Opinion
Analysis
Amnesty to water thieves, a
positive step?
Last week City Water announced a six–month conditional amnesty to persons and
organisations in Dar es Salaam who had been or are still stealing water through
illegal connections. So far the move seems to be a very positive development.
The city is facing many problems stemming from unreliable water supply.
According to City Water more that 40 per cent of the water produced at Ruvu
plants is unaccounted for, most probably through leakages and stealing.
The amnesty came into effect last week. We are yet to establish how many people
have come forward and admitted stealing water. The news of the amnesty, however,
came as a surprise to some Dar residents who showed a slight hesitation to the
move. They maintain that it is the obligation of that company to find those who
are stealing water. Some people in the streets expressed a negative feeling
about the amnesty, despite the huge relief it is likely to bring especially to
the thieves themselves.
In random interviews conducted by The Express last week, many interviewees said
the amnesty is probably a manifestation of the company’s failure to curb the
wave of illegal water connections in the city. And perhaps that is why it is
looking for alternative remedies to avert the situation.
The conditions for the amnesty, according to City Water include that the person
will not be liable to pay unrecorded water consumption, the customer must show
good faith in becoming a legitimate customer and City Water will monitor and
inspect the connection premises for two months.
According to the Water and Sewerage Authority Act of 2001, all unauthorized or
unregistered connections made to water supplies or sewage systems owned by
Dawasa and presently leased to City Water, are illegal.
A statement from City Water said the government has instructed the
implementation of the amnesty through the water and sewerage lease contract
signed between Dawasa and them.
We understand the government’s predicament and the commitment of this private
company to halt water blues. At least City Water has acknowledged that some
people were desperate for water in the past and resorted to illegal means to
obtain supply. We have every reason to urge the general public to come forward
for the offer, as it is likely to give relief to the crippling problem.
Tanzanian drivers can do it
again!
Overcoming the many hurdles and criticism, the nation will finally stage the
General Rally of Tanzania, an edition of Africa Rally Championship, this weekend
in Dar es Salaam.
From early stages of worries over sponsors, certification of cars to compete in
the international event, preparation of routes and a Service Park, the
organisers, the Rally Commission, drivers and even ordinary Tanzanians are now
relaxed and eagerly waiting for the competition.
We would like to commend the event’s main sponsor, General Tyre (EA) Limited,
who saved it from a humiliating postponement, the Iron Lady, Meenaz Ahmed of
Rally Commission who spearheaded the preparations, New Africa Hotel, Sadolin,
Raha.com, NAS Hauliers, NBC, Simba Plastic, Masumin, DTP and all other sponsors
who supported it up to the spectacular flag off.
Arif Ahmed, the figurehead of the whole event, assured Tanzanians that the rally
would do superbly in terms of safety, media coverage, quality of cars and
effective teamwork in running the event. Here, we would like to put in a word of
caution: the promises must be fulfilled to ensure there’s no blot on the
nation’s image in the African rally scene.
Tanzania did well when it staged its candidate rally - Mobitel Kilimanjaro Rally
of Tanzania in 2001. We scored better than our neighbours Kenya and we can do it
again.
Tanzania has taken a big leap in motor sports since the country staged the
Mobitel Rally three years ago. We have seen at least seven cars from Tanzania
getting homologation papers and win group N Class (many more are expected do
achieve the feat).
Saturday’s event will get Tanzanian drivers, their first-ever points in Africa’s
seeding points sheet.
As the Father of Nation, the late Mwalimu Nyerere, said: “It can be done; play
your part”. The people involved in this event have only to play their parts; it
can be done.
Let us all focus on stamping down on
corruption!
By Evarist Kagaruki
The former Prime Minister, Joseph Warioba, observed recently at a media luncheon
organised by the Media Council of Tanzania (where he was guest of honour) that
the media is one of the sectors where corruption was rampant in this country.
His remarks vindicated those, in some quarters, who held the view that our
journalists, by and large, were not aggressive in their fight against corruption
because they themselves were part of the problem.
In the spirit of self-criticism, the media fraternity admitted there was
corruption within their ranks, and regretted that the evil practice by some of
their colleagues sullied the reputation in the media houses that were striving
to maintain high standards of ethical conduct. Many think that corruption in the
media can partly be explained by the fact that journalism, as a profession in
this country, has been invaded by non-professionals who, after attending a brief
course in elementary journalism call themselves “journalists”. This is an issue
professional journalists must ponder seriously!
Justice Warioba made his candid criticism at a time when the perception among
the public at large was that the level of corruption in the country was on the
increase, contrary to the government’s view. Those in government claim that
there has been “positive development” in stamping out the vice, regarded as the
nation’s enemy number one against social justice and economic prosperity.
It may also be recalled that not long ago President Benjamin Mkapa, in a
dramatic move that seemed to dissipate the war against corruption, lashed out at
the media for “making a lot of noise” about the scourge in the government when
it (the press) was “not all that clean” itself! The President, visibly
irritated, had questioned where the (private) media houses sourced the funds to
establish their business, if they weren’t “corrupt”?
It is hard to guess whom specifically the President was targeting in his
rebuttal, because for sure not everyone in the media is corrupt, just as not all
in the government engage in corruption. Observers posit that, in principle,
President Mkapa was right because, they reason, if you live in a dirty house,
what right do you have to point an accusing finger at your neighbour who happens
to be residing in an equally squalid house! But they hastened to add that where
corruption is concerned, the President, by attacking the media was sending the
wrong signal to the corrupt in the government in particular, and in the society
in general!
Corruption is entrenched in every corner of our society. If one reads the
Warioba Commission Report on Corruption, very keenly one will certainly
understand that corruption is a cancer that has permeated every aspect of our
national life and eaten at the social fabric to the core. That is why the fight
against it must involve the entire population; and that is why, too, passing the
buck serves no other purpose than helping corruption to thrive, because
buck-passing and sheer finger-pointing tend to take the focus away from the real
problem, and dampen the fighting spirit of those genuinely determined to stem
the vice.
In a war against corruption, the government, the media and the general public
have their specific roles, and each role has its own characteristics, definition
and methodology of performing it. But the focus of everyone involved in that war
always must be on the common enemy: corruption. The government is expected to
take the lead in that war because it is the custodian of peace, stability,
social justice and economic progress in our country. This is a responsibility
that the voters have entrusted it with.
When the government appears to be retreating from the “war-front” when the war
should be intensifying, the other partners in the fight would be justified to
wonder and ask: What is happening? And, apparently, this is what happened when
the public and the press started questioning why the government was loosening
the nose on corruption?
Normally, the press (here I am deliberately excluding radio and television,
since these two are not frequently in conflict with the establishment) and the
government should not be institutional partners because they are natural
adversaries with different (and basically diametrically opposed) functions.
However, each must appreciate and respect the role of the other, which is what
actually happens in a true democracy.
The mutual exclusiveness of the roles of government and the press does not
necessarily mean that the two institutions cannot cooperate on some occasions.
On the contrary, they must cooperate on all matters of national interest (e.g.
the war against corruption), and if they don’t, then one of them is seriously at
fault and doing a disservice to the nation.