URBAN AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

Well, I said before: Roads are major killers in Tanzania

2009-07-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

WHO report highlights Tanzania`s `deadly` roads

Tanzania Police Force Traffic Commander, SACP James Kombe
THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam

TANZANIA is now officially ranked among countries with the world’s deadliest roads, prompting United Nations health chiefs to urge the government to tighten road safety laws.

The Global Status Report on Road Safety, released on Monday by the World Health Organisation (WHO), shows that road users in Tanzania are more likely to be killed than in many other countries.

According to the new report, the number of vulnerable road users being killed in the country is worryingly high, with pedestrians constituting 37 per cent of casualties.

Deaths by road user category in the country include motor vehicle passengers (33 per cent), cyclists (17 per cent), motorbike/bajaj riders (7 per cent) and motor vehicle drivers (6 per cent).

The report reveals that 34.3 for every 100,000 people were killed on roads in Tanzania during 2007, a dismal record compared to neighbouring countries such as Uganda, Burundi, Malawi, Zambia, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Kenya has a slightly higher death toll from road accidents compared to Tanzania, at 34.4 people killed per 100,000.
According to the report, a staggering 2,595 deaths were reported on roads in Tanzania in 2007 alone, with men making up 78 per cent of the casualties and women, 22 per cent.

Compared with the United Kingdom which has a 5.4 per 100,000 population road death rate, this means that people are over six times more likely to die on Tanzanian roads than in the UK.

With the global average of 18.8 road deaths per 100,000 people, Tanzania has one of the highest death tolls in the world.

’’It is a dangerous place to be on the roads, either as a pedestrian or a driver, and there needs to be more focus on vulnerable road users,’’ says the WHO report.

WHO Director General Dr Margaret Chan said the poor road safety record of Tanzania and many of its neighbours ’’deserves our highest attention’’, and called on officials to take action.

The report notes that laws on seat belts, drink driving, speed limits, and mandatory motorcycle helmets are not stringent enough in the country, and enforcement is lax.

It reveals for instance that the seat-belt law in Tanzania does not uniformly apply to all motor vehicle occupants.

According to available data cleared by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for the purposes of the WHO research, hardly 30 per cent of drivers and front-seat passengers obey the seat-belt law and wear the devices - while just 5 per cent of rear-seat passengers do the same.

The 287-page global report notes with concern that Tanzania lacks a child restraint law, which effectively renders its enforcement of road safety regulations for children virtually non-applicable.

Some 57 per cent of the 577,949 vehicles registered in the country by 2007 were mini-buses, vans and other motor vehicles with seating capacities in the 20-passengers range.

Other vehicle categories registered in Tanzania are motor cars (14 per cent), motorbikes/bajaj scooters (9 per cent), trucks (7 per cent), buses (4 per cent) and others of the like (9 per cent).

Police recorded 16,308 non-fatal accidents in 2007, with the trend in road deaths showing a steady increase since 2000.

Only a small number of African countries studied in the report, which covers a total of 178 nations and more than 98 per cent of the world population, have a worse road deaths record than Tanzania, according to the WHO report.

These include Angola (37.7 deaths per 100,000 people), Libya (40.5), Egypt (47.5), and Eritrea (48.4).

Botswana has one of Africa’s better road safety records in a relative sense, with 18.3 deaths from road accidents for every 100,000 people.

This first global assessment of road safety found that pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists make up almost half of the estimated 1.27 million people killed each year on roads around the world.

Said Dr Chan: ’’We found that in many countries, the laws necessary to protect people are either not in place, or are not comprehensive. And even when there is adequate legislation, most countries report that enforcement is low.’’

’’We are not giving sufficient attention to the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, many of whom end up in clinics and hospitals. We must do better if we are to halt or reverse the rise in road traffic injuries, disability and deaths,’’ she added.

Contacted in Dar es Salaam, the national traffic police commander, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SACP) James Kombe, told THISDAY he was not in a position to immediately comment on the UN report.

He said he had already recently issued a statement on what the police is doing to tackle road carnage in the country.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT & BUSINESS: Infolinks: Personal experience & Recommendation

2009-04-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT & BUSINESS: Infolinks: Personal experience & Recommendation

Infolinks: Personal experience & Recommendation

2009-04-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

Blogging might be for personal interest, just to publish idea. But the trend in blogging, change from a mere publishing with making money that make it funny and even more interesting, with that view in perspective , I do here by today come up with something new. I want to share with my dearest readers on my experience on Infolinks, one of the global known in text Ad.

I joined Infolinks on 3rd December 20008, it was not by chance it was my effort looking on internet on how to make money from blog. I was introduced to Infolinks via search engine: Are you also blogging? or own a website? be it personal or business purpose, making money is now more easy than before. Just visit Infolinks web page, you don’t need to be an IT expert, it take me personally less than five (5) minutes to integrate Infolinks.

One might ask, how did you integrate infolinks? It is simple, after you sign up you will be assigned publishers ID and the HTML code. It is this code that you paste in the HTML of your site. This code is permanently saved on your account; you may retrieve it any time you want. Just sign on Infolinks you will find a menu for REPORT, MY ACCOUNT ,and INTEGRATION GUIDE. In the integration guide you will always find your HTML code plus advanced setting where you may change some option, includes colour, number of Ad to appear, a maximum is 12. Heartily speaking it was easy, I started in INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, later on integrated in my other blog URBAN & REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING.

