Tanzanians live vulnerably

If one minutely analyses daily life in Tanzania, one would find that urban Tanzanians are vulnerable and exposed to many shortcomings.  While it may be true that the urban standard of living in places like Dar es Salaam has improved over the past decade, progress is often defined by the number of new restaurants, fast-food places, supermarkets, entertainment resorts, cell-phones, the Internet, privatization of non-functioning parastatals and similar utilities. In these advancements, much however remains unattended to.

Take a look at railway crossings in almost all towns and cities in the country including the ones on the main highways and one cannot miss the absence of required railway crossing barriers. Every time a train passes through road intersections, drivers are compelled to make a mad dash especially when the signal man is slow in showing the red flag. Most highway railway line intersections actually remain unmanned with drivers only being warned by a loud engine whistle when a train is close by. In Dar es Salaam, a typical case in point is the central line intersection with Lugoda Road where despite the daily chaos nobody seems to care. Many Tanzanians have died at such intersections but it seems the toll is not high enough to warrant attention.

In Dar es Salaam the city’s traffic lights are a comedy of errors. Some lights will flicker from green to amber and from amber to green with the red light just not going on while others keep drivers guessing as to whether they are actually working. Some lights have a right turn signal while others do not. Most cautious drivers find themselves honked at by impatient drivers behind them who think they understand the lights better and are prepared to have the driver before them sacrifice his life or car in case their interpretation is incorrect. Hundreds of lives have been lost and hundreds of cars have been seriously damaged because traffic lights don’t work but drivers simply have to grin and bear it.

Take another example, that of power blues in the country. Most residents do not have generators and have to tolerate abrupt interruptions and erratic supply of electricity. Industries suffer production losses, equipment worth millions have been lost and yet there is no form of redress available. If one doesn’t pay one’s power bill one is immediately deprived off electricity but if the supplier causes damage, users are expected to be tolerant. Offices have burnt down, insurance companies have had to pay billions but when have we heard of the service providers being charged for losses arising through erratic supply of power?

In any case, even if one has to take a party to court to seek redress, the legal system is slow and it is not uncommon for judges to make rulings that lack fairness. Those who receive unfair rulings, especially because they cannot afford to pay the high unofficial costs involved to win a genuine case, have to suffer in silence. Many such individuals have their lives shattered as a result but does anyone sincerely care?

Take the telephone sector. Telephone operators call individuals offering them special prices for long distance calls. Who pays for such long distance calls? Obviously, other telephone users whose bills are then inflated. When those receiving unfair bills argue, their lines are disconnected and they either give up and pay or rebel by seeking new lines. Very rarely are such issues solved in business-like fashion. If they had, many telephone operators would be prosecuted. It is also common to hear people talk locally through other people’s numbers but users continue to suffer in silence.

A look at the national airline carrier, Air Tanzania raises further concerns. I flew to Mombasa over the Easter holidays and while the flight was relatively smooth, the heat in the aircraft was killing. The flight lacked an in-flight magazine, passengers were not given seat numbers and prior to take-off, passengers from the front seat were asked to move to the back seat as if we were traveling in a school bus. In another incident at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi, the Air Tanzania flight was delayed by almost 12 hours and when I decided to return back to the city, I left many passengers seeking compensation for meals and the like. The response by the airline’s staff did not appear positive and I wasn’t offered any apology or compensation for my extra night’s stay in Nairobi.

Last week, Members of Parliament commented that the office of the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) is redundant. The MPs making up the Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Economic affairs told the Minister for Finance, Basil Mramba, that the government itself was basically "ignoring" the office - which is why it does not work on its reports, many of which cite glaring financial irregularities and massive mismanagement of public funds notably in local councils. No action has been taken so far thus making the Government audits to be more theatrical rather than practical.

Until the people decide that enough is enough, Tanzanians will keep on living vulnerably.