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Tanzania sets aside Sh60bn for new Kigamboni city project

Thursday July 12 2012
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Prof Anna Tibaijuka, Tanzania's minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development. Photo/File

Over Sh60 billion has been set aside for the first phase of the new Kigamboni city project in Dar es Salaam, Parliament was told on Wednesday.

The minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Prof Anna Tibaijuka, said the amount is about 59 per cent of her ministry’s proposed Sh101.731 billion budget for the 2012/2013 financial year.

Recurrent expenditure will take up Sh30.731 billion while Sh71 billion will go to development projects. The ministry was unable to implement the project in the last financial year but Prof Tibaijuka assured Parliament that it would take off this time around.

The Kigamboni Development Agency (KDA) will manage the project. It is expected to cost about Sh11.6 trillion upon completion come 2032.

It will be implemented in three phases. The Sh60 billion allocated will be spent on setting up KDA, conducting property assessment, social services, resettling residents and measuring and drawing maps for the proposed town.

The first phase of the project will span the years 2012-2022 while the second will start in 2022-2027, with the third phase set to start in 2027-2032.

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“We will use modern techniques to raise about Sh605 billion, which is outside our budget, so that we can implement the project within the set time frame,” said Prof Tibaijuka.

This strategy will include selling municipal bonds in the project areas. The minister assured Kigamboni residents that those who had settled legally in the area would be compensated, but she had a warning for illegal settlers: "Start leaving now if you know what’s good for you." The compensation will be pegged to the prevailing land value.

The former UN-HABITAT executive director, who vowed to do all in her power to realise the dream, said her ministry would conduct study tours of various satellite and new cities for Kigamboni residents.

“Sometimes we might be unfair to Kigamboni residents,” she added. “How do you expect someone to own the project when he or she has no idea of the benefits of the project?”

The government has already found a partner—a private company—that will be co-master developer for Luguruni satellite town.

Prof Tibaijuka also called on district councils countrywide to survey and allocate land to wananchi in accordance with the Urban Planning Act of 2007.

She also warned those who have illegally grabbed or settled on wetlands and protected lands that the government will evict them and no compensation would be forthcoming.

She also wants district councils and other authorities to identify high risk areas and evict people from those areas so as to pre-empt disasters such as the one at Msimbazi lowland in Dar es Salaam at the end of last year.

Mr Abdulkarim Shah (Mafia-CCM) urged the government to make sure that money is made available so the project can kick off as planned.

Mr Shah, who was presenting the land, natural resources and environment parliamentary committee recommendations, said the government should make sure that last year’s failure to implement the project is not repeated.

The Opposition said the government should make sure that development of satellite towns such as Kigamboni and Luguruni do not affect the people.

Land, Housing and Human Settlement Development shadow minister Halima Mdee said the compensation package for those who evicted to pave the way for new projects was too little.

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