The best of it you don’t need to change your website to use Infolinks, you just paste the HTML code to your site.

I haven’t yet receive any cheque so far from infolinks, but am happy with my earning. I do even remember my first earning it was 2008, December 14 (Sunday), it is possible for me to remember it, I just check a report on my Infolinks account. Even though we do post at least two (2) monthly, we have been able to get total net impressions of 642. In past months the schedule was tight, and still we have so many to learn on blog design and administration. We do have goals and strategies as from May we’ll be publishing daily. So I welcome you to be one of the blog follower, I do hope that I will come with new story on Infolinks next time.

I tried in-text before, it was hard to integrate and that is why I decided to go to search engine for alternative, it is I come for Infolinks.

If other provider, I tried before could have been support responsive I could have not been to Infolinks. The way I write someone might think am joking or am boasting the Infolinks. Strictly No! Do you have your website? Or a blog just try it today. Confidently you will be the next to send your testimonial.
I do remember soon after I joined, I post some question to info@infolinks.com, it was 3rd of December 2008, it was promptly answered on 4th December 2008 by customer care: from Sarah Medevesky.

Am satisfied with Infolinks, and am ready to assist you anytime. Don’t just do blogging make money, try Infolinks

Mwenge: A giant daladala bus stand without public toilet

2009-04-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been to a metropolitan Dar Es Salaam city? At least you have had this place called Mwenge, there is one of the demo bus stand at least for the level of city commuter buses famously known as daladala ( in Kenya called Matatuu) . Any attempt to wee on public you are liable to fine of Tshs 50, 000/= or else six month jail.

I guess no one want to expose his naughty part publicly unless drunkard. But city council where are toilets, what the hell those gate collection fees for?
Dear readers whom to blame? What to do? Any experience from other city?

Tender: Solid Waste Collection - Ilala Municipal

2009-04-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

The Ilala municipal council announced the tender for solid waste collection, transportation, disposal & street drain cleansing in Ilala municipality.

The Deadline at or before 30th April 2009.

For more information check on Daily News (1st April 2009) or
Secretary, Municipal Tender board
P.O.BOX 20950
Dar Es Salaam

I wish the tender to be fair and transparency, let award to competitive bidder, to help our city achieve sustainable development goals, all the best municipal council

Welcome Daudi Danda

2009-04-06T05:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome Mr. Danda, we are delighed for you to join us, our family is growing. I know Mr Danda personally; he is my colleague, a planner, with strong knowledge and experience in Urban and rural development issues. The good of him he is interacting, very active. In that context we have a lot to learn from him. Karibu sana Bwana Danda, Hapa ni Nyumbani kwako kitaaluma, Welcome

Will we escape road accidents? picture

2009-03-04T10:11:00.000-08:00

Nzega - Shinyanga Highway (with appreciation, picture from mjengwa.blogspot.com)

Under these conditions (direct front access from residential buildings to highways, unfair mixture of road users) our roads will stay as dangerous killer.

The International Centre for Sustainable Cities (ICSC) struggle for Dar beauty

2009-02-09T09:36:00.000-08:00

The International Centre for Sustainable Cities, which is non-profit agency, has arrived in Dar es Salaam today for five (5) days discussions with urban development stakeholders. According to Program Director Jane McRae revealed the agenda to be discussed will be “Peer Exchange on Sustainable Tourism: Climate change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies”.

On behalf of Tanzanians Hon. Adam Kimbisa, Dar es Salaam city mayor, welcomed them and appealed to all Dar residents about problems caused by rapid population increase and the proper use of beautiful beaches. Dar es Salaam is located at strategic area for tourism but also very vulnerable to climatic changes especially those related to rise and fall of sea.

The International Centre for Sustainable Cities (ICSC) was created to bring the idea of urban sustainability into practical action. ICSC is a "do tank," not a think tank. ICSC brings together the business community, civil society organizations and various levels of government to tackle urban issues. ICSC works nationally, internationally and in its home region, Greater Vancouver, Canada.

ICSC does practical demonstration projects to show how urban sustainability can be implemented. The demonstrations deal with issues such as urban design, land-use planning, transportation, solid waste, urban greening, energy efficiency, disaster mitigation, poverty reduction, governance, and multi-party participatory processes.

Because cities learn and copy one another, ICSC creates and supports peer networks to share learning and innovations. Most cities are living with infrastructure designed 100 years ago and the results of their current choices may influence urban form for the next 100 years. The Sustainable Cities: PLUS Network is a peer learning network involving over 30 cities, regions, and associations dedicated to considering the long-term impacts of current decisions. The goal is to use integrated long-term planning to guide immediate actions so as to move cities and communities on the path to sustainability. Launched in 2004, the network's membership has grown steadily. The objective is to have a small enough network to be able to share experiences and learning effectively, while having a diverse enough membership to ensure that the lessons learned will be widely applicable.

Partners in Long Term Urban Sustainability (PLUS): is a network of more than 30 cities and communities around the world who share their learning and best practices on long-term integrated sustainability planning. Please visit the PLUS Network on our website.

We hope for fruitful discussions; but we should remember ‘action speaks a thousand words’.

