Need to plan, manage urban population growth, says official

SUNDAY NEWS Reporter

TANZANIA will have to plan for and manage unprecedented levels of urban population growth to ensure productivity, efficiency and inclusivity of its cities and urban spaces.

This was said recently by the Acting Executive Secretary for the Planning Commission in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Mr Maduka Kessy, during the Tanzania Urbanisation Laboratory meeting at the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF) offices in Dar es Salaam.

The meeting aimed at discussing national urbanisation roadmap by reviewing three pieces of research that was commissioned by the Laboratory in September, this year.

The first research was based on understanding the scope for Urban infrastructure and services finance in Tanzania cities while the second described the relationship between national and local government in Tanzania and the third piece provided missing urban data required to enhance investment in Tanzania.

Mr Kessy said that while the government is currently implementing ambitious goals in the second five-year development plan (FYDP) ll, themed ‘nurturing industrialisation for economic transformation and human development’, the Laboratory as a think tank should focus on facilitating evidence-based decisions with regard to urbanisation and those papers are entirely timely.

“The national planning frameworks in Tanzania are guided by the Tanzania Development Vision 2025 aimed at ensuring that the country achieves middle income status by 2025… so, it is clear that the need for national urbanisation roadmap is both timely and of national significance,” said Mr Kessy.

He insisted that if the country wants to achieve tranquility in its mission and vision, it needs evidence-based decisions and the Lab is the only reliable place to get it with regard to urbanisation.

Giving insight of the meeting, ESRF Executive Director, Dr Tausi Kida said the meeting, which is the first after the launch of Tanzania Urbanisation Laboratory in August, this year, intends to look on how best the programme can help manage the future.

She said the Laboratory chaired by the Planning Commission and coordinated by ESRF include stakeholders from public, private, civil society and academic organisations.