As Dar-es-Salaam Reels From Fatal Building Collapse, A Warning for Africa’s Fast-Growing Cities

The rainy season, a period when building collapses are unfortunately common in Tanzania, has amplified these risks. Reports indicate that many collapsed structures often violate construction regulations, a persistent issue in urban centers like Dar-es-Salaam.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has called for an immediate audit of all buildings in Kariakoo, the bustling shopping district where the collapse occurred. She has also instructed the police to secure the ownership and construction permits for the collapsed building as part of a broader investigation into the incident.

However, according to Lyamuya Stanley, a Tanzanian engineer, the issues that allowed such a building to collapse are deeply systemic. “The alarming rate of building collapses highlights deep-rooted problems with regulation, enforcement, and professional ethics,” Stanley wrote in anop-ed for Tanzania’s Citizen newspaper. “The collapse… on Saturday is a tragic reminder of systemic failures in urban planning, building enforcement, and governance.”

She continued, “It is a stark reminder of the failures in such aspects as the role of regulations and traffic signs in construction, poor oversight, lack of accountability, exploitation of young professionals, and weak regulatory oversight.”

Witnesses to Saturday’s collapse revealed that the building had undergone construction work to expand its underground business space just a day earlier, raising concerns about negligence or unauthorized modifications.

Dar-es-Salaam is one of six African cities that will have more than 10 million people by 2035, the Economist Intelligence Unit has said in areport on African cities. The other cities are Luanda, Cairo, Kinshasa, Lagos and Greater Johannesburg.

This fast-paced urbanization, resulting in more than half of Africans living in towns and cities by 2035, is expected to create wealth, dynamism and business opportunities. But it will also create overcrowding, informal settlements, high unemployment, poor public services, stretched utility services and exposure to climate change, the report says.

With a population of over five million and counting, Dar-es-Salaam faces mounting pressures on its infrastructure. Heavy rains, exacerbated by climate change, often weaken poorly constructed buildings.

In 2024, unusually heavy rains, fueled by the 2023-24 El Niño climate phenomenon, have battered the region. According to UNICEF, the rains have displaced many people and caused extensive damage to homes, schools, and infrastructure.

In 2013,a 16-story building in Dar-es-Salaam collapsed,claiming 34 lives. That catastrophe prompted pledges to strengthen construction oversight, but the latest collapse highlights continuing gaps in enforcement. “Let’s not wait until more lives are lost to take meaningful action,” Stanley writes. “The construction sector in Tanzania needs to be restructured to prioritize safety, accountability and professionalism.”