The Informal Systems of Solid Waste Removal in Dar es Salaam: An Enquiry

2009-02-08T07:47:00.000-08:00

solid waste pile at Manzese darajani Dar es salaam.

Solid Waste Removal Problem in Dar es Salaam City
In the last fifteen years, the problem of solid waste removal in Dar es Salaam has continued to occupy the agenda of council meetings. As noted at the beginning. The city of Dar es Salaam has expanded very rapidly beyond the capacity of the councils to provide adequate service. Further, a substantial number of Dar es Salaam residents live in unplanned areas of the city because the pace of city growth has been faster than the pace of providing services and infrastructure development. At the same time, absence of surveyed plots led some families to build their homes in areas that are ecologically fragile – flood prone valleys and swamp areas. These areas are difficult to reach and clean and thus the council is not able to service them adequately.

Dar es Salaam city expanded rapidly in the late 1980s and the whole of 1990s mainly following the rural economic decline, policy changes to market economy and the reforms that were benefiting urban areas than rural (Mhamba and Titus, 2001). The rapid growth of the city which did not match capacity growth led to the rapid development of solid waste removal problem. Individuals began to look for ways of removing solid waste in their areas. The popular burning method regained its popularity even in areas that it was not popular. This was largely because solid waste was becoming a thereat to the heath and lives of the people (Masamu 2007). Different stakeholders began to look at the question of solid waste both as an area with opportunities for income generation activities and others as a problem that need attention.

Several actors are now involved in waste management in the city. There are private actors, municipal agents and community groups that are involved in waste management. Although waste management is an issue of local governments, central government is sometimes involved. Central government moves in to solve the problem of solid waste management particularly whenever there is crisis.

One of the several reasons that contributed to the abolition of the old Dar es Salaam City Council (1996-2000), was the failure of the city to remove solid waste. Before its abolition, the problem of solid waste removal (Particularly between 1990-95) became a political question. Removal efforts were mounted by not only the city council but also Regional Commissioner, Ministers and the President of the United Republic of Tanzania (Mhamba and Titus, 2001).

The main factor that contributed to the crisis of solid waste management was weakness of the then city council as an institution that had unclear strategies of removing solid waste. During this period, city council trucks were not able to collect solid waste even in some of the central areas like Kariakoo, Ilala, Magomeni and Kinondoni. Streets and lanes were interrupted with mountains of garbage and it was common for people to dispose waste in the middle of a street, the only public space available in some areas, where one is comfortable to do so. It was solid during this period when the government allowed private company to move in and collect waste in the city (Multinet Africa was the first private company to collect waste in Dar es Salaam city).

Community Responses to the Problem of Solid Waste Removal
Growing city population, informal settlements and declining capacity of local government authorities to remove solid waste pushed city authorities to allow development of alternative approaches of removing solid waste. These alternatives include the use of private companies noted as above, community based organizations, associations and individuals who collect waste at a fee. The focus of our paper is on the development of informal ways of removing solid waste in Dar es Salaam, although the private sector involvement is another area that we look at.

Informal systems of solid waste removal are not new in Africa as they have been around for quite sometime. Although the current practice of removing waste at a fee is the dominant one, the early version of the informal system was that of burying wastes in pits (both in the open spaces and or backyards). There is another type where collectors do it for free. Their main motivation for doing so is sorting wastes to salvage items that are tradable. Collectors vary from those without facilities to those with push carts.

The levels in Dar es Salaam could be compared with experiences of other cities in Africa. Ragui (1997) points out that in Cairo, some of the solid waste that is collected informally is sorted in different piles where some of the materials are used for feeding animals and others in making products from recycled materials. The popularity of this has made collectors to develop territories where one is allowed to collect or not. He goes further to note that even in the same territory different operators have different customers, where they have specific days and alarms they use to signal their arrival. The competition is also motivated by the freshness of the garbage which is good for animal feeding. The system has worked so efficiently in Cairo and the municipal authority has found it is difficult to terminate particularly in areas where it is not able to provide services, and the formal system is difficult and expensive to maintain.

Dar es Salaam has not reached the levels of Cairo in competing for solid waste but there are micro forms of this competition that are emerging. Solid waste removal through the informal system requires payment on the spot and some of the collectors have developed spaces which they claim to be their areas and other service providers are informally not allowed to move in. A large portion of garbage in Dar es Salaam is wasted than recycled and thus collectors get very little direct benefit. This is the reason why they charge rather than collect for free.

In an interview with a push cart garbage collector along Swahili Street, Kariakoo area, he noted that, it is the only job that he depends on and the market is very hard to develop. When he began the work, he noted further, it was very slow and the willingness to pay was very poor. According to him, it will be a mistake to allow people to collect in his areas of usual work because he has already invested in time and network. What the narratives show is that solid waste in Dar es Salaam is still a problem not a resource to the collectors.

When asked as to where he disposes waste, he pointed out that he disposes some at public collection points and some in open spaces mainly in Jangwani valley.

