Creating markets

When parking your car in Downtown Dar es Salaam, or even stopping at traffic lights, you always have to be attentive to thieves in order not to continue your journey deficient wheel hubs, lights or mirrors on your vehicle. No matter what precautions one takes, it still happens to all of us at some time or other in Dar es Salaam. You then basically have two options – you can either go to the official Toyota dealership, or whatever make your car is, to be told a ridiculously high price for the spare part you look for, and that it will take a couple of monthsto arrive...if everything works out! Or, with a lowered voice, the person at your registered dealership will tell you to go to a certain little shop in Kariakoo*, and there you will find the spare part you are looking for for sure...and a lot cheaper. So, when my friend went to the shop in Kariakoo, in the bustling centre of the African quarter of Dar es Salaam, she was asked when her wheel hub had been stolen. The day before, she responded. After a little reflection, the vendor kindly instructed her to return later that afternoon by which time he would be sure to have exactly that spare part she was looking for! There is no doubt that the shop vendors and the thieves work closely together, operating a steal to order service. It is a vicious circle: a part is stolen from one car to replace the stolen part of another, at the centre of which is the car owner. However, what they do manage but what many development projects struggle with, is creating new markets!

* The name “Kariakoo” derived from the place where the English had stationed their “Carrier Corps”!