulated for AAITZ to come into effect from the beginning of 2012;

AAITZ takes over all existing commitments (Partnership Agreements, Project Documents, Budget commitments, etc) to current MS Tanzania partners until their expiry end of 2011;

AAITZ's and MS Tanzania’s partnership policies will be aligned during 2011;

A list of board members and the legal documents pertaining to registration of the new AAITZ have been developed and sent to ActionAid International’s governing bodies for approval in April 2010. The new AAITZ will be registered immediately upon approval;

A new organisational structure, to be implemented from 1st July, has been developed and agreed upon;

Nine MS Tanzania national staff members, 3 International Advisors and 4 Development Workers will join AAITZ on July 1st. The two remaining national staff members on permanent contracts have entered contracts with TCDC;

The current AATZ office will be the office of the merged AAITZ (MS TCDC will take over the current MS Tanzania office from 1st July).

Next major milestone: Negotiations about Corporation Agreement July 2010 – December 2011 between MS ActionAid Denmark and ActionAid Tanzania, to take place in February.

One of the most important tools of the CMC is the Change Management Plan which can be downloaded through the merger website: http://www.aamsmerger.org (username: aams, password: change).