…. but Jangwani is a risk area, you must be on the watch because if you are caught doing so, you will invoke trouble (interview January 2008)

By protecting their spaces they are sure about the source of income and know when to visit particular households to collect waste. As a mechanism of securing their spaces, sometimes informal solid waste collectors offer to skip some of the charges or offer at reduced rates to some of their good customers:

Even though this is about garbage collection, you need to protect it because there are people who want jobs from us as well. If you charge too high, people will not prefer you and will refuse to use your services. There are youth who are joining the business and sometimes they move faster than us and their cost is very small. We usually prohibit them from working….. It is hard because sometimes you cannot see them all (Interview January 2008).

We further probed if this implies that he is always on duty and what happens if there are situations when he is not working: The response was as follows

There are three of us who collect garbage using the cart and thus if I have good reason not to work, the rest are able to continue. However, nowadays there is some resistance from the council not to allow us to work. We are told that there are groups that have been licensed to collect waste in specified neighborhoods and residents have to pay 5,000 per month. This implies that our presence interferes with these groups (durable payment). While they collect money in advance, we do collect money on the spot. The problem with group arrangement is that they do not reach all the households at the right time. Sometimes piles of garbage stay for a long period and they began to make horrible smells. Dar es Salaam is a hot and humid city. Nobody wants to stay close to garbage pile because it decomposes very fast. When this happens, they reach us to rescue them and pay us immediately (interview January 2008).

What we are learning from this is that the informal system has a built-in mechanism that makes it relevant to the needs of the people. That is, pay and get the service immediately. There is no waiting and there is no blaming.

Dar es Salaam city recycling practice does not sort waste into different categories. It is the informal system that is doing so in response to market forces. Unlike garbage collectors of Cairo who rush for waste and then sort, in Dar es Salaam these collectors sort and leave the rest behind. This means that still waste has to be removed from the street. This is because there are transit points/common places where people dump waste legally or illegally. Sorters have no interest to carry what they do not need. Another important comparison that needs to be pointed out is that Dar es Salaam has no tribes or villages of solid waste collectors. This is done by individuals who reside within the areas where they operate. Usually they are able to do the work during the day and at night, same for the plastic and metal material collectors, those who are self employed in the sector, do not take collected waste in their residents. In fact some of those in this sector are not able to afford renting a house or live in small backyard rooms.

We must also point out that there is a growing army of plastic material collectors in the city who roam the streets to collect water bottles and other plastic materials. They have joined their counterparts who collect metal scraps and card boards boxes for selling purposes. All of these practices are done by individuals who are not paid at all and they only depend on selling what they have collected. Plastic is one of non biodegradable materials and presence of these collectors is a significant plus to the environment.

Plastic waste in the recent period was on the increase despite the existence of the informal system of plastic waste. This is perhaps due to the development of western life style where people move around with bottled and or packed food and drinks. Further, the growing business and plastic shopping bags explains part of the problem as well. The government of Tanzania noted the increasing levels of solid waste and it has taken measure to control. Plastic materials are not taxed more as an attempt to limit its use. Biodegradable paper papers are now in the market as an alternative shopping bag.

We must also note that unlike Egypt where there are groups of people specialized as waste collectors, sorters and users, in Tanzania there are no specialized groups. Similar to small scale informal traders, small scale dealers in waste collection are also categorized as Machinga.

Development of informal system of solid waste management is a community response to the failures of the city to provide good service. These are efforts to search for a way of living in a quality environment because piles of waste are a health risk. The informal systems of solid waste removal in Dar es Salaam have developed in areas that have the following characteristics:

• They are not accessible by road;
• They are unsurveyed;
• Areas that are unserviced;
• Areas in which municipal trucks are not collecting waste;
• Areas where there are no private companies.
• Developed parallel with the formal system.

In our survey of these areas in the city we found out that these areas tend to be:
• Low income areas;
• Unplanned settlement;
• Un-maintained neighborhoods.

Further, we found out that in some of the areas where there are private companies or municipal government is providing services, informal systems exist. In some parts of the city, garbage collection trucks do collect waste from selected streets and there are common points that are known. The expectation is that all households would deliver waste in this common point, a concept that is partly wrong because there are different factors that limits them from doing so.

This has promoted an informal system where residents who are in the far end pay fees to push cart drivers who then deliver waste to the known point. This pattern is now common even though it has not being allowed by the city authority. The work is largely done by unemployed youths who have capitalized on it as their source of livelihood.

It is important to note here that while some of these informal systems of solid waste removal are filling the gap, there are some negative effects as well. Some of the waste collected is not sent to the common point where garbage trucks can collect. Wastes removed from homes are dumped in open spaces, dead ends and valleys. Because of this some neighborhoods are, environmentally, in bad shape because there are piles of wastes that are not attended.

Wastes disposed in open spaces and valleys contaminate soils, underground water, valley streams and at times piles of waste are blown by wind. At times drainage systems are also blocked which leads to further environmental problems.

In some sections of city, there are no waste bins for disposing waste. This is the reason that makes individuals with push carts to visit homes collecting waste at a fee. Waste disposal bins would have been ideal because people would be able to dispose waste. More areas would have been cleaner than they are now because the process of removing waste would be a lot cheaper.

Turning to the positive side, the informal system of solid waste collection in the city fills an important gap which the city authority is not able to fill currently. This is the reason that has contributed to the continued existence of this system. It is a common practice in some of neighborhoods e.g. Manyanya, Tunisia road and Studio-Mkwajuni areas, for youths and at times children to knock compound gate ways asking for available wastes to dispose at a token.

