his article traces the evolution of corruption as a political issue in Tanzania and evaluates the efforts of the Mkapa administration to control it. Corruption is conceptualized as embedded in societal, economic and power relations. However, many of the anti-corruption efforts are part of liberal reforms that are based on the assumption that corruption is an individual act or personal misuse of public office for private gain. These liberal reforms are, at best, of limited value because they fail to take into account much of the dynamics that support corruption in Tanzania. While the Mkapa administration has taken partially successful steps to control corruption, these efforts have not fundamentally undermined the supporting environment for corruption in the country.