Tanga’s Youth-Led Revolution: A Blueprint for Urban Transformation
In just four short years, the TangaYetu Initiative, a powerful collaboration between the Botnar Foundation and Tanga City Council, has ignited a profound transformation in Tanga. By channelling the boundless energy of its youth, the initiative is redefining the city’s future, proving that young people can be the master architects of their tomorrow. This isn’t just development; it’s a youth-led urban renaissance.
Anthony Muchoki sat down with Dr. Hassan Mshinda, the Botnar Foundation’s representative in Tanzania and a vanguard of this movement, to uncover TangaYetu’s landmark victories, innovations, and the audacious scope of its ongoing mission.
Introducing the TangaYetu Initiative: A Youth-Centric Mission
Dr. Mshinda introduced the TangaYetu Initiative as a collaborative urban development effort by the Tanga City Council and the Botnar Foundation. Its primary goal is to transform Tanga into a youth-friendly city where young people can live well, thrive, and actively influence their environment. Critically, youth are integrated into every stage, from planning to implementation, ensuring efforts directly address their economic and social well-being.
A Strategic Choice: Why Tanga?
Dr. Mshinda revealed that Tanga was deliberately chosen as a “secondary city” to address problems seen in primary cities like Dar es Salaam, which faces rapid, unsurveyed urbanization leading to impaired access to social services. The aim was to prevent the replication of such issues in other cities. Tanga presented unique advantages:
- Smaller Population Size compared to Mbeya, Mwanza, and Arusha.
- Existing Infrastructure, including very high road density and over 80% of households with access to water.
- Higher Formal Employment compared to other areas.
- Fewer Donor Organizations, which was seen as an advantage, allowing for focused impact.
- City Authority Interest: Discussions with the Mayor and Director revealed their strong interest in participating in a program focused on improving social services and addressing urbanization.
- Agricultural Potential: Tanga is highly agricultural, with potential for horticulture and the spice industry, exporting produce to Zanzibar, Comoro, and Mombasa.
Foundational Pillars: Economic Empowerment, Education, and Data
The TangaYetu Initiative began about four years ago, with its initial phase focusing on three key pillars:
- Economic Empowerment: Initiating projects in agriculture, poultry, and fisheries, sectors vital to Tanga’s economy and with high youth employment potential.
- Educational Enhancement: This involved significant upgrades to learning environments, such as providing 5,000 desks to primary schools and 3,000 tables and chairs to secondary schools, alongside introducing innovative teaching methodologies.
- Data-Driven Planning: Prioritizing generating robust data to inform decision-making, guiding urban development and policy effectively.
Crucially, the initiative directly involved youth from the planning to implementation stages.
Addressing Youth Unemployment: Diverse Pathways to Economic Independence
A critical focus for TangaYetu is addressing the challenge of youth unemployment, particularly for the approximately 30,000 young people in Tanga identified as not in school or employment. The initiative is creating diverse pathways for these young people. Beyond traditional sectors, they’re offering opportunities in arts and culture, advanced agriculture, and crucially, digital skills tailored for the 21st-century economy. The aim is to equip them with relevant skills for economic independence.
Some key achievements from this phase include:
- Economic Well-being Projects: Initiating projects mainly in agriculture, poultry keeping, and fisheries, seen as pathways for youth to benefit economically. Notably, some young people trained in poultry have started their own companies. An experimental saving scheme was also started.
Educational Innovation: “Teaching at the Right Stage”
A key educational achievement was the introduction of a new method focused on “teaching at the right developmental stage.” This approach has proven remarkably effective, improving learning outcomes by an impressive 80% in targeted schools and significantly enhancing overall educational attainment. This complements the Education Sector Support that provided 5,000 desks for primary schools and 3,000 tables and chairs for secondary schools, significantly improving the education environment.
Standout Technological Innovations and Real-World Opportunities
Technology is a key enabler for TangaYetu.
- Drone Mapping: Tanga became the first city in mainland Tanzania to be mapped using drones, providing high-resolution data for urban planning, flood risk assessment, and resource allocation.
- Youth Forums: They’ve also established Youth Forums at the ward level for direct engagement and to identify and address youth problems and understand their aspirations.
- Fabrication Technology: The program has seen youth acquire skills in fabrication, including running CNC machines. Thirteen trained individuals have secured job placements in Tanga’s industries. Tanga is home to the first Fab Lab in Tanzania, where youth are trained in these advanced manufacturing techniques.
