CAG’s report faults construction of the Magufuli Bus Terminal

The Controller and Auditor General (CAG) report has said the construction of the new Mbezi-Mwisho Terminal in Dar es Salaam (Magufuli Bus Terminal), was not included in the design and architecture of the road expansion project from Kimara to Kibaha in Pwani region.

The report for the financial year ending June 2020 said the construction of the already operational bus terminal (Magufuli Bus Terminal) would lead to congestion at intersections.

“Based on interviews with TanRoads officials and what we saw, I noted that the Morogoro Road Expansion project is not on track to achieve its goal of reducing traffic congestion due to the construction of Mbezi Mwisho Bus Terminal, ” said the report.

“The construction was started while the expansion project was already underway. Therefore, the bus station was not included in the plan and architectural design of this project.

“Furthermore, the operation of the bus terminal apart from causing traffic congestion could lead to further challenges at intersections joining the Morogoro Road. The bus station is expected to service 700 buses daily. ”

The report says that while TanRoads was developing strategies to expand the road to Morogoro, the Ministry of State in the Office of the President (Tamisemi) and, through the Dar es Salaam City Council, were also planning strategies for the construction of a bus station in Mbezi.

"These two initiatives were carried out without the cooperation between these government institutions. Lack of integrated sectoral strategic plan between public institutions is the main source of this problem, ”said the CAG.