Land Conflicts in Dar es Salaam and their Socio-political Implications



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Status and roles of Universities



4.1 The status and role of Universities in developing countries

There is hardly any country that has achieved sustainable socio-economic and environmental development without substantial investment in human resource. Training of human capital enriches one’s knowledge, equips with skills, and improves the quality of one’s life and the communities with whom one interacts. Education also improves social wellbeing, promotes productivity and accelerates technological advancement (Lucal, 1998). In this respect, universities and other academic institutions can be seen as motors of a society’s economic, social and cultural advancement. They can also be seen as institutions to alleviate poverty as knowledge generated in research activities undertaken by universities can help improve living and working conditions among the poor. The chances of the poor countries which are increasingly being integrated in the world market, to benefit from globalization depend on their capacity to produce qualified human capital. University training is in this respect instrumental in building the competitive labour force of a country, especially in the world of information and communication technology.

Tertiary educational training programmes support not only technological and scientific advancement, but represent a critical component in the quality, equity, fairness and effectiveness of policies formulated and adopted by a country. However, the status of universities must guarantee neutrality and impartiality if they are to be objective and effective in meeting their training and research expectations. Indeed it is the autonomous nature of universities which is the pillar that signals that it can take position, intervene and play a leading role in social, economic and political policy debates, even on controversial issues which may represent vested interests of those in power. In this respect, universities ought to enjoy academic freedom and flexibility in conducting and regulating their own affairs particularly in matters pertaining to academic affairs, such as the freedom to define their research agenda and choose their public outreach engagements. They also have to be free to associate with institutions, access information and disseminate research findings and outputs with undue public interference. Of course, University Councils are expected to provide supervisory roles including approval of administrative structures and regulations, budgets, and monitoring instruments.
The most common challenge which particularly affects public universities especially in developing countries concerns the reluctance by the State, e.g. Ministries responsible for Higher Education, to let universities go – i.e. allow them to exercise their academic freedom and authorities and make decisions without political interference and control, which are often exercised through budgetary cuts, appointment of heads of institutions and creation of stringent monitoring mechanisms which limit the flexibility of universities to make decisions and act.
What are expectations of the public concerning universities in Tanzania?

Owing to still high illiteracy rates of about 30% in 2007 (HBS, 2007) many people especially in rural areas are not only uninformed about the policy contents and rationale for the various decisions made by different government agents, but incapable of fighting for their basic rights even in cases where they have been mishandled or abused. The high level of poverty which is currently estimated at about 38 per cent (HBS, 2007) complicates the problem as the bulk of households spend most of their time and resources on initiatives aimed to meet their basic needs, especially food. At present most poor households, who constitute the majority of the population, spend 64 per cent of their income on food. This suggests that there are many people who are struggling a lot and making sacrifices including engagement in life threatening and at times illegal activities in order survive (Kombe and Kyessi, 2007).


In the light of the foregoing, national education policies in developing countries have to re-examined, including the distribution of scarce funds between the primary, secondary, tertiary and – often neglected – the vocational sector. They may have to review the production of highly qualified human resource and strive to fill the prevailing and growing governance deficits such as widening socio-economic and spatial inequalities; poor access to information and non-transparent decision-making practices among particularly bureaucrats, low accountability of public servants, and poor delivery of basic services especially for the poor (see Figure 1).

The aim here is not to provide an exhaustive treatise of these challenges; rather it may suffice to note that most of these governance problems are intricately inter-linked and self-reinforcing.



Figure 1: Governance deficits and issues


This does not mean that universities are not expected to be concerned with other governance problems including malfunctioning of the public sector which are associated with grand and petty corruption especially in the delivery to public services, increasing gender inequities and escalation of poverty, weak public regulatory structures and frameworks for the booming private sector etc. Indeed universities have to establish a long standing commitment to respond to these challenges, as communities are increasingly looking to universities to speak up against evils and other vices as well as to fill the gaps.

As will be noted shortly, in the context of Tanzania, and Ardhi University in particular, we are privileged to be closely associated with particularly local and central governments and local communities, largely because of a praxis oriented learning approach that constitutes the mode of professional training in the land based disciplines taught at the University.

In fact the role played by Ardhi University as an engine of land development activities has over the last ten years changed radically, primarily because after a review and consolidation of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes theory was closely linked with practice through real life projects. For example, during the semester students in the Planning, Architecture and Land Management/Real Estate Development, Land Survey and Environmental Engineering subjects are assigned study project areas in the local neighborhoods. These are normally identified in collaboration with local government authorities and community members. There has also been a remarkable shift in terms of research undertaken by staff to focus on applied research activities rather than on basic research. Applied research and outreach activities are niches that have earned the university a name especially in the public circles. Some of the large scale research projects which have been undertaken by the University and implemented in recent years include:


  • Community infrastructure improvement in low income housing areas in various settlements in the country.