- Digital Literacy Programs: Through collaboration with “Digital Swahili,” the initiative has trained a significant number of young people who are now working as freelancers, securing jobs globally and working independently. Some youth have acquired certifications as Amazon engineers, with one now working in Dubai and another locally.
The impact of these digital skills is tangible. Youth are now engaged in global freelancing from Tanga, with some achieving certifications like Amazon Web Services and securing employment as far afield as Dubai, as well as locally. Thirteen youths trained in CNC machine operations are already employed in local industries.
Beyond digital skills, other economic empowerment projects have shown significant promise. Success has been seen in revitalizing local irrigation schemes and introducing high-value crop and fish farming techniques, including innovative practices like crab fattening and sea cucumber farming. In poultry, youth have not only started their own farms but some have even established service companies for other farmers.
Dr. Mshinda acknowledges challenges in digital skills, such as difficulty finding youth with basic computer literacy and issues with international payment systems like PayPal not functioning in Tanzania. The initiative navigated this by partnering with local organizations like Digital Swahili to facilitate job acquisition and ensure compliance with labor laws and taxes.
Beyond Survival: A Holistic and Lifelong Approach to Development
The TangaYetu Initiative emphasizes a shift from merely ensuring “child survival” (the focus of Millennium Development Goals or MDGs) to fostering “thriving” and achieving full developmental potential, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This involves a “lifelong support and holistic development” approach.
Dr. Mshinda highlights the critical importance of the first 1,000 days for brain stimulation and the subsequent 7,000 days (up to age 18) for cognitive development and shaping future behaviors, including those related to risk factors like drugs and alcohol. The concept of “lifelong support,” from birth to adolescence, is central to this.
The upcoming phase will introduce an early childhood development component, aiming to stimulate young brains and empower parents. This is expected to yield a significantly different generation within 10 years if successfully implemented. While economic empowerment currently addresses the pressing issue of youth unemployment, early childhood development is seen as the long-term solution.
Alignment with National Strategies and SDGs
TangaYetu is closely aligned with national strategies like the National Strategy for Adolescents, Health, and Development, focusing on HIV prevention, preventing early pregnancies, combating gender-based violence, and economic empowerment. Consequently, the initiative directly contributes to SDGs such as SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).
Challenges and the Path Forward: A Vision for Decentralized Industry
Despite successes, challenges remain. Key challenges include resource limitations for full-scale project implementation, barriers to digital payments for freelancers (as PayPal isn’t operational in Tanzania), navigating labor law complexities for online work, and sometimes a municipal focus on revenue collection over long-term economic development.
The initiative addresses these through collaborative partnerships for resources and expertise, exploring alternative payment solutions, policy advocacy, and capacity building for local leaders to champion youth empowerment. Dr. Mshinda advocates for councils to facilitate job creation and for directors to take pride in the number of jobs created and their contribution to local GDP, rather than just revenue. The initiative is working to strengthen the council’s capacity to use data for decision-making.
Looking ahead, TangaYetu is entering a “transformation phase” to scale up successful initiatives. This includes:
- Financial Support and Loans: Connecting successful entrepreneurs with organizations that provide loans, vifaranga (chicks), and food once they have their own poultry houses.
- Sustainability: A strong emphasis on sustainability to reduce reliance on donor funding, promoting entrepreneurship.
- Land for Agriculture: The city council has allocated 100 acres of land for youth interested in agriculture, ensuring market surveys are conducted to guide crop selection.
- Replication: The experience in Tanga is intended to serve as a model for other councils, districts, and regions to learn from and replicate. This will involve meticulously documenting best practices, encouraging stakeholder engagement in other regions, and planning capacity-building workshops.
- Decentralized Manufacturing: Dr. Mshinda foresees a future with decentralized manufacturing, where small groups can produce components for assembly, shifting away from large, automated industries that absorb fewer people. The Fab Lab in Tanga is a step towards building this capacity. Youth involved are already participating in electric vehicle programs and creating animal feed from organic waste, embodying the circular economy concept.
The ultimate goal is for TangaYetu to serve as a scalable blueprint for youth-friendly urban transformation across Tanzania and potentially beyond.
The Critical Factor: Unwavering Commitment to Youth Centrality
Dr. Mshinda emphasizes that the most critical factor for the continued success and evolution of TangaYetu is the unwavering commitment to youth centrality. When young people are empowered to lead, innovate, and participate in decisions that affect their lives, they become the most powerful drivers of sustainable development. Their energy, creativity, and direct insights are indispensable as TangaYetu continues to evolve and tackle new challenges, ensuring Tanga truly becomes a city for its youth.