Opinion
Analysis
Yet another fire…yet another
lesson
Yet another fire engulfed a part of a huge building, yet another time the
newspapers printed huge front page photographs and yet again, coloumnists are
getting readied to launch an attack on the system. But nothing really
changes…life goes on as usual and stories are forgotten, newsprint finds the
garbage.
Despite the frequent incidents of fire, disaster management is something found
in books and obviously, in web sites. They are heard in seminars and talked
about in business lunches.
The stress, it seems should be more on adhering to basic fire norms without
which a building cannot get a sanction for construction. Along with, training
the common man about first level fire management is also vital.
Early this year, for instance the residence of President Benjamin Mkapa caught
fire, although the response from the rescue unit was timely, it was not exactly
an incident the nation would take pride in.
Disaster preparedness is still essential and people should know how to evade
such tragedies. This is a challenge to the government initiating public
education on disaster preparedness as it does with road safety.
On Monday the National Insurance Corporation (NIC) Investment House, one of the
landmarks in the city along Samora Avenue was once again gutted. Fierce inferno
could be seen roaring at the Eastern Wing where there are residential houses.
And when you consider that this was the second time a section of the NIC
building went up in flames, one realises that there is something seriously wrong
somewhere. Three years ago, a similar incident left the 12th, 13th and 14th
floors in its office wing reduced to ashes – including the Clouds FM Radio
Station Studios – but unfortunately lessons have not been learnt.
During fire incidents the response of rescue teams and fire services has often
been not satisfactory. Private companies responsible for handling tragedies
unfortunately have not been up to the task as well. They are often caught
between the dilemma of fixing a deal and manage the accident.
Ride of terror at UBT
It seems business as usual at the Ubungo Bus Terminal (UBT) at this time of the
year where people travelling upcountry are held at
ransom. Christmas and New Year, when people return home and enjoy, they are
forced through ordeals that can easily be stopped if the government puts its
foot down to curb the menace.
Apart from overloading, upcountry bus fare hiking, buses are not legitimately
weighed at Kibaha.
Despite repeated pleas from passengers going upcountry to enjoy Christmas and
New Year festivals to bring errant bus operators to book, either the authorities
have totally failed or have decided to keep silent.
An upcountry passenger complained of being charged a fare of Tsh.42,000 instead
of the official Tsh.25,000. More cunningly, upon paying the Tsh.42,000 she was
issued with a ticket which read Tsh.33,000.
As if that was not enough, the same passenger on her day of travel was told by
the bus conductor to pay Tsh.4,000 for a suitcase she was travelling with as
‘luggage’ charges. The suitcase hardly weighed 13 kilos.
Again, passengers have been complaining that bus operators are by passing the
Kibaha weigh bridge by hiring mini-buses to Kibaha which take some of the
passengers where they board the bus after it has gone through the weigh bridge.
Apart from being dangerous to passengers as the bus is definitely overloaded
hence prone to accidents, our roads are being destroyed. It seems easier for the
authorities to focus their attention in heavy duty trucks but they overlook
passenger buses.
Innocent passengers are loosing their time and hard earned money. Time has come
for the authorities to act and come to the rescue of these poor passengers from
the clutches of these operators.
back
to headline
Support democracy for Africa's sake
By Evarist Kagaruki
We mentioned last week that in his speech to the delegates of the
SADC Parliamentary Forum session held in Dar es Salaam recently, President Mkapa
warned political parties and civil societies against being used by “democracy
support foundations” which, he asserted, have been created as “conduits” for
money, advice and technical assistance and for political manipulation and
destabilisation of Africa.
There is no doubt that many of these actively engaged in the work of nurturing
our fledgling democracy in Africa via political parties receive financial and
other forms of assistance from what the president refers to as “democracy
support foundations”. These are basically Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)
based mainly in Western Europe and America and have a genuine desire to see
democracy take root and blossom in Africa.
In Tanzania, for example, these organisations have, since the advent of
multipartyism, played a very crucial role in assisting the growth and
development of the opposition parties, civil society, and a free press. Some
people call them “democracy babysitters”. Most appreciable at the grassroots
levels are those NGOs that are involved in civic education.
In some countries, in the continent, where the road to democracy is very bumpy
and slippery, their work has not been without risks. They have had to operate
under very hard conditions brought about by hostile regimes. They have been
accused of all sorts of bad things, including “dishing out money” to political
parties and civic organisations for the purpose of “causing chaos and
instability”, especially at election time. Tanzania is perhaps one of the few
African countries where NGOs thrive without let or hindrance. Hence their
mushrooming.
Many people in our continent recognise that in the early years of political
transformation from single party system to multipartysim NGOs rendered the
opposition and other local pro-democracy groups tremendous support.
Paradoxically, the same NGOs that helped some opposition parties to throw out
the old, self perpetuating single party dictatorships in certain parts of our
continent suddenly became “enemies of the state” when the former, having tasted
honey in the beehives of power and jettisoned the tenets of democratic
governance, started harassing the opposition (the former ruling parties).
A typical example of this is the former Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD)
government of Frederick Chiluba of Zambia. Sometime in 1996, in the run up to
the second multiparty elections, Chiluba found himself at loggerheads with the
NGOs which strongly opposed his unconstitutional decision to force through the
revised constitution without any further public debate, contrary to the
recommendations of the country’s Review Commission!
The NGOs, civic and human rights activists, opposition parties and churches had
wanted the constitutional changes to be adopted by a Constituent Assembly or
approved by a referendum as the Commission had recommended – something Chiluba
did not want to hear. Pro-democracy forces were flabbergasted when they saw
Chiluba the ‘democrat” turn dictator.
It should be recalled that the MMD defeated Keneth Kaunda’s ruling UNIP at the
1991 multiparty polls with the NGOs as its strongest ally and backer. That
Chiluba could eventually turn against them and accuse them of “pursuing a
foreign agenda hostile to the interest of state” was unimaginable. To many true
democrats, it was the height of betrayal!
Gronically, Chiluba came from an NGO background as an activist. He was the
Secretary General of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions. When he, as opposition
leader, deliberated the country’s constitution in 1991 with then President
Kaunda, it was he (Chiluba) who insisted on a clause that required
constitutional changes to be put before a referendum.
I am citing this case to underscore two important points: one that genuine
pro-democracy NGOs’ main objective was to see that democracy was firmly
established and functioning, and not to undermine ”liberation parties” in
Africa, and two: that as long as these organisations work in tandem with local
opposition groups to exert pressure on African government to reform the
constitution and establish democratic governance, they will remain a thorn in
the side of the ruling oligarchies and continue to face accusations based on the
fear of the unknown.