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By Zephania Ubwani
The Citizen Bureau Chief
Arusha.A multi-million dollar shopping centre project in Arusha, already under severe criticism from tenants facing eviction, may stall or get delayed because of the increasing divisions among the political and business leaders here.
The project would see replacement of the colonial-era residential units at Kaloleni in the city's central business district.The project is an initiative between a Dubai-based consultancy firm Phils International, whose shareholders include Tanzanians living in the United Arab Emirates.
The proposed project will entail construction of a shopping mall with rental space for shops, offices, restaurants, banks, bars, and other businesses.Multi-storeyed residential flats, walk-ways to the nearby Naura Springs and recreation centres are also planned.A total of 196 houses will be demolished to pave the way for the project whose cost could exceed $100 million (Sh155bn).
If it takes off, it will be managed by the Dubai firm in conjuction with the Arusha Municipal Council through a privately registered firm.However, there are rising concerns on the way the ambitious venture would be executed, the nature of investors and what some stakeholders consider to be lack of transparency in the deal which has just come to public knowledge.
"We need development in Arusha but why hide information on that from the key stakeholders in the business sector who also wanted to be involved in the venture?" queried Walter Maeda, a hotelier.He said the idea of a 'new look' Arusha was good but members of the public may have not been comfortable with the project investors who are said to be based in Dubai without the involvement of local firms.
Mr Maeda, whose Golden Rose hotel and business arcade are located at Kaloleni, close to the site, said the project should have the full support of all the councillors and other stakeholders to mute criticism against it.
An official of the Arusha Chapter of the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) Mr Alphonce Massaga said he was not entirely opposed to the shopping mall and flats for the fast growing Arusha but its site.He said Kaloleni, which is located a few metres from the town's central market and main bus stand, was already a congested area and that the proposed centre should be relocated outside the Central Business District (CBD).
He added that the heavy machinery and trucks that would be deployed during the demolition of the old buildings and construction of new structures would create more inconveniences to the suburb which remains a residential area.Mr Massaga, who is a member of a recently formed task force to work on with the municipal authorities on the new masterplan for Arusha, however, distanced himself from the divisions among the local politicians on the project.
The suspended councillor for Kaloleni (Chadema) Mr Charles Mpanda admitted that he was not well informed on the project which, according to him, was not entirely new although it gained momentum during the 2010 General Election campaigns."As a councillor I don't want to see these old buildings remaining here. But priority should be given to tenants when any new flats are constructed," he remarked, adding that the deal with the new investors must be transparent.
Arusha MP Mr Godbless Lema has already declared opposition to the project on grounds that it would displace hundreds of people who have not been assured of alternative places to live.He argues that the Kaloleni residents whose houses are earmarked for demolition should the project take off, should first be assured of their future residency before they are moved out.
The project has once again brought the opposition MP on a collision course with the Arusha regional commissioner, Mr Magesa Stanlaus Mulongo and the Arusha municipal mayor, Mr Gaudience Lyimo who is not recognized by Chadema.
The RC has urged Mr Lema to stop 'politicising' the issue and instead use established channels such as the councillors' meetings to drive home his views.
"For how long will you continue to stay in these dilapitated buildings?" he queried during his visit to the site on Tuesday where he impressed upon the complaining tenants that everything will be done to ensure there was an orderly relocation.Mr Lyimo said the municipal council which owns the dwelling units will not backtrack on the project and refuted claims that the Kaloleni area has been sold to Arabs from the Middle East."The new housing and commercial property projects for the proposed Kaloleni City will be fully undertaken by the Arusha Municipal Council and all buildings will belong to AMC", he insisted.
But he admitted that the Council has outsourced a Dubai-based company, Phillips International, to execute construction of the shopping centre and associated structures according to the contract signed by the two sides.He stated that although the firm is based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), among its shareholders are Tanzanians who have seen the importance of transforming Arusha into a modern city and preferred destination for investors.
The mayor, however, could not explain the cost of the project expected to run into millions of dollars, its implementation time frame and how the local authority is going to handle the imminent eviction of tenants from the estate.
Stakeholders, among them tenants facing eviction, are demanding whether the new structures would be affordable rent-wise to the ordinary people in the city of 500,000 people which has been facing an acute shortage of residential houses. Mr Lyimo, a CCM councillor for Olorien whose controversial election on December 18, 2010, has put him in constant collision with the opposition parties, especially Chadema, denied that implementation of the shopping centre project was aimed at harassing the local residents."We are simply trying to push development in the area," he said, without giving the exact figure of the people or families who will be affected. Some sources had it that more than 1,000 families in 500 dwelling units would be affected.
During last week's visit by the RC to the area, some 196 families pleaded that they should not be evicted from the site because they do not know the circumstances under which the area was 'sold to an investor from Dubai’.One of them, 70-year-old Esther Ekheri, said she had lived in the area for most of her life and was not sure of where she would go, as she does not have money to put up her own house because they would not be compensated.
Another tenant, Joseph Kasilo, questioned the viability of the shopping mall project because already the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC) is planning to put up another shopping centre at Kaloleni.
Several units of residential houses belonging to AICC will be demolished anytime from now to pave way for the business centre. Tenants have been notified to vacate the area since the middle of last year although many are staying put.
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