Is it Dar-Es-salaama or Dar-Si-Salaam?

-NHC and Ilala City with their ballyhoos lies and vitukos!

First of all, my heart goes out to the families of those who lost their beloved ones in downtown-Dar-man-made calamity. I won’t offer condolences to Mr. President. Why if at all he didn't stop this carnage? Had an investor, whom I’m told was recently, nabbed fleeing the hunk, died, seriously I’d have offered my condolences.

It came to light that National Hopeless Corporation (NHC) is behind a multi-storey building that collapsed and claimed many lives recently. I cried like crazy for the hunk for being privatized to bête noires disguising as investors backed by greedy and venal public officers. I suspended Kanywaji for a while. Yeah. We've such brigands who do dangerous stuff without being detected, and if detected, aren't prosecuted. They buy their way out.

It is hard to believe that a proposed 10-storey building would be inflated to 16 storeys without city authorities being a part of this stinking corruption. Is it true city fathers didn't know anything? Were they dined and wined so as not see all this mess? Circumstantially yep. This way, deaths resulting from substandard or ‘no-standard’ buildings are just beginning. For, Dar- Si -Salama and other advanced-slum-like cities and town are but ticking bombs waiting to explode and claim more many innocent lives.

According to Athuman Nassor, a sentry at the neighbouring mosque, even birds knew what’s going on. He’s quoted as saying, “I once told those labourers that what they’re doing was not well…” If a mere sentry who’s not enlightened in architecture could see the anomalies, what of an engineer? One boozer left us in stitches even though the issue at hand‘s not a laughing matter. He said, “You know guys, when kickbacks are offered, can blind even a microscope.” This makes me fear the Kigamboni proposed super bridges if those are the investors we've. Who wants to become fish’s breakfast? Time will tell.

Those who grew up in Bongo know too well how houses in this city and city itself are floating in the ocean of sewage and other dangerous stuff. Looking at the volume of buildings compared to the density of the soil, lack of responsible and able administration, planning and policies, chances are that much danger is likely to knock on the door any soon. Have we forgotten Chang’ombe calamity and Lowassa commission that’s never revealed it findings? What of Mtendeni calamity? True, our cities are suffocated. All air corridors are chocked up by good-for-nothing- business premises. Ironically, this does not cause any alarm to the authorities! How can this bother them if at it creates good environment for bribes? Again, all those anomalies make our cities suicidal to live in.

As chair of boozers, I've issued an advisory to the bibbers against congregating in killer Dar city centre. Boozers are lucky that their wives who happen to be ‘mother put for me’ aka mama ntilie don’t vend their unhealthy foods in downtown. They don’t have the mussels to compete with Indian business people.

All was said and acted. Bigwigs came to the scene to show their sympathy. Again, is this what we want as a solution? What left me baffled are NHC’s and Ilala City Authority’s explanations.

NHC said that it knew the deal however did not play any role except to dish out the plot to an ‘investor’ who could use or abuse it as he deems fit as it truly happened. Go tell it to the birds. Even birds can’t buy this broad light lies. What does having 25 shares in the project mean if the you don’t know how the project’s manned? Phew, stinking Bongolalaland or No-man’s land aka shamba la bibi!

Ilala City said that they issued a permit for a 10-storey building that they ‘supervised’ and let the investor add more six storeys! Again, if they supervised the project as they’re saying, does it mean that the killer investor removed the roof? For, if they supervised to the finishing it was impossible for a person even genie to add anything without their knowledge? Who’s fooling who? If a mere guard could see every mess why then good city officials didn't see it? Rushwa tu. Wise monkey sees nothing, hears n nothing and says nothing. Sadly though, if there is anything our city planners, engineers, managers, directors and city geezers are good at is only bad plans. Show me one even a half of a well-planned city in the hunk, I’ll quit booze. While others are embarking on progressive and futuristic city plans, ours has always been fatalistic and 'retrogressively' archaic ones.

For the first time, Mr. President called shots ordering the arrest of the villains. Good job though firefighting strategy that will die soon after the loss has been absorbed and forgotten won’t solve the problem. Again, will there be any follow-ups? Better said than done! Methinks we need to deal with the system instead of whitewashing targeting a few individuals abusing the already screwed up system. Even if good presider sheds tears of blood, fyatus will take it as crocodile tears. If you truly loved them why then allow such a system to be the order of the day? Graft everywhere and then people start crying! Crying or feeling sorry does not solve the problem. Where are those guys who sold government light crafts at the tune of Tshs. 500,000? Fight graft as you stop ballyhoos, abracadabra and naked lies. Do you think we’re all stupid and mad? Who knows? This is Bongo anything can happen.

Source: Thisday April 1, 2013.