Dar can be a tourist destination only if...

BY EDITOR

8th January 2014

Editorial Cartoon

The other day we read of plans by the Dar es Salaam City Council to turn itself into a tourist destination, instead of just being a transit point into the more established attractions.

It is a worthwhile idea and indeed those who will be assigned the task of identifying the sites that would create a viable tourist circuit must do justice to the job.

Hopefully they will consult widely, relying on the knowledge of those who knew the city and its surroundings, well before a lot of its rich historical structures and sites were torn down by property developers least interested in the preservation of history.

Turning Dar into a tourist destination begs its people and authorities to do more to spruce up its face.
Agreed, Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit (DART) project is likely to add an attraction to the landscape.

But a lot that is wrong in the city will have to be addressed before Dar can actually become a really rewarding tourist destination.
Sometime back the city authorities embarked on a plan to realign traffic flow in the city centre, putting up new road signs meant to guide people on how to drive around.

Sadly some of the signs, their wrappers peeling off, are still to be seen at street junctions, ignored by motorists who feel more confused than guided by them.
As a result of this project, which never took off, driving around the central business district has become even more chaotic than it was before. This is especially so during the midday hustle and bustle, made worse by the acute shortage of parking space.

More disturbing are the potholes that dot many of the ‘historical streets’ apparently in some rather conspicuous areas, without the city authorities lifting a finger. One such pothole sits ‘majestically’ on the street approaching the Askari monument from the New Africa Hotel. An old tyre sits on top of it, as if trying to hide its shame. Or maybe prevent an accident?

It is such challenges and the fact that old historic structures do not necessarily have to be dirty and dilapidated, that leads us to warn that Dar authorities have a huge task ahead of them turning the city into a tourist destination.

The big question is whether they are up to it. We say so advisedly.
The truth is that we are saddled with an unkempt city, spotting just a few spots of beauty. Not much to speak of.

Dar es Salaam some years back had shown signs of becoming a well-organised city, with working streetlights, clean pavements and a working drainage. This was possible thanks to a campaign mounted by the then city authorities.
Unfortunately, the momentum has petered out, though Dar residents continue to be called on to pay up.

While pointing out the neglected state of the city infrastructure, we are also mindful of some of the on-going measures to improve the city's look.

But our view is that for Dar to become a sustainable tourist destination it must make preventive maintenance a routine undertaking, closely supervised, if what is termed historic is to be preserved. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN