An aerial view of Tanga, Tanzania. The once vibrant city are rundown and
forlorn factories, ravaged by the effects of the changing seasons and
degraded by human activities over decades. AFP PHOTO | JACK GUEZ
Bongo Flava artistes Wagosi wa Kaya released their popular but controversial hit Tanga Kunani?
(what’s going on Tanga?) in 2017. It was a lament about everything that
is wrong today with the once thriving port city on Tanzania’s north
coast.
Today, Tanga may have lost the economic and
cultural allure of past decades, but it is potentially the most
productive region in Tanzania.
The city is actually
little more than a sleepy town with aged buildings; life there is
characterised by a palpable slowness and apathy — a ghost of pre- and
post colonial era glamour when its economy boomed.
What
is now left of the once vibrant city are rundown and forlorn factories,
ravaged by the effects of the changing seasons and degraded by human
activities over decades.
In their lyrics, Wagosi wa Kaya wonder why everything died: That airplanes, trains and ship now avoid the city.
They
decry the religiosity that has engulfed the region and the desperate
poverty of the people, despite having a rich hinterland and swathes of
arable land for both food and cash crops such as sisal.
The
artistes even decried the disposition of Tanga people, whom they accuse
of not doing enough to help the situation preferring instead to drink mnazi (palm wine tapped from the coconut tree) instead of tea or coffee for breakfast.
Arab-influenced buildings
Geographically,
Tanga is breathtakingly beautiful as it tapers towards the Indian
ocean. Its Arab-influenced buildings sport ornate mahogany balconies,
four-foot walls, coloured-glass windows, heavy, dark doors, and
courtyards where cats slink in the deep shade.
The better maintained buildings are whitewashed and sparkle in the sun.
The
town centre is prim and wellplanned — streets are well aligned with
flower hedges and huge old jacaranda, neem and fig trees along some
streets — its railway lines, port, the 21 Megawatt Hale dam in Pangani
and the presence of now defunct factories are indicative of a city
that German colonial administrators and past Tanzanian governments had
given much consideration to as the epicentre of Tanzania’s tourism,
agriculture and manufacturing.
By bus from the southern
Kenyan border post of Lungalunga/Horohoro, it is a beautiful drive on a
new highway through the quiet Mkinga district, with the rising Usambara
mountains in the west as you approach Tanga.
But to
do justice to the beauty of Tanga, one has to see it from above. Fying
over the city, one is greeted by breathtaking vistas of myriad rivers
snaking their way into the Indian Ocean from the Usambara mountains.
Tanga
was initially intended to be the capital of Tanzania as per the plans
of German colonialists. Had this been achieved, maybe today the city
would have grown into a thriving commercial and tourism hub.
In
a few minutes of an unhurried stroll through the town centre, you will
have seen all you want to see. The central business district is nothing
to write home about, with streets lined with modest shops, a couple of
bars, a bus stop and a number of daladalas, minibuses, ambling along the streets.
Unlike
Dar es Salaam, there is no hurry in Tanga. Cool wind blows from the
ocean but there is a heaviness in the air because of the coastal
humidity. Cool shade from trees is important here, and Tanga has plenty
of them.
Residents of Tanga are in agreement with
Wagosi wa Kaya. They recall with nostalgia a bygone era when the city
was the place to be.
Factories
Back then, the town’s slogan was Tanga ni Raha
(Tanga is fun). That ceased being true decades ago. Azim Mohammed of
Magomeni B says that Tanga provided to many fun activities in its better
days.
“Tanga and Mombasa were popular with fun seekers. Tanga teemed with people from all over Tanzania, Mombasa and beyond.
Tanga
was the first town to have a police station and a post office in
Tanzania. Back then when the government used to run retail outlets,
shops countrywide were stocked with products manufactured by Tanga-based
factories,” he recalls.
Tanga
was the country’s industrial base with factories manufacturing soap,
blankets, steel, fertilisers and many other products.
Today,
save for a few cement factories — the Tanga Cement, Rhino Cement and
Kilimanjaro Cement plus a miller — the old decrepit ghosts of factories
stand as a stark reminder of the once thriving manufacturing scene in
the city.
History
The
earliest documentation about Tanga comes from the Portuguese. A trading
post was established by the Portuguese as part of their East African
coastal territory and controlled the region for over 200 years, between
1500 and 700.
