Let there be light: Road lighting is AFCON 2027’s silent MVP

DAR ES SALAAM: WHEN Minister for Works, Abdallah Ulega, told members of Parliament the government’s allocation of 40bn/- for road lighting in Dar es Salaam and Arusha, some may have seen it as just another infrastructure project. But look closer and you will see something bigger.

This is the government telling Africa that we are not just hosting AFCON 2027, we are honouring it! AFCON is not played only for ninety minutes inside Benjamin Mkapa or the new Arusha Stadium.

It is played on the roads, at ten in the night after a late match, when sixty thousand fans, visiting journalists and families from twenty-four nations spill into the streets. Dark streets create fear. Well-lit roads create confidence.

That 40bn/- is buying more than bulbs and poles. It is buying peace of mind for a mother walking home from a late evening match in Magomeni.

It is buying dignity for a fan from Senegal who lands at JNIA and takes a bus to Arusha at midnight.

It is buying the assurance that Tanzania understands modern tournaments are won on logistics, not just on the pitch.

CAF inspectors do not only check the VAR high rooms. They check how safe a city feels after dark.

Minister Ulega’s move shows Tanzania has read the rulebook carefully. Light is also an image and image is legacy.

AFCON 2027 will be watched by more than 3 billion people across 185 broadcasters. Cameras do not stop at the stadium gates.

Road footage of Dar’s coastline at night, of Arusha’s roads leading to Kilimanjaro, will become part of Tanzania’s global advertisement.

Dark, potholed streets make headlines for the wrong reasons. Bright, orderly roads tell a story of a nation that plans, that cares, that belongs on the world stage. These estimates of 40bn/- are tourism marketing in its most honest form. You cannot fake good lighting.

Tourists remember how safe they felt walking back to their hotel. Let us be honest. Many host nations treat hosting rights like a trophy to display, then scramble at the last minute.

Tanzania is choosing a different path. The 525.32bn/- Ministry of Information, Sports, Arts and Culture budget for 2026/27 already showed 87 per cent going to development.

Now comes 40bn/- specifically for light. This is the government saying we heard the criticism, we saw the gaps and this time we will make it memorable.

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It is a salutary move because it targets the invisible details fans only notice when they go wrong. Street lighting will never trend on social media, but its absence will.

By investing now, the government is removing a problem before it becomes a scandal. The best part is that these lights will not switch off after the final whistle in July 2027.

Dar and Arusha residents will use them for decades. Children will study under them. Boda drivers will navigate more safely. Businesses will stay open longer.

AFCON is the deadline, but Tanzanians are the beneficiaries. Minister Ulega and the government deserve a genuine salute. In the noise of stadium construction and team preparations, they remembered the quiet, essential things.

They understood that to make AFCON 2027 historic and memorable, you must light the way there. A tournament is remembered by the goals scored.

A host nation is remembered by how it treated its guests after the goals. With 40bn/- in road lighting, Tanzania is writing that second story right. Let there be light and let the world see it!