Uhuru Day - with the broom!

DAILY NEWS Reporters

The Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner, Mr Saidi Meck Sadiki.

FOR the first time in the country’s history, Tanzanians on Wednesday mark the independence anniversary by cleaning the environment in their respective areas. It is a precedent, which has received kudos across the country, as attested by interviews and events that took place in Dar es Salaam.

The ‘Uhuru Day with a Difference’ arises out of a special directive by President John Magufuli for Tanzanians to skip the usual fanfare, including military parades, mass displays by schoolchildren and traditional dances, and instead mark the 54th anniversary by embarking on a countrywide environmental clean-up campaign. For Dar es Salaam, millions of residents are expected to turn out and implement the cleaning directive.

Other thousands started cleaning their environments last evening. Speaking on the same in the city yesterday, Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner (RC) Saidi Meck Sadiki directed district commissioners, municipal directors and other officers from all municipalities to team up and manage the exercise to ensure that each and every city resident, business persons, workers, various other stakeholders participate fully in the mandatory exercise. “I ask all residents to come up in big numbers to clean their areas.

I take satisfactory note that in each municipality, ward and street, they have all made good preparations. We must implement the arrangement without any excuses,’’ Mr Sadiki said.

He added that all activities, whether private or public, should remain closed until 11am to give every citizen enough time to clean their environment -- starting 6a.m. Mr Sadiki urged all street officials to submit reports to their municipal directors subsequent to the cleanness campaign today.

On the same note, the Dawoodi Bohra Islamic Community has donated cleaning equipment worth 15 million/- to support the campaign. And as the exercise takes place countrywide today, Dar es Salaam residents have also urged the government to ensure that there is an immediate fresh mechanism to improve drainage and sewerage infrastructure in the city.

Speaking to the ‘Daily News’, several residents said poor sewerage and drainage infrastructure and low government commitment were the main setbacks behind the filthy environment in Dar es Salaam.

“It will be good if the government will take stern measures by disciplining officials or authorities concerned to instil administrative discipline,’’ said Ms Lucy Kadaya, a resident of Kinondoni Municipality. She pointed out laxity among government officials as the main challenge behind poor environmental cleanliness.

“Another approach that should be considered to improve hygiene is to ensure sufficient clean water sources in the city,” said one Philip Kadaya, a petty businessperson at Mwenge in Kinondoni Municipality.

The Secretary of Buguruni Market, Mr Furahisha Kambi, called for clear policies that would ensure city residents are fully involved and enabled to ensure daily cleanliness to maintain hygiene. The Kinondoni Municipal Director, Mr Mussa Naty, said that plans were underway to set up new and big public markets in the municipality and general district.

Other residents advised that the public should start making such clean-up campaigns as part of their day-to-day activities and not only practised upon presidential orders. Speaking during an event to clean their environment, the Director of Tanzania Centre for Foreign Relations, Dr Mohammed Maundi, said controlling the spread of infections was vitally important, making such clean-up campaigns “only too appropriate’’.

Dr Maundi said clean-up campaigns should not wait for orders from above as each person should develop the habit for the betterment of society. He said they will hold such a campaign at least once per month to make sure the neighbourhoods stay clean always.

A student at the centre, Mr Laizer John, said everyone wants to live in a clean neighbourhood, necessitating the need for all the people to participate in the campaigns.

At the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rwekaza Mukandala, said today’s Independence Day will be used to carry out cleanliness on its campuses following the presidential directive.

Prof Mukandala said in a statement that the cleanliness exercise will be jointly carried out by UDSM and non-governmental organisations advocating for the protection of the environment.