Impoverishment Risks in DIDR in Dar es Salaam City: The Case of Airport Expansion Project

Abstract

Contrary to the State’s rhetoric of inclusive governance, urban poor is excluded from planning for infrastructure development and resettlement processes, leading to a lack of understanding of their needs by the state resulting to their subsequent impoverishment after resettlement. This paper discusses impoverishment risks experienced by massive population resettlements from airport expansion project in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania. The risks experienced were outcomes of procedures followed and policies/acts adopted in the implementation process. Literature on impoverishment risks experienced during displacement shows that poorly managed displacement processes and lack of adherence to policies and guidelines exposed the affected population to impoverishment risks for both short and long terms. The actualization of the risks depends on the preparedness of the project implementers or the government’s enforcement bodies in implementing the resettlement project. This paper draws empirical evidences obtained from studies conducted in 2014 and 2017. It discusses eleven impoverishment risks experienced by both the displaced and hosting communities at different periods and magnitudes. The paper argues that the displaced poor households have been further impoverished in the course of resettlement process as a result of limited attention to the risks of impoverishment both in policies and in local government practices. This paper realises that there is an urgent need for a resettlement policy which insists on participation of the affected communities that would eliminate impoverishment risks.