Old Age Blamed for Zanzibar Building Collapse

 

A slave raid in Central Africa. PHOTO | COURTESY | MARGARETTA WA GACHERU  

By Issa Yussuf
Zanzibar — POLICE and Fire Department officials in Zanzibar said that old age and the poor condition of the historic building in Stone town contributed to its collapse last Wednesday.

No casualties were reported. Both the police and the fire rescue division confirmed that although the accident occurred during day time, fortunately there was no death and nobody was injured. "However, the debris blocked one of the main narrow roads in Stone town.
It inconvenienced many people including tourists as they could not cross to the other side," said Mr Mkadam Khamis, Regional Police Commander (RPC) for Urban West Region.
According to Mr Khamis, the two-storey unoccupied building collapsed at around 7.30am. Investigations on why the building collapsed are continuing as residents blame it on lack of maintenance.
The Fire Rescue Officer, Mr Ame Ali, informed journalists that the rescue operation went on well in collaboration with police and residents in the area. Urban Region District Commissioner (DC), Mr Abdi Mahmoud (retired army officer), observed that most of the buildings in the Stone town are old, some are more than one hundred years old.
"Let us join hands with development partners to renovate buildings to minimise such incidents. We may be putting the lives of our people at risk by leaving old buildings unrepaired," said the DC.
Zanzibar has been recording increased collapsing of buildings in recent years, with the historical 'House of Wonders' collapsing in 2012 and since then it has been undergoing repairs.
The Zanzibar Stone town Conservation Authority has been complaining of lack of funds to repair most of the old buildings, necessary to keep the Island's status as one of the world's heritage sites.