From Lute Wa Lutengano. . .

I have, on several occasions, narrated how many a traveler have missed their flights taking off from Kilimanjaro International Airport on account of the harrowing and angst-producing traffic and delays on the road from Arusha to KIA.

Some tourist friends of mine, a few weeks ago, missed their KLM Amsterdam flight just because they had to spend two hours maneuvering their way from Kisongo on Dodoma road to Usa-River. And mark you, that was a day when there was no VIP visitor passing through our constricted Arusha roads.

Somehow, there is this crazy tendency to close down all roads leading into Arusha some hours before the VIP boards his flight from Dar es Salaam. This is when driving in and around Arusha becomes a nightmare of hellish dimensions.

I remember one day when a national VIP – no need to mention names here – was scheduled to open an international conference. He flew from Dar es Salaam and cruised to the VIP Rest House at the Corridor area in Arusha for a few minutes rest before again zipping his way to the AICC. On entering the Plenary Simba Hall, he was shocked to find that only a handful of the 300 plus delegates had arrived.

Little did he know all the delegates actually flew into Arusha, from all over the world, the previous day. The delegates failed to make their way to the conference room on time because all traffic on the roads in the Arusha central business district were blocked.

In a nutshell, driving in and around Arusha most of the day is quite lurid. The number of Arusha residents whose blood pressure has shot through the roof on these roads has reached summit levels. This is all very worrying.

But if news from the road authorities is anything to go by this disquieting situation may in a few years be a matter of history. News reaching this third-rate columnist has it that the Arusha-Moshi road has been earmarked for construction of a four-lane highway.

The TANROADS Regional Manager, one Kakoko is the messenger of this cheery news. He has announced that the project will involve total re-construction of the stretch from Usa-River area via Moshi to the Holili/Taveta border with neighboring Kenya. Then from Usa-River into Arusha there will be another, actually a new highway, connecting Kilimamoto, Kisongo, Oljoro, then through Mbauda, Unga-Limited and Njiro areas. This road will connect Arusha town with the other new road at Usa-River via Tanganyika Packers’ section of Moshono along the Old-Moshi road.

On receiving this news I was full of joy and to savor it I sauntered into the Boogaloo Pub to celebrate. But then I had not contended with the parting shots from Kakoko. Because before I could order one mortuary-cold Windhoek lager, I was told the schedule for the new project was that; effective from 2009/2010 the TANROADS expects to engage consultants to conduct its feasibility study.

Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to deal with traffic a little longer….