Dar es Salaam: City report

Working Paper 23

Wilbard Jackson Kombe and Florence Muheirwe

December 2024

Abstract

Dar es Salaam is Tanzania’s most cosmopolitan city and socioeconomic and political powerhouse of the country. Thus, the city attracts powerful economic and political elites, who influence decisions that shape its development trajectory and provision of basic services. This report draws from the African Cities Research Consortium thematic studies conducted in Dar es Salaam, namely: city of systems; political settlement; and housing and informal settlements domains. These have collectively shaped the politics and the fragmented nature of the city governance structure and the overall urban development trajectory of Dar es Salaam. Multiple data sources, such as literature reviews, published reports, interviews and focus group discussions with local communities and public officials, were used. The delivery of basic services, access to safe and affordable housing, and proliferation of informal settlements have fundamentally been determined by everyday politics and historical legacies. The prominence of informality showcases the ineffectiveness of the hitherto urban planning and development systems and practices; but remains an opportunity to fill the formal sector deficits across the city systems. Despite being unregulated and fragmented, informality is also a tool for politicians and residents alike, with the latter having the potential to hold politicians accountable by demanding better services. Due to continuous resistance to decentralising of powers, city authorities are administratively, politically and financially unable to deliver basic services to most urbanites. Political parties’ contestations have further skewed resource distribution. The report argues that, given the nature/role political and economic power configurations play in the development trajectory of Dar es Salaam, elites wishing for continued economic and political stability have to support coalitions with the marginalised.

Keywords

Political settlement, politics, informality, service delivery, housing, low-income, Dar es Salaam