Learn from Nairobi tragedy, developers told
 
2006-01-30 07:57:30
By Guardian Reporter

	Contractors Registration Board (CRB) Registrar Boniface Muhegi addresses a press conference in Dar es Salaam at the weekend. Flanking him is his assistant, Joe Malongo. (Photo:A Correspondent).

Developers in the construction industry should be wary of using sub-standard materials and unregistered persons and firms to avoid a replica of the Nairobi tragedy in which a four-storied building collapsed, killing 14 people and injuring more than 100.

The Registrar of the Contractors Registration Board (CRB), Boniface Muhegi, told reporters in Dar es Salaam at the weekend that developers who neglected the use of registered professionals in design, supervision and construction of their projects were likely to experience a similar disaster.

The four-storied building under construction in Nairobi collapsed last Monday, forcing Kenyan President, Mwai Kibaki to cut short his trip to an African Union (AU) summit in Sudan and fly back home and take charge of the rescue operation.

Conveying CRB’s ’heartfelt condolences to the construction industry fraternity and the people of Kenya during this solemn period,’ Eng. Muhegi said Tanzanians needed to reflect on what lessons they could learn from the catastrophe for the improvement and betterment of the industry.

’As you may recall, a similar accident occurred in Tanzania during 1987 when a building which was under construction on Msimbazi Street, Kariakoo area in Dar es Salaam, collapsed claiming two lives and several injuries,’ he said.

Muhegi said to avoid a recurrence of the accident on Msimbazi Street, regulatory bodies were later established in the name of Contractors Registration Board (CRB), Engineers Registration Board (ERB) and the Architects and Quantity Surveyors Registration Board (AQRB) in 1997.

He said since then there had been a significant improvement in terms of adherence to specifications and safety requirements in the construction industry, consequently, no accidents of such a magnitude has occurred in Tanzania.

However, the registrar said despite all these efforts some dangerous trends were emerging in the industry, which if not mitigated, could lead to similar catastrophes.

Muhegi further told reporters that during 2005, the Board inspected a total of 790 construction sites countrywide out of which 307 sites were found to have shortfalls.

He called on Tanzanians to report all shoddy developers and contractors to the CRB’s zonal offices in Mwanza and Mbeya or directly to the headquarters in Dar es Salaam.

• SOURCE: Guardian