Similarly the practice suggests that the municipals have another way of collecting solid waste from various homes. This practice is based on the principal of market economy where people pay for their wastes to be removed. Municipal authorities can regulate the sector investing in simple technologies that contribute significantly.

In many several parts of the city the informal system continues to complement to the local government and private sector initiatives of cleaning Dar es Salaam despite the criticism raised against informality in solid waste removal. The continued existence implies that there is a gap that has not being reached by both private and public sector and any initiatives to stop the informal sector will contribute to a decline of cleaningliness at household level. Rather that prohibiting them, the city needs to integrate them as one of the agents of cleaning the city.

Conclusion
For Dar es Salaam to properly manage its solid waste, the informal system is important. It is important because it is filling the gap that the council is not able to address. This is evident because despite having groups, private and public sectors, the informal sector has continued to survive. The population has not reached 5million; the growth is faster than investment in infrastructures. Dar es Salam has to search for ways of fully integrating them.

Although informal systems do not operate for the benefit of the local authority/city, it serves sometimes-clean homestead. What they need is integration into the formal system so that their role is even made appreciated.

This is part of article (unpublished)by Colman T. Msoka•& Nakivona Rajabu
E.mail: msoka@udsm.ac.tz & n-raj@hotmail.com respectively

Urban Development Control is Failing

2009-02-03T02:02:00.000-08:00

This is Tanga City maybe is ok...

Urban Development Control is Failing

2009-01-30T23:49:00.000-08:00

Above: Street layout in outskirts of Washington DC, United States of America well arranged and are full accessed (All pictures are screen capture from google earth, viewed on 30 January 2009 17:30).

Bellow: Street layouts in Songea Municipality (Lizabon and Ruvuma settlements) represents typical layout in Tanzania urban areas.

The implementation of urban plans is the task of the local Government Authorities (CAP 378). In Tanzania, the implementation of these plans is very poor due to the fact that local Governments has limited financial and technical resources. Moreover, they have other priorities while urban planning is given less attention. According to Ministry of Lands, the deficit of urban planning and development experts is higher than 70% for both urban planners, surveyors, land officers and valuers. Lack of machinery and inadequate coordination among the urban planning implementing agencies also contribute to haphazard and disjointed urban development.

Squatter settlements have continued to mushroom due to inadequate and incompetent development control mechanisms, poor and outdated planning standards and planning laws. Irregular developments and consequent densification of the previous planned and buildup areas are common features of failing urban management framework.

In 1991 the Government of Tanzania, through UNDP, formally requested participation in the UNCHS (Habitat) “Global Sustainable Project” which intensified in 1992 with the piloting of the (Sustainable Cities Program) SCP as the 'Sustainable Dar es Salaam Proje"ct (SDP). The SDP was supported financially and technically by UNDP, UNHCS (Habitat) and Dar es Salaam City Council was expected to strength the weakened urban management framework.

As it showed significant success in Dar es Salaam, in 1997 replicated to ten other cities and municipalities in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar namely: Arusha, Dodoma, Iringa, Mbeya, Morogoro, Moshi, Mwanza, Tabora, Tanga and Zanzibar. Later on, in 2001 Songea, Shinyanga and Kibaha joined joined but were financed by Ministry of Lands and Human Settlement Development. To date all local authorities including Cities, Municipalities, Towns and small Towns practice Environmental Planning and Management (EPM) under the Local Government Grant namely Urban Development and Environmental Management Grant (UDEM).

As it was expected to solved, resolved or addressed most of problems and challenges, however instead challanges and problems are even increasing. Squatter settlement and unguided development in already planned areas still mushrooming. Misunderstandings between Ministries of Lands and Local government are confusing urban development stakeholders. Not only that, but also the UDEM Grant does not finance planning for new plots and surveying. Squatter settlements will stay …

JK lashes at inertia in Dar city

2009-01-29T18:19:00.000-08:00

By 1914 Dar es Salaam and the surrounding province had a population of 166,000, among them 1,050 Europeans, 1,000 of them Germans. In all of the east African protectorate were 3,579 Germans. In its own right, Dar es Salaam became the showcase city of all of tropical Africa.

Daily News; Thursday,January 29, 2009 @21:15

Jakaya Kikwete has blasted authorities in Dar es Salaam Region for irresponsibility and inertia, saying this left the country’s commercial capital poorly planned, dirty and dangerous. There was corruption in land surveying and allocation of plots, resulting in haphazard construction of houses and encroachment on open spaces, he said.

Mr Kikwete was addressing Dar es Salaam councillors at a dinner they hosted on Wednesday to celebrate achievements of the Fourth Phase Government. He said he was not happy with the state of the city, which is currently characterized with poorly planned construction of high rise buildings.

Garbage was piled up on city streets and the authorities should urgently take measures to make the city clean, he directed. Mr Kikwete lamented that high rise buildings mushrooming in the Central Business District lacked proper drainage, water supply and access routes.

He said congestion in the city could easily be avoided by construction of fly-overs and satellite towns. He told the councillors that the government wanted Dar es Salaam turned into a world-class commercial centre, tourist hub and conference venue.