The Sultanate of Oman ousted the
Portuguese and gained control of the settlement by mid 1700 along with
Mombasa, Pemba Island and Kilwa Kisiwani. The town continued to act as a
trading port for ivory and slaves under the sultan’s rule.
Tanga
continued to be a prosperous trading hub for slaves bound for the Arab
world up until 1873 when the European powers abolished the slave trade.
In
the 19th the scramble for Africa brought the Germans to Tanga. The
Germans bought the coastal strip of mainland Tanzania from the Sultan of
Zanzibar in 1891. This takeover saw Tanga designated a township, the
first establishment in German East Africa.
The port of Tanga is historically the oldest operating harbour in Tanzania and its roots date back to around the 6th century.
It is the second largest port in Tanzania and is a vital part of the city’s initial development and economy.
The
port operates at 90 per cent of its installed capacity; its main cargo
is coal for the cement industry and is a new gateway for crude oil
products. The Tanzania government has major plans to upgrade the port,
increase capacity and provide an alternative route for cargo flowing
into the country.
Tourism
Tanga
has great potential for tourism. The town’s periphery is dotted with
quaint restaurants, hotels and historical sites; and the ocean offers
great dhow sailing and a rich coral reef for diving enthusiasts. Tanga
has what it takes to be East Africa’s tourism hub.
The
Amboni Caves, proximity to the Saadani National Park, the Amani
National Reserve, hikes on the Usambara Mountains, Totem Island, Yambe
Island, nature trails, culture, safety and a polite and friendly people
offer a unique experience for tourists.
Nairobi takes
pride in being the only capital city in the world with a national park,
but Tanga’s proximity to the Saadani National Park makes it the only
city with a wildlife sanctuary incorporating a marine park in the
region.
The city, being on the highway between Mombasa
and Dar es Salaam, is well served by bus services from both Kenya and
the northern Tanzania regions of Usambara, Moshi and Arusha.
A
defunct railway link also still exists between Moshi and Tanga. A small
airport in the city is served by only two small local air operators.
The decline
According
to Bakari Mwapachu, a former minister and MP for Tanga, the once
thriving economy of the city was hard hit by a fall in sisal production
following nationalisation of the plantations and a subsequent drop in
world demand and prices, and a shift from natural sisal fibre to
synthetic fibre.
Up until 1961, Tanzania was the
world’s leading sisal producer. Sisal was the preferred material for
agricultural twine — binder and baler twine. With the coming of
synthetic fibre, sisal lost half its global market share.
“Sisal
plantations were the biggest employer in Tanga. However, the slow death
of the sisal sector led to a decline in production and subsequent
unemployment. Tanga’s sisal sector made it only second to Dar es Salaam
in government revenue collection. Back then the Dar es Salaam-Moshi
railway service was functional,” he said.
Mzee Shamte Hadhumani, a sisal farmer in Muheza, avers that the politics of the time led to the decline in Tanga’s economy.
“Tanga
was intended to be the German colonial capital but was overtaken by Dar
es Salaam after Independence following nationalisation of the factories
in 1972, an extension of the Arusha Declaration of 1967. Unfortunately
this move adversely affected the port, the railway and all
industries,” said Hadhumani.
“Ignoring of formal
education and concentration on Islamic studies alone have had a hand in
dragging Tanga backwards. The few people who received a formal education
got it through the missionary schools,” he adds.
Great potential
All
is not lost. A glimmer of hope arising from the proposed Tanga-Hoima
oil pipeline and the rising demand for sisal products could restore
Tanga’s lost glory.
Media reports in March said that
over 10,000 jobs are expected to be created during the construction of
the pipeline. Besides, many formerly defunct sisal plantations are now
operational in response to the rising sisal prices in the world market.
However,
to tap into these new developments, Mr Mwapachu says, there is a an
urgent need to refurbish the now decrepit infrastructure and introduce
vocational training for the youth in preparation for the good times
ahead.
He is also keen on the creation of industrial parks like the Pongwe Industrial Park, — which is yet to attract investors.
“Our
growth goals cannot be easily attained unless the infrastructure
including the railway, the port and roads is improved. The only way to
support the growth of industry and reclaim Tanga’s lost glory is to
develop Tanga.
“In view of this, the youth should be
encouraged to hone their vocational skills in preparation for an
industrial takeoff. Tanzania envisages becoming an industrialised
country by 2025,” concludes Mr Mwapachu.
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