Dilapidated basic infrastructure was exacerbating high levels of urban poverty in Tanzania and lack of basic human services. Local government needed the capacity to manage and finance underserved cities and towns and make the urban sector more competitive.
The IDA-financed Urban Sector Rehabilitation Project addressed urban poverty by directing significant investment for priority infrastructure rehabilitation and expansion. It also sought to strengthen urban local government management and fiscal performance in the underserved areas of eight cities and towns -- Arusha, Iringa, Morogoro, Mbeya, Moshi, Mwanza, Tabora, and Tanga -- and, to a limited degree, the cities of Dodoma and Dar-es Salaam.
Service delivery has improved in all the project towns. In particular, road and drainage works have reduced vehicle operating costs, improved accessibility, and safety and reduced maintenance costs. Improvements in water supply infrastructure mean that, today, 86 percent of the population in 10 major urban areas have piped water (vs. 56 percent previously).
Highlights:
- The water supply networks in the project towns make waster available 24 hours a day. The time spent each day on fetching water, mostly by women and children, fell from 2.5 hours on average to less than half an hour.
- The project supported the creation of Urban Water Sewerage Authorities which are efficiently managed. Their revenues increased from about US$3 million equivalent in 1996 to about US$ 10 million equivalent in 2004.
- Property tax collection increased by 233 percent in 2004/5, compared to that of 1996.
- A total of 1,508 people, primarily municipal employees, were trained resulting in timely decisions and reports and improved labor relations.
- Sewerage systems were rehabilitated and cleaned in seven towns and 14 sludge ponds and 26 treatment ponds have been constructed. In addition, 12.9 sewer lines were rehabilitated/constructed and 28 emergency bore-holes and piped systems were installed, providing safe water to about 100,000 people in poor peri-urban areas.
- Improved sanitation, solid waste management, water supply and sewerage services are reported to have led to a decrease in the incidence of communicable diseases.
- In Dar es Salaam, 20.8 km of roads were rehabilitated. In addition, a large number of basic infrastructure facilities were rehabilitated including 102km of roads with sideline drains, 13 bus stands, and 311 pit latrines in 188 schools, and 8 solid waste dump sites were improved.
- All eight project towns ranked at the top in the Environmental Health Competition of 2003 and 2004.
- Total project cost was US$135.2 million of which IDA contributed US$97.7 million from 1997 to 2004.
- Building on its global experience and long-standing engagement in the sector since 1975, IDA helped the government of Tanzania develop and implement its Policy Framework and Implementation Strategy for Urban Management, Service Delivery and Infrastructure Investment,
- The urban management framework provided the basis for harmonizing donor support and scaling-up investments in the water sector.
Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands.
The project has demonstrated an effective approach to establishing financially viable local government that can deliver services in a sustainable way. As a result, the project serves as a basis for even greater institutional capacity and fiscal sustainability of local governments. This, in turn, has accelerated a more a comprehensive decentralization program. Other IDA operations build on its success including the Water Sector Program.
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