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Championing cleanliness is everyone`s obligation
2007-12-16 15:32:27
By Staff writer Peter Msungu
If there is a single town in Tanzania where leaders, be they political, religious or civil, talk so much about the uninviting state of the environment, it is none other than Dar es Salaam.
National leaders do, from time to time, tour problem prone areas of Manzese, Tandika, Kariakoo and Buguruni, just to mention a few.
Their aims and intentions have always been to sensitise residents in those areas to observe cleanliness.
It has been proved beyond doubt that constant and surprise visits to these areas keep reminding people of their responsibilities to keep the environment clean and friendly.
``We are surrounded by heaps and heaps of garbage which have not been collected for the last two weeks. The smell in the entire area is chocking and making us uncomfortable.
This happens because not a single national leader has visited our place for five months,`` complains Juma Duwe of Tandika kwa Maguruwe.
He adds that it has become a habit that once district or municipal councils are told of an impending visit to the area of a national leader, arrangements will be made promptly to put things in order so that the visitor is impressed by what he/she sees.
``Just a month ago, a section of a road near Manzese Kwa Mfuga Mbwa was blocked by a heap of garbage dumped there by residents who find it convenient to dump it on the road-side rather than leave it near their homesteads,`` explains Julius Kongoni, who wonders why collection of garbage has to wait until there is an impending visit of a VIP to the area.
The campaign to keep Dar es Salaam and other urban centres clean has always been championed by national leaders and not the residents in the areas concerned.
Why can`t this change?
The ``keep the environment clean`` clarion calls should emerge from residents in the areas concerned and not wait for a reminder from President Jakaya Kikwete, the Vice President or the Prime Minister.
It is time people became conscious of their obligations, one of which is to keep their localities clean. Who is not aware that charity begins at home?
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