The Determinants of Poverty in the Urban West Region of Zanzibar

ABSTRACT This study focused on the determinants of poverty in the Urban West region of Zanzibar. It sought to find out the poverty levels and its average whether it is high, low or very low and finally the government initiatives and programmes in poverty eradication. The researcher used primary and secondary sources of literature in his review. These were books, journals, magazines, reports and first hand from experts which were relating to poverty. The research report adopted a descriptive longitudinal survey design. The sample size was 210 selected from 460 households of whom 190 were randomly sampled and 20 were purposively sampled from the administrators and the elders. Krejcie and Morgan table was cited by Amin, (2005). The findings of the study show that there is eminent presence of poverty in Urban west region and there are few government initiatives to address this problem in the area. There is need for radical structural adjustments and reforms to ensure stable economy and development in the long run. Finally, the study recommended that Urban west region must have structural adjustments in its institutions to take immediate effect on those determinants of poverty having the highest weighted levels of the others.