Geoscience Reference
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is an informal, underserviced settlement of some 12,000 people, situated in a
low-depression and waterlogged wetland area prone to flooding. This is an old
settlement in an unplanned area that has gradually expanded, partly by expansion
through often 'illegal' settlements by local people on adjacent floodplains subject
to flooding, partly by the construction of middle-class houses and shops/offices.
The area is bisected by a local river and was designated as hazard land in the 1979
Master Plan. Two storm-water channels pass through the area (Kiunsi 2013).
About 450 low-income houses are flooded each year; negative impacts include
damage to homes and assets, disruption of local services (schools), temporary
relocation, overflow of latrines, and various health issues (John et al. 2012). As
Bonde la Mpunga is located close to the beach and the commercial centre of
Dar es Salaam (5 km) and shopping malls, it has become increasingly attractive
to private investors.
A key governance issue arose some years ago when the central government
allowed private developers to construct middle-class houses and new
commercial buildings on the high-value land adjacent to the settlement - in
violation of the original Master Plan, which had defined the areas as hazardous
marshlands to be protected. The new buildings were constructed in such a
way that they blocked natural drainage, and forced floodwater into the houses
of many of the original low-income residents. Local people protested about
this development through the media, local demonstrations and by mobilizing
local politicians. Most of the key agencies relevant to flood-risk management
(planning, water resources, sewerage, disaster-risk management) have been
absent as regards everyday management of these local flood-risk issues. In
contrast, both government and private developers have engaged in the
promotion of the middle-class housing projects. Occasionally, the central
government has sent urban planners and water engineers to engage in dialogue,
but no shared solution acceptable to the local population has been found. The
interventions of various state and municipal agencies in local affairs have
resulted in conflicts and mutual disengagement, not coproduction. There are,
for example, no plans for providing sewerage facilities for the informal area
(interview 5 June 2012).
In this regard, the local people have been met with an ambivalent government
agency (MLHHSD) that has been less concerned about 'good governance'
and local demands, and more responsive to private business and middle-class
housing concerns. According to one person from MLHHSD,
wrong decisions have been made on transfer of hazardous land to
commercial area and residential area … Wealthy people have constructed
houses in the wetlands and changed flooding patterns, and poor people
suffer. This was not allowed according to the Master Plan. Still, the
developers were given permits; now there is a need to demolish some
houses and do better drainage.
(interview, MLHHSD planner, 4 June 2012).
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