Over 50,000 Kimara, Mbezi houses to be torn down soon

At least 50,000 residents of Kimara and Mbezi in Dar es Salaam will have their settlements demolished to pave way for infrastructure development in a grand nationwide urban modernisation project.

Known as ‘Land Tenure Regularisation Project’, and to start effective next month (two weeks from today), it will also involve mass evictions and no comp
ensation money has been allocated for the exercise todate.

In the circumstances, Coordinator of Land Tenure Support Programme in the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlement Development Adam Nyaruhuma, has asked members of the public to chip in to fund the nationwide exercise by providing shelter to those who would be affected by it.

At the start, besides, Dar es Salaam, four other regions will be involved, according to Nyaruhuma. He mentioned them as Mwanza, Mbeya and Arusha.
Explaining, the Land Tenure Support Programme coordinator said the project is meant to help curb unplanned settlements, warning that it will involve demolition and reconstruction of several existing settlements in the city.

He told The Guardian in an exclusive interview that the project is envisioned to allow allocation of essential services to marginalised groups.

“It is after completing the exercise in Dar es Salaam that we are going to start implementing it in Mwanza, Mbeya and Arusha regions,” he said.

Despite the grand plans, the ministry representative conceded that, with less than two weeks to go before the commencement of the project, there is no funding allocated for compensation of residents in Kimara and Mbezi in Dar es Salaam, the areas which will begin to be affected when the project kicks off.

“Therefore, we ask the residents to support those who will be required to vacate their areas to pave the way for the construction of infrastructure in those areas,” Nyaruhuma emphasied.

“It is difficult for this project to be accepted by the people as it will cost their time, settlements, and funds, but there is no way it can be avoided because the government cannot continue witnessing the mushrooming of unplanned settlement across the country,” Nyaruhuma explained.
Asked to explain why people’s property should be demolished without compensation, he said, recompense will involve a lot of money that would very likely affect other projects.”

“As you know this is a nationwide project and involves many people. It will be difficult to compensate everybody in this exercise. What we are going to do is to educate the people to take part for the success of this project because we believe that the residents also need it,” he said.
The project is incorporated in the Big Result Now (BRN) Initiative, he said, adding that among other things it will provide people with land certificates for 33 to 99 years.

Expounding, he said, the implementation of the first phase of the project will start at Kimara and Mbezi areas in Kinondoni District, Dar es Salaam this December and work in other unplanned parts of the country’s leading commercial city would follow.

Before the implementation of the project, he said, people with property in those areas will be involved in consultative meetings with government planners to discuss how the project will be implemented and its benefits.

 “We will create awareness to the public concerning the project, because it will involve demolition of several houses to pave the way for expansion of infrastructure,” he said.

According to him, urban areas in Tanzania are recorded to have many unplanned settlements which contribute to the people’s poor health and social wellbeing, increased crime, corruption and accelerated poverty in general.

He acknowledged that the current unplanned settlements are a result of the government’s fault because it failed to survey the land earlier before the people settled and started building their houses.