Vice President Dr Gharib Mohamed Bilal, assisted by Japanese Ambassador to Tanzania, Masaki Okada unveils a plaque to symbolise the opening of the Kilwa Road widening project at Mbagala Rangi Tatu in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

At last, the government has accepted to take over the second phase of a rehabilitated portion of a 5.1 km of a dual carriage road stretch from Mtoni Mtongani to Mbagala Rangitatu along Kilwa road in Dar es Salaam, which it had earlier refused on account of shoddy works.

The road which was being rehabilitated with financial assistance of the Japanese government was yesterday inaugurated by the Vice-President Dr. Mohammed Gharib Bilal at a colourful ceremony attended by J apanese Ambassador Masaki Okada.

This is a portion of the road project earlier completed in 2009 but which the government could not allow the contracting firm, Kajima Corporation Limited, to hand it over on account of low-quality works.

The Minister for Works, Dr. John Magufuli said during the inauguration that the government had rejected a completed first-phase portion between Bendera Tatu and Mtoni Mtongani that covers a distance of 6.6km.

Magufuli described the major reasons why the government had refused to accept that portion of the road, saying that it suffered from poor workmanship. Thereafter, he added, the Tanzania government and Japan established a joint task force in June 2011 to seek a mutually agreeable solution.

He noted that, when the time to hand over the second phase rehabilitated portion came, government road experts discovered what he described as “some irregularities” as a result of which his office demanded that such irregularities be rectified to conform with the terms and standards agreed in the contract. So the government ordered the constructing firm to repeat the work.

He said that the road was then placed under supervision for one year under which experts discovered various such irregularities including pavement distress, potholes, and some formation of cracks on the road surface.

After soil sample tests in a laboratory, it was discovered that such irregularities were caused by the contractor deliberately. These signs were discovered within a year.

It’s within this period known as “supervision time” that the government cancelled the handing over ceremony unless all the needed logistics were first cleared and put in good order.

The Tanzania Roads Agency (TANROADS) Board of Directors the commissioned a contractor to repeat the rehabilitation work.

Magufuli put this as a lesson for future contracts under which to nab other contractors who tend to do shoddy construction in any of the construction work entered into agreement with the Tanzania government.

Vice-President Mohammed Gharib Bilal has meanwhile appealed to people to take care of the road and avoid vandalism of some of the iron parts used during construction. He has however, asked the police force to work in collaboration with the people in order to ensure possible safety.