  • Environmental impact assessment projects on large scale projects (Lake Victoria Basin projects; Lower Ruvu Water Programme; Northern Circuit Transport Corridor, and Pangani River projects).

  • Regularization and formalization of properties in low income areas.

  • Valuation of property for property tax, mortgage and compensation.

  • Land use planning schemes – districts, regions and urban centres.

Some of the applied research and related activities are:

  • Guidelines for participatory land use planning and management

  • Governance of informal urbanization in poverty

  • Policy analyses - human settlement development policy and the national land policy

  • Public transport, partnership and livelihoods of urban poor

  • Measuring service delivery in the SADC region

  • Governance of water and sanitation in peri-urban areas.

Owing to global recession, poverty trends in developing countries are likely to escalate, making the living and working conditions for the bulk of the people worse. Universities especially those which are largely funded through public budgets such as Ardhi University, are therefore expected to face increasing pressure in form of calls for assistance from desperate local communities.



4.2 What roles can Universities play vs. land conflicts?

Whilst the predicament in which the communities in the four study settlements find themselves can be attributed to numerous factors, they are by and large a reflection of institutional failures, especially the failure to create an environment that facilitates meaningful engagement with stakeholders and holds public officials accountable for mistakes that emanate from ill-informed decisions and actions. One can identify several issues which bear on the role research and universities in Tanzania and countries facing similar situations can play.

They broadly include: Closing the knowledge gap; outreaching activities to strengthen the capacity of particularly the poor; providing a third view that is non-partisan; and internationalization of local policy debates and findings and vice versa.
Narrowing/closing the knowledge and information gap

Large scale land development projects seem to constitute a threat to peace and security of tenure for particularly low income land holding households in the peri-urban areas. Through the implementation of decisions intended to achieve public interests in land use planning and facilitate socio-economic development, third party interests and democratic rights have been mishandled. This has been the main source of the conflict that has emerged between the state and would-be large scale investors on the one hand, and landholding community members on the other

An examination of the cases presented and experiences from similar studies where land is required and acquired for public interests in the city show that, apart from very few land occupier most of whom retired civil servants, the bulk of households occupying land are uniformed or at best in the dark in so far as their rights and obligations in public land acquisition matters are concerned. The matter is further complicated by the fact that most land legislation and policing documents are technical instruments which are often written in English. At the same time, urban land use development plans including master plans and strategic urban development plans are not presented in a language that local people can easily read and understand. They are often not easily available to community members or lay persons as such documents are normally kept by local council’s offices or the Ministry responsible for Lands and Urban Development.

This apart, there is also a tendency among professionals involved in the land development sector to mystify urban planning and land administration matters in general as being too technical for lay persons including land occupiers or community leaders to comprehend (Kombe and Kreibich, 2006). In the context of Tanzania, one may also add that, because land has been and remains a public property and therefore individuals have only usufruct rights, generally public officials tend to subdue private individual rights even where legislation has been contravened. This is what the cases of Kwembe and Luguruni exhibit. The question at stake is what universities can do or help in such a situation.

It is important that universities and research institutions especially in developing countries become not only productive centers of training skilled personnel or workforce, but come out to reach and help those who are unaware of their rights or lack basic information and knowledge to exercise their democratic rights. In this regard a university would be expected to help narrow the knowledge and information gap among particularly the poor and marginalized people living communities in which they embedded. Therefore, apart from advancing frontiers of knowledge and theories, they have to focus on and engage in practical work that helps enlighten and empowers surrounding communities to play an active role in matters that concern and improve their welfare.
Providing reviews on decisions by public officials as well as non/partisan views

The study conducted in the disputed areas has noted that the Tanzania Portland Cement Company (TPCC) and the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Services (MUHAS) have been granted a total of 53 km2 and 3000 acres of land respectively. By any urban land use planning and development standards, allocation of such large tracks of land to single institutions in an urban area is outrageous. One wonders what would happen if five other similar institutions would apply for land for similar use. Were would the authorities get land to curve out such allocations? Whilst it is unimaginable why the two institutions were granted such huge pieces of land in an area within the city, assuming there has been nothing mucky in the process, the practice in itself depicts a gross oversight on part of the land use planning and allocation authority and indeed a flagrant disregard of the implications of infrastructure servicing and other urban management costs which ensue such planned urban sprawl. It is also against norms of sustainable urban land use planning and sound environment management practices to designate and allocate a scarce resource such as land so lavishly.

In view of these considerations, universities and research institutions have a crucial role to play in challenging the professionals and policy makers who have made this decision by bringing forward inherent costs to the public and private individuals. It is also the role of universities to offer alternative options which can promote both optimal and economic land use utilisation as well as present unexplored scenarios or opportunities for accommodating the conflicting interests over land.

