|
Loliondo telecoms collapse after TTCL vandalism
2005-11-16 07:46:07
By Adam Ihucha, Arusha
Thieves have stolen 3m/- solar panels which supply power to the Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited (TTCL) switchboard in Loliondo, the headquarters of Ngorongoro District, thus cutting off the town from the rest of the country.
TTCL Marketing Manager in northern zone Peter Lubangula said yesterday that the solar panels and other equipment were stolen last week.
’Loliondo town relies entirely on TTCL for communication with the outside world …We are now cut off completely,’ Lubangula said.
So far, solar panels worth 33m/- have been stolen in Arusha and Loliondo in a period of three years, he said, adding that this is the fifth time TTCL loses equipment to thieves.
A sources told The Guardian that the TTCL equipment that included power cables, was in great demand in neighbouring Kenya.
Mid last year, communication went off in the district after armed gangsters stole a similar equipment at Magedulu Hills.
Ngorongoro District Commissioner Captain (rtd) Assery Msangi blamed TTCL for failure to hire a reliable security service.
’I wrote to the TTCL management two years ago, reminding them of the need to beef up security at the site, but in vain,’ complained the DC.
Capt. Msangi also complained that TTCL had not provided his district with a telecommunication technician.
’Whenever the TTCL network fails, we have to wait for a technician from Arusha, about 450 kilometres away,’ he said.
Efforts by The Guardian to reach TTCL authorities for comment yesterday proved futile.
|
