Dar city must be better organised ahead of 2025

That Dar es Salaam city is growing fast is clear to all; what might have been unknown to many is that it is actually the fastest growing city in Africa! That is, going by the African Development Bank (AfDB) latest report entitled Tracking Africa’s Progress.

Its population, now standing at 4.0 million, will rise to 6.2 million in the next 10 years, says the report released earlier this week.

Urban growth is a global phenomenon, with projections showing that by 2030, six out of every 10 people will live in a city, and by 2050, this proportion will increase to seven out of 10 people. Currently, around half of all urbanites live in cities hosting between 100,000 – 500,000 people.

Urban growth in least developed countries is faster than in developed ones since in the former, there are just too many people who have to abandon the rural areas to escape poverty. It means one way Tanzania can lessen rural-urban migration would be to fight poverty in villages. That Dar es Salaam is growing faster than even Nairobi – if we are to go by the AfDB report – should be a matter of concern rather than celebration, for it means we have before us several debilitating challenges that come with rapid urbanisation.

Despite its commendable road network that includes flyovers that are the envy of Africa, Nairobi has to contend with maddening traffic jams. Our city fathers must work to forestall urban logistical crises afflicting metropolises such as Lagos and Nairobi.

Indeed, poor urban planning, lack of adherence to the basics of urban planning and development has meant that 50 years after independence, over 70 per cent of Dar es Salaam residents continue to live in virtual slums!

In order to cope with the inevitable fast population growth, there is a need for concerted efforts to get the city more organised ahead of 2025.