Earlier, councillors told the president that the city needed about 120 vehicles, 15 tractors, 120 trailers and six bulldozers for speedy and professional collection of garbage.
They said 5bn/- was needed to finalise construction of a modern sanitary landfill at Pugu outskirt. “We ask for the banks to issue soft loans for buying equipment for collection of garbage,” said councilor Ahmed Mwilima, who noted that current capacity could handle only half of the 3,350 tonnes of garbage generated daily.

South Miami Busway gets visit from Tanzanian transit group

2009-01-28T00:43:00.000-08:00

A transit group from Tanzania tours the South Miami-Dade Busway to get ideas for building a similar roadway in its largest city.

Miami Herald Staff Report

The South Miami-Dade Busway is so well-regarded that an African delegation flew thousands of miles to view it to see how they can build a similar system to help relieve traffic congestion on their streets.

A group of transit officials from Tanzania in east Africa toured the South Miami-Dade Busway to get a firsthand look at the popular Miami-Dade bus rapid transit system.

A welcoming committee of Miami-Dade Transit officials shared information with representatives from the DAR Rapid Transit Agency in Tanzania before taking them on a guided tour of the Busway.

The 20-mile stretch of the Busway is the United States' longest bus rapid transit line.

Tanzania's transit agency is planning a similar bus rapid transit system in Dar es Salaam, the country's largest city.

With a population of about 3 million and a woefully underdeveloped infrastructure, Dar es Salaam suffers from severe traffic congestion that can take hours to clear.

''It's a very serious problem, which is why we need to think of alternative systems, not only for the economy but for public health to reduce smog from emissions,'' DAR Chief Executive Cosmas P. M. Takule said.

DAR's planned bus rapid transit network calls for a privately operated system of dedicated bus lanes along the city's main arteries to be completed in six phases beginning next year.

''Tanzania has very few resources to provide mass transit, but they are struggling with traffic gridlock that is causing extreme economic hardship,'' Commissioner Katy Sorenson said after meeting with the African delegation.

''A system similar to our Busway, where dedicated transit lanes can connect the city's residents to jobs at the port of Dar es Salaam, will be a great improvement in the quality of life there,'' she added.

Miami-Dade Transit Director Harpal Kapoor said his agency was glad to help out the Tanzanians and flattered by the recognition.

''The fact that they wanted to see our system up close is a testament to the world-class reputation our Busway enjoys,'' Kapoor said.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/communities/south/story/857765.html

Road crashes: An unfolding national crisis

2009-01-24T11:23:00.000-08:00

what is wrong with our roads (network and structure)? urban and regional planners, civil engineers and policy makers say something here.

THE toll of death and injury from road crashes in Tanzania is developing into a national public health and safety crisis.

On current trend, the continuing spiral of road traffic crashes will soon be a leading cause of death and disability, in addition to the damage of infrastructure and its concomitant dent on the Gross National Product (GNP).

What is more agonizing, however, is the callousness of motorists who are fuelling this crisis. A lot of public opinions have been voiced and concerns have been expressed about reckless driving on Tanzania’s roads, but all seem to fall on deaf ears of drivers.

Are motorists going crazy? If they are getting the wrong end of the stick, it is time the government applied an iron rod to rule their heads.

It is really weird to let driving freaks go on tossing up people’s lives like tomatoes, bashing vehicles like wicker baskets and keeping everybody’s heart in his or her mouth once they hit the road.

Besides the government efforts to improve the standard of roads and increase traffic police for public safety, greater emphasis should be put on public education about traffic safety, otherwise the growing car-culture will lead many prematurely to the grave.

What pride is there for an underdeveloped nation such as ours that moves on imported vehicles and bicycles to enter world records on road traffic mortality?

Do young drivers who feel great behind the wheel understand that accidents are undermining the strides this nation has made in development? Road crash statistics in newspapers could mean almost nothing to them, but don’t the scenes of wailers and mourners after road crashes remind them anything about high speed and roll-overs?

Hospital beds across the country are occupied by victims of road accidents. Health budgets are annually increased to save lives of these victims, many of them having sustained devastating head and spinal injuries which can lead to permanently blighted lives.

Road crashes make no choice of victim. In many instances accidents take away breadwinners in their productive years and leave behind a trail of far-reaching implications for families and orphans.

These tragedies are avoidable because they are a result of predictable and preventable negligent driving. No life should be lost as a price of improved roads and increased vehicles.

Reducing road crash deaths and injuries is by far more cost-effective than paying for rehabilitation of victims.

We could drive home the message of better road safety in Tanzania by having a yearly commemoration day for those who have perished in road accidents.

Do we need to review our policies to accomoodate intensive urban farming?

2009-01-14T01:27:00.000-08:00

Improving urban land governance with emphasis on integrating agriculture based livelihoods in spatial land use planning practise in Tanzania

By Wakuru Magigi
From Moshi (Tanzania) (2008)
200 pages (6MB)

Abstract

This study examines spatial land use planning and urban agriculture practises in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, one of the rapidly urbanising cities in Sub-Saharan Africa. It demonstrates how urban agriculture livelihood can be integrated in spatial land use planning and improve urban land governance by taking Goba, Chango’mbe ‘A’ and Ubungo Darajani as case study settlements. Location and periurban typology are theoretical premises used in this study. These help in understanding the policy and practical premises that constrain urban agriculture livelihood integration in urban land use planning processes and land management principles.

