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More business stalls pulled down in Dar
2007-05-03 09:21:37
By Gadiosa Lamtey
Members of the Field Force Unit yesterday oversaw the pulling down of small traders` business kiosks around the Kariakoo complex of the Dar es Salaam Development Corporation (DDC) in a regional drive to keep the city clean.
Over 45 kiosks were destroyed in an operation mounted by the crack police members from around noon, as the hapless traders looked on helplessly.
The operation, in implementation of an exercise the authorities say is meant to keep the city sparkling clean, involved the deployment of two bulldozers.
Armed FFU members tightened security in the area to ensure that the operation went to plan, as pick-pockets also moved in and fled with valuables from the demolished stalls.
Contrary to expectations of many, the demolishing forces faced little resistance, with most petty traders peacefully hauling their wares into hand-carts and heading for destinations that were not immediately established.
In the course of operation, one of the bulldozers hit an electricity pole, disrupting power supply in surrounding areas but Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) soon arrived at the scene and rectified the situation.
No member of the DDC management was available for comment on the matter. However, one of the corporation`s officers who declined to give her name on the grounds that she was not speaking in official capacity said the exercise sought to pave the way for the construction of modern business structures.
``Most of these kiosks are operating from old-fashioned structures, some of them condemned, and do not match with current demands and tastes. We have already got a contractor for the construction of high-rise buildings, and hence these demolitions,`` she noted.
She explained that the demolition exercise was earlier lined up for ``several months ago`` but was delayed after the traders resisted an order by Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Abbas Kandoro to vacate voluntarily so that things could get going.
Efforts by The Guardian to get the RC to comment on the exercise failed yesterday but he has repeatedly declared that there would be no compromise on efforts to make the city better planned and more efficiently managed, part of the thrust being on environmental cleanliness.
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