Good news has come to residents of seven urban centres in the country with the announcement that the World Bank and Denmark have jointly agreed to finance institutional strengthening activities for Local Government Authorities (LGAs).
The Minister of the State in Prime Minister’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Governments), Ms Hawa Ghasia
According to a statement issued by the Tanzania Strategic Cities Project (TSCP), the Minister of State, Prime Minister’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG), Ms Hawa Ghasia, said over the weekend in Dar es Salaam that it was likely that the cities and municipalities would start looking better.
“I am calling on everyone residing near these infrastructures to ensure that they utilise these structures to their benefit instead of vandalising them, a situation that will only lead to backwardness in development,” she said.
Through the TSCP, the collaborative arrangement will ensure that assistance to government in the urban sector is streamlined and interventions are concentrated within a manageable number of areas where significant results can be achieved. The urban centres to benefit from the project are Arusha, Dodoma, Kigoma, Mbeya, Mtwara, Mwanza and Tanga.
The TSCP Coordinator, Eng. Davis Shemangale said that the development objective was to improve the urban services through rehabilitation and expansion of urban infrastructure, such as water, waste management and road access.
Eng. Shemangale said that the project is in line with government’s National Strategy for Growth and Poverty Reduction (MKUKUTA) and by supporting improvements in the quality of and access to urban infrastructure and thereby laying the foundations for future growth and improvements in welfare.
He explained that in April 2008 TSCP had prepared a request to the government to assist with the financing of an investment operation that would provide finance for critical infrastructure in key urban LGAs and support for improved fiscal and management capacity for urban development and management.
“The need for this has come due to Tanzania having one of the highest rates of urbanisation in Sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 30 per cent of the population living in urban centres,” the coordinator said.
The total cost of the project is 175.5 million US Dollars out of which 163 million US Dollars has been provided by the World Bank and 80 million Danish Kroner (12.5 million US Dollars) from Denmark.
The project is coordinated and managed by PMO-RALG, with the Permanent Secretary, PMO-RALG having overall responsibility for accounting for project funds. PMO-RALG will have overall responsibility for the coordination of implementation activities and the provision of technical support and guidance to the participating LGAs.
The Danish Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Bjarne Sorensen underscored the importance of sustainable development of urban areas to address urban poverty.
He said Denmark’s support to strategic cities in Tanzania will assist in creating well-functioning, more inhabitable and environmental friendly cities. Both the World Bank and Denmark have a long standing history of engagement in the urban and local government sector in Tanzania.
Under the Urban Sector Rehabilitation Project (USRP) which was concluded in December 2004, the World Bank financed essential rehabilitation and expansion of urban infrastructure in ten project towns including some of the LGA’s that are participating in the TSCP.
Denmark has supported urban development in Tanzania over the past 15 years, latest being the support to the Sustainable Cities Programme which was concluded in June 2008.
Source Tanzania Daily News