Methodological aspects deployed are documentary search, interviews, mapping, observations, and historical trends analysis. In addition, context, evidence based and institutional links are analytical frameworks used.

The study shows that the urbanisation processes, urban poverty, food insecurity and inadequate community involvement in land use planning are the factors underpinning and catalysing changes in land use, land transactions, immigration and overall urban agriculture proliferation in the city. The implications generated by these factors suggest that poor urban land governance is not only the cause, but it is caused by the weakness of planning institutions to realise and adapt to the new challenges that urban agriculture presents to urban land development process. Correspondingly, the rise of urban agricultural land use by and large, indicates a disparity between the widely cherished planning norms and standards underpinning formal land use planning processes and structures in urban development. These include land use zoning, location, land use change conditions, density distribution, accessibility to resources, land tenure modalities, and equitable provision of basic services in ensuring sustainable use of urban land. Equally, the study indicates the existence of supportive city land development policies and country legislature for urban agriculture, which are in practise faced with health, sanitation and economic return constraints. These constraints increase urban agriculture’s negative perceptions to consumers and decrease acceptance in spatial land use planning processes and output implementation. However, urban agriculture has been observed to make productive use of undeveloped land, green the city, provide income and nutrition, and is often a safety-net function for the poorest sectors of society. As such, it is an important vehicle for poverty alleviation, capital mobilisation, and sustainable use of land.

The study argues that for an unforeseeable future, the growth of the urban agriculture sector is likely to remain an indispensable reality depicting urban land development in rapidly urbanising cities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Inclusion of urban agriculture based livelihoods in spatial land use planning processes and structures, including decision making, preparation, implementation and monitoring are observed rationale for improving the livelihoods of the urban poor-smallholder farmers and space use. This can be achieved through, but not limited to, adopting participatory urban planning approaches, settlement upgrading, institutional collaborations, decentralising roles to the local level and strengthening smallholder organization through institutionalisation and giving them a voice platform in the political dialogue. These options can be effective if the government is able to enforce and review policy and legislatures in place and if different actors are involved in the decision making processes, and if information and communication awareness is established. Other improvement include the use of treated wastewater technology for farming, granting long term tenure security, improving accessibility to resources, and adopting flexible planning standards. The study concludes that urban planners and policy makers have little choice but to ensconce and consolidate emerging forms of urban agriculture based livelihoods within land use planning practises and within a guided planning framework. If urban agriculture forms are not guided, then the negative effects, in the long run can undermine the livelihood of the urban poor and degrade the environment. Thus, there is an urgent need to guide the processes, strengthen institutional structures and linkages in land use planning practises, and consider local communities priorities when working to improve urban land governance in Tanzania.

WHY TOWN PLANNING DOES NOT WORK IN TANZANIA?

2009-01-04T05:53:00.000-08:00

It is a great challenge to us (Urban Planners, Government and all stakeholders) about urban planning practices in Tanzania. I have visited several cities, towns and villages in China but have not seen even a single unplanned settlement, squatter or slum. We can speak our normal excuse that we differ economically and level of development. But, in 1950s and 1960s we were in the same level.

Lets read and reflect on this article:

WHY PLANNING DOES NOT WORK: LAND USE PLANNING AND RESIDENTS’ RIGHTS IN TANZANIA. Tumsifu, Jonas and Nnkya. Mkuki na Nyota Dar es Salaam. 2007. ISBN 978 9987 449 682. pp360. p/b £29.95. Available through African Books Collective, P.O. Box 721 Oxford, OX1 9EN. www.africanbookscollective.com.

Town planning is struggling back into vogue after three decades of discredit. The World Planning Congress published a ten-point declaration ‘Reinventing Planning: a New Governance Paradigm for Managing Human Settlements’ in June 2006 that it took to the United Nations Third World Urban Forum in Vancouver for endorsement. The theme of UN Global Report on Human Settlements 2009 will be on ‘Revisiting Urban Planning‘. This return to planning is well overdue – but what sort of planning?

Physical planning in the rapidly growing urban areas of the developing countries of the South lost the plot in the 1970s when it became evident that the processes for determining and controlling land use by the public sector (local government) were being overtaken by the magnitude and speed of urban population growth and economic and social change. Private sector investors could not wait for, or be bothered with, the seemingly tortuous bureaucratic procedures entailed in obtaining planning permission. New migrants in search of urban opportunities could not wait for nor afford officially approved housing or licences to start enterprises. In short, planning and building standards could not be afforded, building permit procedures were too slow, town plans bore no relation to municipal budgets so they were rarely implemented, and there were not enough planning officers and building inspectors to ‘police’ new developments. As a result people, rich and poor alike, did their own thing and the authorities could not control them.

On the other hand, professional town planners saw themselves as the upholders of planning standards, procedures and legislation (that were largely inherited from former colonial administrations) that would ensure efficient, livable and beautiful towns to be proud of. They worked in ‘administrative black boxes’ that were secretive and exclusive and did not engage those who were ‘being planned’. Planning was seen as a technical process that ordinary people would not understand.

So, if there is to be a return to planning, what should the new planning be like? What should be its aims: control, promotion or both? Who should do it: planners, investors, citizens or all three? What is the interface between planning and plan implementation, or should there be no need for one? There are many glib and seemingly obvious answers to such questions, but in the real world of the cut-and-thrust politics of urban development they are far from easy to put into practice.

