Displacement by the displacees: Perceptions from farm owners in resettlement for airport expansion project. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

Abstract:

This paper analyses the resettlement process and procedures followed during the displacement of communities from Kipawa and Kigilagila settlements to pave way for the expansion of the Dar es Salaam International Airport in Dar es Salaam city. The paper is based on findings of a PhD research project carried out  between 2010 and 2013 that explored procedures and process which caused displacement of the receiving community while resettling the displaced residents from Kipawa and Kigilagila. The Airport expansion project caused total demolition of two settlements of Kipawa and Kigilagila in the city and displaced more than two thousand property owners to Pugu and Chanika wards within the same city. The resettlement process resulted into the hosting communities in Pugu and Chanika Wards to lose their farms which were converted to residential land uses and subsequently also losing their sources of livelihoods.. The methods used in data collection were in-depth interviews with farm owners who were the hosts of the displaced people; and official interviews with local leaders as well as project officials, politicians and local authorities within the Ilala municipality. Also the procedures used and regulations which guided the process of resettlement were reviewed. This was acquired through “process documentation†of stages each category of displacees went through. The findings show that the receiving community did not gain from the resettlement process as they were least compensated and some of them lost their sources of livelihoods. Findings also indicate that farm owners were further displaced by the displacees from the airport expansion project site. The paper finally concludes that among reasons for displacement by the displacees were poor planning consideration, less involvement of the affected people, negligence to follow compensation procedures and amount provided and lack of resettlement policy framework to guide the process. This paper also provides lessons to be learned in other resettlement projects in order not to repeat the mistakes from the previous projects.  It then recommends for proper planning and designing of resettlement areas, participation of the affected community, and application of government regulation in the process and formulation of resettlement policy framework.

 

Key words: Urban development projects, peri-urban, compensation, Kipawa