Demolitions for Msimbazi Valley Development Project kicks off

Dar es Salaam. The demolition of houses and other structures to pave the way for the Msimbazi Valley Development Project is progressing rapidly following the marking of structures to indicate they are to be demolished and due compensation has been paid to the affected residents.

The Tanzania Rural and Urban Roads Agency (Tarura), which is overseeing the project, has placed the marks in the Msimbazi Bondeni, Kigogo, and Suna neighborhoods.

The Citizen has witnessed some residents of these areas demolishing their own homes and others moving their belongings.

Raphael Kalapilo, the Senior Information Officer for the Msimbazi Valley Project, said yesterday, April 15, 2024, that voluntary demolition was what they wanted residents to do, so that they could leave with their belongings.

"I can say that the demolition exercise has officially begun after marking the houses that need to be demolished, this is after completing the payments," he said.

He said that 2,155 out of the 2,329 residents who agreed to be compensated have been paid.

The Msimbazi Valley Development Project is being implemented to address flooding and improve land use in the lower part of the valley. The project is expected to cost $260 million and is being funded by the World Bank.

Habiba Mondoma, speaking on behalf of the residents affected by the project, said that the marking of the houses and the street advertisements about the demolitions have increased the pace of voluntary demolitions by residents.

She said that some of the houses that people had left had started to be misused and some were being rented out to people who did not know about the demolitions.

Habiba said that some of the residents who are leaving the area are still going to build or live in informal settlements because they were the money they were paid was too little.

"The money has been small because we were not given land compensation, money that would at least be enough for someone to go and buy a surveyed piece of land, but as a result we were not paid more than Sh4 million," she said.

"This is after we initially complained about being paid only for the houses, for what the authorities said was a dangerous area, so we did not have the right to be paid for the land," she said.

Salim Hamis, the Chairman of Magomeni Suna, said he was satisfied with the relocation activities being carried out although there are minor challenges.

He asked the government to look into the cases of those who were affected by demolitions in 2016 before the court injunction was issued to stop the demolitions, so that they can also be compensated.

"To achieve this, I suggest that the old map of the area can be used instead of leaving them with nothing," he said.

Kalapilo, commenting on this, said that it is difficult to pay these people because there was nothing visible in their areas that would allow any meaningful valuation to be carried out in accordance with land compensation laws.