This is borne out by Tumsifu Jonas Nnkya’s new book ‘Why Planning Does Not Work? Land Use Planning and Residents’ Rights in Tanzania’, which is a fascinating and detailed analysis of planning, power and land rights in Moshi over the last thirty-years.

The story starts with a brief overview of Tanzania’s colonial planning inheritance, providing a lead up to the heady post-Arusha-Declaration times of “building a socialist and self-reliant egalitarian society” in Tanzania that characterised the late 1960s and early ‘70s. It saw the adoption of a national ‘growth-pole’ policy aimed at stimulating more “balanced development” away from the economic dominance of Dar-es-Salaam. Moshi was to be one of the nine regional growth-poles, for which it needed a new town plan that included significant extensions to the town boundaries, incorporating villages, previously under rural district administration. After two years of deliberation and dispute, the plan, which had been drawn up by “two non-resident planners and an engineer from the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development in Dar-es-Salaam”, was approved in 1975, setting the scene for the rest of this often disturbing but at times encouraging account of “government versus the people”.

Dr Nnkya probes, recounts and analyses the interests and strategies of the wide range of different interest groups and actors engaged in the processes of planning in Moshi and its implementation through a series of captivating case studies, starting with the new town boundary. He digs deep into the political interests of the town council; describes the dismay of villagers at finding themselves liable to pay new urban licence fees; reports on how the Ministry of Works discovered that the airport, for which it was responsible, had been turned over to housing, requiring the construction of a new one; and tells how a group of villagers charged the Town Council with trespass in the High Court in a case that took ten years to resolve.

Building upon these and other examples of the lack of consultation and transparency by those in authority, the book examines a range of different issues such as how the planners and public sector developers faced civil disobedience that prevented the demarcation of new housing plots; the official appropriation of land that was deemed to be “inefficiently used” by a psychiatric hospital for therapeutic farming, which ended up as luxury housing for senior officers of the administration, despite widespread media coverage and public protest; and how even when the Planning Department was requested to plan a neighbourhood by its residents, who had themselves paid for its survey, they were not involved or consulted about the new layout, which bore little relationship to what was on the ground or what they needed and was therefore ignored.

Despite all of this, the book is not just a catalogue of horror stories or an account of conservative resistance to change. A picture of slowly evolving institutional change and effective public participation in Moshi’s planning and development is built up throughout the middle section of the book. This is largely achieved by the insightful and analytical introductions and closing summaries to each chapter and the reflective commentary that binds together the myriad of quotations from letters, minutes, judgements and the author’s his own discussions with those who had been involved. In the penultimate chapter Moshi rides gloriously into the sunset of the United Nations sponsored Sustainable Moshi Programme, hand-in-hand with citizen consultations and participatory decision-making in the planning and management of the town.

Throughout the book Dr Nnkya draws on the work of contemporary planning theorists and international experience to provide a coherent basis for his commentary and analysis, thus drawing out lessons for urban governance, management and planning of relevance to many African towns and cities, beyond the borders of Moshi and Tanzania.

The book is beautifully written in the fast-moving, easy-flowing traditions of the best of analytical investigative journalism, making it an exciting read for all those interested in the complexities of local politics and the creation of sustainable and just urban environments in Africa. We eagerly await Dr Nnkya’s next book, in which he promises to provide “an account of the changes that have taken … place in planning practice under political pluralism and a liberal economy”. This, we hope, will give a similarly exhaustive treatment to the first ten years of the Sustainable Moshi Programme - an example of the new urban planning.

The Beautification of Nairobi City Project

2008-11-27T22:58:00.000-08:00

Provision of an ideal urban environment as "a new beginning for a working nation'' is a multifaceted undertaking involving urban planning engineering and landscaping just to mention but a few. The Department of Environment however majors on provision of an environment characterized by sustainable solid waste management system and promotion of natural and established vegetation and rich fauna in a blend that is appealing to the eyes of the visitors and residents of Nairobi for posterity.

Enhancement and maintenance of floral aesthetic appeal has for long being perceived as a preserve of NCC for long, a duty that we were luckily able to achieve propelling die City to the re-known status as "The Green City in the Sun". Population explosion, rapid physical developments and associated complexities, however, have over the years constrained the ability of the Council to maintain the standards. However, the Department of Environment has initiated comprehensive beautification programme in collaboration with the private sector. The programme include landscaping of roads reserves, roundabouts and open spaces, urban afforestation, maintenance of recreational facilities, e.g. City Park, Uhuru Park and Jeevanjee Gardens among others. These programmes are supported by the output of the unique nurseries the Department runs at City Park. These nurseries are some of the largest in East Africa and are reputed for having a variety of re-known, rare plant species, e.g. Begonia, Anthurium and Prunus Africana.

Latest successful projects include Muindi Mbingu Street, Mama Ngina Street, Aga Khan Walk, Ngara area, University Way, just to mention but a few. The Department has also been promoting beautification work on private premises and frontages where we have been voluntarily extending technical assistance and on request. In order to excel in this noble endeavour the Department seeks the support and cooperation from the members of the public in promotion, protection and conservation of the scenic aesthetic value of our City environment.

Source http://www.citycouncilofnairobi.go.ke