RAPID POPULATION GROWTH CALLS FOR SOLID PLANNING
Galloping populations in Tanzania’s urban areas present a challenge that should be addressed now as a matter of urgency instead of waiting until things get out of hand. Conservative estimates show that at least 30 million people will be living in urban areas in the country by 2050, up from the current urban population of around 15 million. Our urban planners have their work cut out.
Twenty-nine years is not a long time in the development of the nation. This means that long-term measures have to be taken now to ensure that Tanzania’s urban areas will be habitable in the foreseeable future despite the rapid population growth anticipated in the next few decades.
People living in urban areas face all manner of problems, including an acute shortage of decent housing, spiralling crime, traffic congestion, lack of clean and safe water and inadequate or crumbling infrastructure. This, to a large extent, is a result of poor urban planning.
Dar es Salaam is a good example of the consequences of sloppy urban planning. Dar es Salaam’s population has skyrocketed in the last few decades, but infrastructure development has not kept pace. In fact, Tanzania’s commercial capital is well on its way to becoming one of the world’s biggest metropolises by 2100, according to the UN.
The city is also synonymous with unplanned development, with substandard dwellings sprouting up in their hundreds in unauthorised areas. Vast areas of the city have been transformed into slums, and it seems the authorities gave up a long time ago.
Despite the government’s best efforts in recent years, the traffic situation is another nightmare, and it is not uncommon for one to spend hours on the road for trips that should normally take a few minutes.
The situation in Dar es Salaam is representative of the reality in other rapidly expanding cities such as Arusha, Mbeya, Mwanza and Tanga. We shudder to think what the situation will be like in 2050 if adequate measures are not taken now to keep up with the population growth.
ENVIRONMENT MUST COME FIRST
The last few years have seen startling instances of non-compliance with environmental conservation regulations among some industrial concerns in various parts of the country.
The overriding issue has been to what extent factories treat wastewater before it is discharged from the plants. The impression being created is that the relevant authorities are not doing enough to curb environmental pollution by factories.
Whether environmental impact assessments were conducted before permits were issued is another billion-shilling question. The government has in the past issued deadlines to a number of companies to comply with environmental conservation rules, but weather any follow-up has been made is anybody’s guess.
Environmental conservation is a matter of life and death that must not be taken lightly.
As Tanzania strives to promote industrialisation as part of wider efforts geared at its transformation into a semi-industrialised economy in the next few years, there is a need to ensure that the environment is protected for the sake of present and future generations.
