Tanzania's NSSF puts stalled Dege Eco Village back on the drawing board
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Tanzania's National Social Security Fund is reassessing how to unlock value from the 302-acre Dege Eco Village in Kigamboni after a $215 million sale to a Namibian investor collapsed, with the Attorney General expected to conclude a review of its options by the end of October 2026.
Dar es Salaam - The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has put the long-stalled Dege Eco Village project back on the drawing board as it reassesses how to unlock value from the investment, after an earlier attempt to sell it to a private investor failed, the fund's Director General Masha Mshomba said.
The project, which occupies about 302 acres in Kigamboni and was designed to include thousands of housing units and supporting commercial facilities, was suspended in 2016 following an audit by the then Social Security Regulatory Authority in collaboration with the Bank of Tanzania, which identified shortcomings in its implementation.
In 2022 the government approved the sale of the project in its existing condition after an assessment found that continuing with construction would result in further losses. During the 2024/25 financial year the fund expected to sell the project to an investor from Namibia, but the contract was terminated in December 2025 after the buyer failed to fulfil the requirements of the agreement.
According to Mshomba, the Namibian investor was willing to pay $215 million but failed to satisfy the conditions, including payment of 50 percent of the agreed value. The Office of the Attorney General is now reviewing the fund's recommendations on the next steps and is expected to complete its work by the end of October 2026, after which NSSF will proceed in line with its advice. Mshomba said the available options include re-advertising the project to potential investors or developing it in-house.
The fund has previously said about Sh330 billion was invested in the Dege project. Its stalled status has also attracted scrutiny from the Controller and Auditor General, which identified it among NSSF's unfruitful investments and raised concerns over the management of the property investment. An earlier performance audit found the project's administration block had been completed but had subsequently suffered vandalism, including damage to electrical, ceiling, air-conditioning and plumbing fittings.
The reassessment comes as the fund implements its Eighth Strategic Plan covering July 2026 to June 2031, under which it expects the value of its investments to rise 112 percent from Sh9.61 trillion in 2025/26 to Sh20.35 trillion by 2030/31, and membership to grow from 2.14 million to 6.61 million over the same period.