Many residents of Dar es Salaam and its environs have expressed shock and dismay over the government’s demolition of illegally constructed structures. Municipal bulldozers left houses flattened and terrified people ran for their lives as buildings collapsed around them.
The government authorities in Kinondoni Municipality began demolishing all illegally constructed structures in Mwenge, Kinondoni Biafra and Sinza suburbs as part of its efforts of maintaining city’s master plan.
In Mwenge suburb municipal bulldozers started flattened homes and other structures at around 4am when people were asleep. Terrified people were running for their lives as buildings collapse around them.
The situation caused a lot of inconveniences to city dwellers to the extent that most of people who were affected with the exercise failed to retrieve their properties.
“This is a big loss to me. I don’t know what I am going to do as all properties have been destroyed by the bulldozer as authorities never informed us in advance,” said Mwinyimkuu Mustapha, a resident of Mwenge suburb whose house had been completely demolished.“When the exercise started most of the residents here were asleep and I was awakened by the bulldozers and what I did is to rescue my family and when I tried to save some of my belongings it was too late,” said Mustapha, who had lived in the area for more than 30 years.
He failed to divulge the value of his belongings which had been destroyed during the exercise.
“…I am so surprised to hear that I have built in an open space,” the resident complained.
In Mwenge area, a number of residential and commercial buildings were demolished in the three-day demolition exercise. Other affected areas include garages which were located in road reserves and open spaces.
Elizabeth Mwakasendile was one of the women who had been hard hit during the operation, she said: “My home has gone. I had a house and two rented rooms were also demolished without any notice.”
“On Monday this week I received a house rent from my tenants and today the house is demolished. I remain poor because I do not have the other sources of income,” she explained, while shedding tears. Kelvin Francis, a businessman in the area who had rented a room for business in Mwenge had similar nasty experience as when he arrived at his shop, he found nothing as the shop and his merchandizes had been destroyed.
“I was unable to save anything from my shop because I arrived at the office at 8:00am while the demolition exercise started at 4am,” Francis explained.
“I used to pay 250,000 as rent per month, therefore I paid 3m/- per year, also I had a new stock, which I brought purposely for the coming holiday season, but now, I have nothing left because everything had been destroyed.”
Clemence Mshamba a resident at Mwenge whose house was also destroyed said he had a court order to stop the demolition until the court judgment of which he was expected to report at the court for the same case on December 2, this year. “But I am so surprised to learn that the court order was ignored by the municipal and his house was demolished.”
Local leader in Mwenge area, Bashiru Hoza told ‘The Guardian’ that the demolished houses were illegally built.
“All these houses were built on open spaces after people had invaded the spaces years ago,” he stressed, adding: “Residents here were given notices to demolish their structures along time ago, but they defied the orders.”
Bashiru explained that the buildings were supposed to be demolished two years ago but the authority failed to do so.
“They decide to come today, maybe because of the new government.”
Some of the residents complained over the exercise and heaped their blames on the ruling CCM, saying the government did so after being elected to power.
The demolition exercise was concluded in Kinondoni -Biafra area of Mwananyamala ward where one house which was built in an open space was demolished.
In some areas, some of the landlords were given 20 minutes to remove their properties from the houses, though most of them failed to do so.
The Kinondoni Municipal Engineer, Baraka Mkuya said the exercise will continue today in Mbezi Beach and Tegeta surburs of Dar es Salaam.
The Engineer added that the victims would pay back the costs which had been incurred by the government to demolish their structures because they were the ones who had violated the law order.
The Commissioner for Lands in the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements, Moses Kusiluka on Tuesday said that the structures which were to be bulldozed include those which were built in open spaces.
According to Kusiluka, the demolition exercise will be conducted by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements in collaboration with Kinondoni Municipality officials.
“In this exercise we’re targeting all houses which were built without having building permits, open spaces and those which were built without following city master plan,” the official said, adding that the exercise will take place in three days from today.
He disclosed that the structures had been built without ministry’s permits, especially on places reserved for the public use such as on open spaces, and places with either water or power infrastructures.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
No comments :
Post a Comment