The study also revealed laxity on the part of the municipal authorities in enforcing urban land use regulations which inter alia require land allottees to develop land allocated to them within a three years period or surrender it back to authority for reallocation. Although the Municiapl Council granted the TPCC permit to change the use of some of the land it occupied from industrial to residential use way back in 2003, to date little has been donor to develop the land. Recent discussions with the Municipal Planner revealed that TPCC has not even submitted to the Municipality detailed plans showing how it intends to use the land.

Yet, the land conflict between TPCC and the two communities of Msikitini and Chasimba area presents interesting peculiarities. As the dynamics of the conflicts changed and took a turn following the court in favour of the TPCC, partisan politics emerged. This saw the Chasimba settlers shifting their loyalties and defecting into the opposition CUF and CHADEMA parties who unlike the ruling party leaders signaled their readiness to support the settlers in their fight to retain the land. Noting this, the ruling party CCM swiftly moved to consolidate its position in Msikitini area, an older settlement where the settlers were equally facing evictions, but had successfully negotiated with the TPCC to let them stay because the settlement was more consolidated and most building permanent. Among other things, this agreement seems to have a precedence that made Chasimba residents to strive for the same consideration, despite the fact that most properties were smaller and of poor quality.
The foregoing discussion depicts difficulties involved in an attempt to find a long lasting solution to the conflict. First because some of those trying to mediate it (Regional Commissioner, Area Commissioner and local community leaders in Msikitini) or those who are supporting the community to pursue the case in the court of law (reknown opposition party leader/member cum advocate) might have political interests or agenda. The defection by Chasimba settlers to the opposition party and the swift consolidation of foothold by the ruling party in the neighbouring settlement of Msikitini suggests that as long as those who are trying to mediate the conflict are political party associates, they cannot be impartial.
It is in the light of this the events which have unfolded in the areas that the university is seen as one of the ideal institutions that can objectively examine the case and present views that are non-partisan. This is more so because there are tendencies among politicians to base their interventions and decisions on intuition past precedence inter alia owing to lack of credible data and information. any a time, public officials tend to apply the same procedures and approaches even in situations where the socio-economic and political contexts have changed as is the case in the Tanzania today. That the public officials involved in the acquisition of land for public interests in Kwembe and Luguruni did not bother to involve the sitting land occupiers from the very beginning or critically consider the changed landscape in real estate following the enactment of the 1999 Land Act, clearly shows the tendencies to do business as usual12. It is paradoxical that the officials simply expected the sitting land occupiers to simply heed to the call to vacate the area even when the constitutional rights to be involved and their views head had been violated.
Concern for the poor

The core function of universities world wide is teaching, research and public service. In the context of Tanzania, the latter is however an area that has increasingly been undertaken as an income generation activity to complement the meager income for the dons and cover some of the running costs for universities which the state is unable to pay. This is particularly the case in public universities which experience severe budgetary constraints.

Therefore, when it comes to public service, the interest of most dons has largely been on assignments which boost income to the university and individual members; in turn, this makes provision of outreach services to poor individuals and communities which cannot pay consultancy rates particularly unattractive. Most local communities are unable to access advisory or technical support services offered by universities or professional consultancy firms.

Enabling poor communities or people to access affordable technical advisory services is a challenge and a crucial role of particularly public universities and research institutions. In order to achieve some of the ideas some of the scenarios that universities ought to explore are:




    • Establishment of professional support services geared towards poor and low income households – This could be in form of legal services, land use planning and development aid, or support services. It could provide basic technical services to those who cannot afford consultancy charges. Such a facility, a Legal Aid Clinic, has been established and is operational at the Faculty of Law at the University of Dar es Salaam. Progress to establish a Land Management Clinic at Ardhi University has reached an advanced stage.




    • Assign study projects in areas that support local communities – Given the practical nature of programmes offered by many universities it is possible to deploy students to carry out productive projects in the local communities that address specific issues of concern. Because students are normally supervised by university staff, the output from such exercise could be quite useful to particularly poor local communities. Universities also ought to design their programmes in such a way that students spend their practical sessions working with and educating local country members to broaden their knowledge and perspectives particularly in the areas that touch their socioeconomic wellbeing most but on which they are highly uninformed such as land use planning and administration laws and protocols. In some Latin American countries such as Brazil, university students and professional registration bodies have played a critical role in filling in the manpower deficits in local government authorities by directly supporting local communities.


Internationalisation of local policy debates and research findings and the vice versa

In order for scholars in universities of developing countries to become strong vehicles for political, cultural, economic and social change, they require both local knowledge and international exposure. Academic fora including workshops and conferences are particularly instrumental in facilitating scholarly interaction and for the internationalization of local policy debates and research findings.

In the new era of information and communication technology university dons and the research community in developing countries have ample opportunities to join debates as well as post their research findings on the Web; they do not therefore have to seek or wait for occasions that provide face to face interactions.



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