How roads bridges the economy of Tanzania

ROAD construction is one way to bridge the communication between the people, rural and urban areas. In order to achieve better results there is a great need to enhance transport infrastructure and the Ministry of Infrastructure Development in collaboration with the Tanzania Roads Agency (TANROADS) has played a crucial role in this sector in the country. The sector has become so essential for social and economic development for it provides links between centers of production and markets. Roads facilitate the movement of people and goods along import and export corridors. Tanzania is proud because road transport has remained the dominant mode of transport that carries over 80 percent of passenger traffic and over 75 percent of internal freight. The road sub-sector therefore has a unique role to play in the country’s development. Road network in Tanzania is the most valuable asset with an estimated value of approximately US$ 3 billion. The government recognizes the role transport and in particular road transport plays in its poverty reduction strategy. Over the last few years, the government has therefore embarked on reforms in the sub-sector to ensure the proper management of this important asset. Notable among the reforms has been the setting up of Road Fund to ensure guarantee funding for road maintenance and the formation of TANROADS on the other hand, has to ensure the proper management of the national roads network. The firm has been managing the development of road networks and sustainable maintenance for the last nine years it has been in operation in the country. The work has supported the increased pace of socio-economic development of the country.

A woman is riding along Shelui-Nzega road

Following its establishment in July 2000, TANROADS took over the day-to-day management of the Mainland’s Trunk and Regional Roads network from the then Roads Department of the Ministry of Works to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Development. The aim of TANROADS is therefore to provide cost effective and sustainable maintenance and the development of primary road network comprised of all trunk and regional roads network which is of 28,892 km to support the socio-economic development of Tanzania. The remaining 56,108 km of roads in rural and urban areas is the responsibility of the President’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG) and other roads authorities. Currently the agency has under its management 9,934 of trunk roads and 18,957 Km of regional roads. TANROADS’s mission is to develop, maintain and manage the trunk and regional roads in an efficient manner for a sustainable and safe network, consistent with the government policies.
It has a unique vision to be a leading road agency in Africa dedicated to providing a well-developed all weather road network to support the economic and social development of Tanzania. The objective of TANROADS is to support the social-economic growth of the country and to help reduce poverty through the promotion of trade, support for the economic sectors such as agriculture, mining, tourism, industry and provide access to social services such as health, education and recreation. Since its inception, TANROADS has made remarkable progresses and among its achievements is the improved management of the road networks in the country. The overall result is that the condition of the national network has improved from 49 percent in poor condition in 2000 to 16 percent in poor condition by June 2006. This has exceeded TANROADS expectations in 2003 that had foreseen a 20 percent improvement in the proportion of the network in good and fair condition by end of the year 2009.

Construction of roads paves way for poverty reduction.

Other achievements include an improved efficiency and transparency in the award of contracts. Procurement for major works contracts have been reduced to approximately six months from tendering and for major works, this has been reduced to between three and four months. Project management has continued to improve and most roads are completed within time and budget. Over the years, TANROADS’s absorptive capacity has improved considerably. The total expenditure has increased from Tshs25 billion in 2000-01 to over Tshs264 billion in 2005/06 and is expected to rise considerably up to Tshs. 560 billion by 2010. To keep the network in the present condition would depend on the continued receipt of funds commensurate with TANROADS planned activities from the Roads Fund, the government and external development partners. The Agency also manages the operations of the weighbridges and provides appropriate technical advice to other roads authorities as and when required. Other functions includes improving road safety and managing the environmental impact of road works, establishing and maintaining an appropriate databank for the national road network as well as establishing and operating weighbridges and enforcing axle load control on the national road network.
Axle Load Control has also improved tremendously. According to TANROADS’ statistics, the percentage of the number of vehicles overloaded has been reduced from 40 percent to around 5 percent to all types of vehicles. Other agency’s responsibilities include engaging contractors to carry out their works as well as supervising the works by themselves. TANROADS monitors the activities and works carried out by the contractors and consultants to ensure works are done in accordance with specifications. There are so many challenges the agency faces in executing its duties. Among the most common ones are the size of Tanzania and the settlement patterns, the inadequate funds for maintenance, rehabilitation and upgrading, a huge backlog of rehabilitation to meet the strategic needs, long procurement process especially for small maintenance works, vandalism of road furniture as well as high levels of road accidents. Low capacity of the local contracting and consulting industry constrains TANROADS operations, including the current level of funding that accounts for only about 50 percent of the actual requirement. Axle load control on the other hand is not fully understood by the public while road reserve clearance continues to attract a number of legal suits, and there is inadequate internal capacity for procurement and contract management.