War against filthiness: Dar at crossroads

By Simbarashe Msasanuri
THE situation is unbearable as heaps of rotting garbage continue piling uncollected. The garbage is not only an eyesore but an inconvenience to residents and passers-by who are forced to brave a pungent smell coming out of the dump. Flies breeding at the dump are a menace in the area as they invade the nearby market and houses.

A stone's throw away from the garbage are food vendors strategically positioned along the street who despite the heavy presence of flies continue selling their wares unabated. A look at a chicken pieces vendor reveals a sad story of a reckless people who seem not to care about their health as they help the vendor to ward off swarms of flies from the meat they blindly buy as if nothing is wrong about it.

On the other side of the road is a group of women armed with small charcoal stoves and pans baking chapati and maandazi. The problem is not what they are selling but where they are operating from. They are located near a pool of stagnant rainwater making the area muddy and filthy as garbage swept from other parts of the street has been collecting there producing an unpleasant smell.

They are also not spared when it comes to the problem of flies trying to feast on their uncovered delicacies. This is not a fictitious story from one of the bongo movies but describes the situation near Mwembe Yanga Bus Stand in Temeke District.

This is also commonplace in the city of Dar es Salaam where the problem of garbage carpeting the streets and inconveniencing residents and passers-by has been with us for a longtime now. In fact, a permanent solution to the problem seems to be eluding the powers that be.

In recent years, many attempts have been made to curb the problem but all efforts have been in vain. The city council, having realized that petty traders contribute significantly to pollution in the city, employed city militia to arrest those found selling their wares at prohibited areas. This, however, seems to be failing since vendors and the militia play a hide and seek game resulting in traders maintaining a heavy presence on our streets.

Though no solution seems to be in sight for the problem of garbage in Dar es Salaam, the city fathers, last year, did not watch helplessly as the problem escalated. They came up with some measures meant to curb the problem which is also blamed for the prevalence of diseases such as cholera and malaria.

Sometime towards the end of last year, they jointly formed an auxiliary police force that is now operating in Dar es Salaam Region. The auxiliary police, headed by former police commanders, enforces city by-laws including fining those that are found throwing garbage onto the streets.

Everyone found on the wrong side of the law is fined 50,000/-. Speaking during a ceremony to inaugurate the force and allocate uniforms for the different municipalities in the region, Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner, William Lukuvi, warned city residents that they should comply with city by-laws or leave, adding that those who fail to comply will face the wrath of the law.

At the ceremony, Temeke Municipality auxiliary police were given grey colour, Ilala Municipality auxiliary police green while Kinondoni got maroon and the Dar es Salaam City Council police got blue.

The RC said that the exercise will nab those who litter the city by haphazardly throwing food leftovers, plastic bottles and papers on the streets.

In another move that was also aimed to curb the problem of filthiness and the spread of cholera, the then acting Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner, Evance Balama, gave an order banning selling of food items in open and unhygienic places. This was going to go a long way in reducing not only cases of cholera in Dar es Salaam but the problem of garbage on our streets, too.

It is however, unfortunate that this order never saw the light of the day as city executives were said to be reluctant to implement it.

Though these were some of the steps towards the right direction in as far as the fight against filthiness is concerned, more still need to be done in order to put an end to the problem of litter. Fining people for throwing litter onto the streets alone will not help as there are no bins for them to use. This, therefore, means that there is need for concerted efforts by both the public and private sectors to fight this social anomaly.

The introduction of the auxiliary police is a noble idea and has its own merits, but it is not enough. There is need for city fathers, in collaboration with private players to provide garbage bins onto the streets of the city. This will help in making sure that citizens have no excuse for throwing litter onto the ground.

Reports that Tanzania could learn a number of lessons from its neighbours on management of plastic waste which is recycled to export end products and keep the environment clean could not have come at a better time than this where a solution to the problem of waste management is nowhere in sight.

Tonnes of plastic waste, including flip flops, flow down rivers and clog drainage systems. And, this is evident in this country as the water drainage systems have been clogged to an extent that the streets are flooded every time rains fall.

According to reports, the waste litters the vast East African coast stretching from Somalia to South Africa, creating an eyesore and major environmental problems.

A Kenyan businessperson, Julie Church, formed a company to deal with the problem of litter. Her company makes toys and gifts from plastic to sell in eco-fashion boutiques in the US. Tanzania like wise can utilize this technology and reduce the problem of litter.

Tanzania can benefit a lot by tapping this technique and curb the problem of litter on the streets. In fact there is need for concerted efforts by city fathers , private sector and wananchi to devise methods of making Dar es Salaam a clean city.

But, as long as there are no rubbish bins on the streets, garbage remains uncollected for months and wananchi's attitude remains unchanged then Dar es Salaam will continue being an eyesore. Urgent steps, therefore, need to be taken to rescue the situation and make Dar es Salaam a clean city.