Unplanned settlements impede development, says Tibaijuka
 
2005-08-13 08:05:39
By Emmanuel Kihaule

	UN-Habitat Director Prof Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, flanked by Dar es Salaam Mayor Kleist Sykes, gestures as she elaborates a point during a public briefing on the urbanisation crisis in Africa at Star Light Hotel in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Tanzania ought to halt the mushrooming of unplanned human settlements in urban areas if it is to succeed in its development endeavours, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), Prof Anna Tibaijuka said yesterday.

Prof Tibaijuka made this point in Dar es Salaam during a meeting with central and local government officials.

’’Rapid urbanisation and the emergence of unplanned settlements in African countries, including Tanzania, could cause total collapse of the economic systems of respective towns if it is left unchecked,’’ she said.

According to Prof Tibaijuka, Africa was lagging behind the rest of the world in terms of the standards of human settlements due to rapid urbanisation.

’’This shift does not correlate with the economic growth,’’ she said.
Prof Tibaijuka noted that a country cannot move forward economically if slams were mushrooming because that blocks the availability of essential social services and infrastructure, besides overwhelming the respective local governments.

She said that it was quite unrealistic to talk about development if the number of unplanned areas with no defined roads, sports grounds or open spaces for social services, was still on a sharp rise.

’’What sort of development will it be if there is no even a road for a fire engine or ambulance to pass during emergencies?’’ she asked.

It was useless to concentrate on other activities with little or no attention to the need for good town planning in terms of ideal accommodation and clean environment, she said.

’’Slams are the breeding grounds for crimes and a number of health hazards such as HIV/Aids infections and other water borne diseases, all of which have much negative impact on the economy,’’ she said.

The UN-HABITAT boss suggested the teaming up of both central and local governments, saying any success would depend on their working hand in hand.

’’Politicians alone can’t do the work but government officials at all levels have to co-operate with experts in urban planning such as architects and land surveyors,’’ she suggested.

• SOURCE: Guardian