Kinondoni District, Dar es Salaam: Difference between revisions

District of Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania

District of Dar es Salaam in Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania

Kinondoni District, officially the Kinondoni Municipal Council (Halimashauri ya Manispaa ya Kinondoni, in Swahili) is one of five districts of the Dar es Salaam Region of Tanzania. The district is bordered to the north by Bagamoyo District and Kibaha of Pwani Region, to the east by the Indian Ocean, the west by Ubungo District, and to the south by the Ilala District. The district covers an area of 321 km² (124 sq mi).^[1] The district is comparable in size to the land area of Malta.^[2] The administrative seat is Ndugumbi. The district is home to one of the best preserved Medieval Swahili settlements, Kunduchi Ruins, headquarters for the National Muslim Council of Tanzania (BAKWATA) and Makumbusho Village Museum. Considered the cultural center of Dar es Salaam, Kinondoni District is also regarded the birthplace of the musical genre of Singeli. The 2012 National Tanzania Census states the population for Kinondoni as 1,775,049.^[3]

Administration[edit]

Twenty (20) wards and 106 sub-wards make up the Kinondoni Municipal Council. Kawe and Kinondoni are the two electoral districts that make up the Municipal. The Full Council, which oversees municipal affairs, is made up of 34 members, including 20 councilors who are chosen from each ward, two Members of Parliament (MPs), six women who hold special seats, and six presidential appointees. The Kinondoni Municipal Council has grown to employ 4,161 people in total.^[4][5]

Wards[edit]

Below is a list of the wards in Kinondoni District:

Geography[edit]

Climate[edit]

Climate-wise, Kinondoni Municipality has a tropical equatorial climate. The district is typically warm and humid with an annual average temperature of 29°C. The drier months of October through March are the warmest, whereas May through August are comparatively moderate with temperatures about 25°C. There are two distinct rainy seasons: a brief period from October to December and a longer one from March to May. 1,300 mm of rain falls annually on average. In the mornings, there is about 96% humidity, while in the afternoons, 67%. The southwest monsoon winds, which blow from April to October, and the northeast monsoon winds, which blow from November to March, both have an impact on the overall climate.^[6]

Topography[edit]

dunes and tidal wetlands make up the shorelines closest to the Indian Ocean. Hills in Kinondoni have unconsolidated clay bond sands, well-drained slopes, and weathered slopes. There are also sporadic outcrops of elevated coral limestone, especially around the Wazo and Kunduchi areas. At Kawe, a limestone coastal plain rises in the north before descending to a distance of eight kilometers at the Mpiji River. Clay soils, zero gradient, and numerous small lakes and ponds are present across this landform, which hinders natural drainage. River valleys cut the coastal plain into a succession of steep-sided U-shaped valleys that end in cracks and mangrove swamps before reaching the Indian Ocean. Silt Clay soils that are laden with clay materials typically have poor drainage and are found in valleys. Rivers in Kinondoni District include the Mbezi, Tegeta, Nyakasangwe and Mpiji Rivers. Islands in Kigamboni Include Mbudya Island, Pangavini Island, Fungu Yasini Island and Bongoyo Island which are part of the Dar es Salaam Marine Reserve. ^[7]

Both natural and man-made forests exist in Kinondoni. Old-growth forests consists of lowland vegetation with sporadic dominant trees, bushes, tall grasses, and mangrove forests, particularly near the shore and river estuaries, whereas man-made forests are composed of trees that have been planted by the National forest department and are overseen by Kinondoni ward governments. The Pande Forest in Mabwepade ward, which has 3,030 acres of land and was first designated as a forest reserve in the 1960s, is located about 15 kilometers off the Bagamoyo Road. In the 1990s, the area was renamed the Pande Game Reserve to accommodate several species of wild animals, including key species like Blue-naped mousebird and the endemic Rondo dwarf galago.^[8]

Economy[edit]

Infrastructure[edit]

Roads[edit]

The Kinondoni Municipal Council is responsible for maintaining 1,510.22 km of roads, of which 143.26 km are asphalt, 378.49 km are gravel, and 988.47 km are earth roads. There is currently 110,000 meters worth of storm water drains in the network as it stands.^[9]

Water[edit]

Residents of Kinondoni receive their water primarily from the Lower and Upper Ruvu, which are overseen by the Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority (DAWASA).81% of the water used daily comes from DAWASA systems, with the other 45% coming from deep wells that are both privately and collectively owned. The water scheme owned by the municipality and run by the water committee and community-owned water supply organizations (COWSOs) in Kinondoni Municipal Council has 123 boreholes,…