Of the Zanzibar mass murder, ceremonial kings and floating coffins

“The customer is king,” and “ The customer is always right,” are some of the statements I came across in various shops and business premises, not only in this country but also in other countries in the region I have managed to set my foot in. This is a concept many successful business people adopted and has worked to their advantages.

Soldiers and good Samaritans help carry bodies of people who perished when the ill-fated MV Spice Islander capsized before sinking in Zanzibar, recently.

Customers in the business world are kings in the sense that, without them, many businesses cease to exist, they simply die natural deaths. So many businesses have closed shop for failure to observe such a simple principle. It is an unwritten law in business to such an extent that under normal circumstances, if it is not applied then businesses are doomed. Yes, it is true that customers have to be treated with respect for them to continue coming to buy commodities or seek services. If they are ill-treated, they usually shun those premises and go where they are respected.

But, I have discovered that in the transport sector especially road, rail and water transport, customers, who are known as passengers, are kings yes but remain powerless. In simpler terms they are ceremonial kings. I have observed with great concern how passengers are treated every time I travel. Even our own daladala crews treat passengers as if they were some kind of garbage. Besides hurling insults at them, they are harassed and what ever they say in most cases does not count.

The major contributing factor that has seen passengers losing their power is the shortage of transport. A quick check of our transport system in this country shows that every sector, maybe save for air, faces a critical shortage. People scramble for buses almost on a daily bases whether they are going to work or have decided to visit their relatives in rural areas.

In Zanzibar, water transport is a problem and traveling from one island to another is a headache. Besides boats and ships being few, they are in a dilapidated state that leaves a lot to be desired. Wananchi have no choice but to get into those death traps passed for boats. They are forced to pray through out the journey aboard these floating coffins that in most cases will be overloaded. So, the above situation makes it difficult for those traveling from one point to another to choose be they buses or boats they believe have not only good customer care but are also in a good and stable condition.

This makes bus and ship crews to grow thick heads simply because they know that their mode of transport is indispensable and ill-treatment of customers is just one of their daily bread. Who can fault them when the ill-treated don’t have adequate choices.

This has seen a lot of people perishing in this country in accidents that could be avoided. The current boat accident in Zanzibar could have been avoided had everyone employed to play his or her part had done it diligently. What pains most is that passengers or these powerless kings tried to raise alarm that all was not well before the ship left the port and a 20 minutes commotion is said to have occurred but it seems their complaints fell on deaf ears.
What pains again is the fact that the impending disaster was visible even through the eye of an ordinary person. The ship is said to have tilted to one side before leaving the port, prompting some passengers to disembark and save their lives. And in what could be considered the greatest murder of all time, some workers of the shipping company sentenced the passengers to death when they closed the door in the face of those who had opted to disembark. This is witchcraft at its best as many people were forced to travel against their will.

According to testimonies from survivors, the ill fated ship had signs of an accident written all over it as it wasn’t even stable when they left the port. The crew and all those responsible should be arrested and charged with first degree murder as they deliberately ignored the pleas of the people. What ever happened to the customer is king principle in the transport sector, I wonder.


FLOATING COFFIN. . . The dilapidated MV Spice Islander pictured a few days before it sunk in Zanzibar.

To show how selfish the ship’s crew members were, they took the few life jackets available and put them on before starting to scoop water out of the stationary ship. This shows that they were not even concerned about their passengers’ lives and they made sure that they saved their lives first by putting on the jackets long before the ship started sinking.

We are sick and tired of mass murders being committed on our roads and water by reckless drivers and crews who deliberately ignore the warning from the people only to disappear after an accident occurs. The transport sector workers should be more concerned about the safety of their passengers than making profit. What I have discovered is that they are not worried about the people, what they want is money and this leads to overloading, a number one cause of accidents.

The government should stop treating accidents lightly as wananchi are continuing to perish. In fact they are being murdered on our roads and that should stop. It has become a norm that every time an accident occurs, survivors sing the same song, the bus was overloaded and the driver was not only speeding but had also been warned against the speed and ignored the advice.

It is high time we take a no nonsense approach to these deliberate killings we call accidents. Those found guilty should be charged of first degree murder and face the music. We can’t continue repeating the same mistake day in and day out. The problem with us Tanzanians is that we are quick to forget. The tears we shed for those who perished in the MV Bukoba accident are still to dry but we are already wailing again.

The owners of these modes of transport are to blame as they set unrealistic targets. Their crews usually overload because they want to maximize profits and meet the targets. I think it will be better to implicate the proprietors of these killing machines every time an accident occurs. They are silent forces behind these accidents and should be brought to book. As long as that puzzle is not solved then accidents will continue claiming the lives of our loved ones, if not ours.

The fact that the crews know that the owners of buses, ships or trains, instructed them to meet targets, they know that even if they overload, the owners will not make a fuss out of it. They also know that even if the customers complain to the proprietor, no action will be taken against them.

The only solution to these problems is to restore “the customer is king” principle, then everything will be fine. Laws should be put in place that allows passengers to have a say over their lives. They should be empowered to an extent of stopping, relieving or rejecting reckless drivers and crews. We are tired of these murders. God bless us before we all perish.

bongoblast@thisday.co.tz/ symeniah.blogspot.com/0657651300