Ilala Municipal council outsources its property supervision activities

ILALA Municipal Council in Dar es Salaam region has entered into a one year contract deal with an agency a locally registered architectural firm, the Design plus Architect which will help carry out the supervision activities on the newly constructed buildings which are coming up within the Municipality.   The Municipal engineer, Joseph Salu Ogare spoke about the decision reached by the management during an exclusive interview on Wednesday this week in Dar es Salaam. He said that, under the contract the firm will inspect individual buildings under construction within the municipality with a view to ensure that contractors abide by the legal instructions and the laid down construction laws as per the city’s planning systems. The firm had won the tender earlier announced by the Municipal council which had followed all the tendering procedures and finally the firm was selected to have met all the criteria required, he said adding that, the firm started the work in July this yea. Plan by Ilala municipal council comes amid recent call by the Minister for Land, Housing and Human Settlement Professor Anna Tibaijuka which she issued in Parliament during budget session requesting the government through its regulated Boards of Engineers, Contractors, Architect and Quantity surveyors to undergo regular check up on newly constructed high rise structures within the city and its environs. The call by Professor Tibaijuka sidelined the recent collapse of a 14 storey building which claimed the lives of 36 people along Indira Ghandhi Street at the heart of the city centre and the issue is currently in court.  Engineer Ogare said that, the Municipal management has decided to outsource its activities to an agency in order to facilitate the work of inspecting the newly constructed buildings to see if contractors follow the rules laid down while executing their duties. 

Tanzania's Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Professor Anna Tibaijuka.

He further noted that currently the municipal council does not have enough qualified personnel to do the job and the few available are overwhelmed to carry out the job effectively due to tight scheduled activities as they are engaged in other important matters. Engineer Ogare outlined some of the activities the agency will be engaged with and noted few important ones as to ensure that, any constructing company is registered by National regulated Boards such as Contractors and Engineers Registration Boards as well as Architect and Quantity Surveyors’ Registration Board. Others are to ensure that, all drawings detailed for construction as well as building permits are valid documentations which have been approved by Ilala Municipal Council authorities concerned, and that have their expiry dates indicated therein respectively.  Other things is to ensure proper structural design plan at the project for the sewerage systems of both the underground and rain water systems that are properly constructed without polluting the environment.  The agency also has to ensure the installation of lifts and other elevators if are strategically placed as per how they have been indicated in the drawings. The installation of other important things such as fire extinguishing systems is properly designed. The agency will also ensure that project sites are surrounded by using fence like iron sheet materials to see that all the activities taking place within are hygienically observed as per the rule of the occupational safety services, and that there are no signs of polluting the environment while work is in progress.  At the site, Eng. Ogare noted that the agency will ensure there is a sign board on which all names of the firms participating in the construction have been written as per the rule of the Contractors’ Registration Board (CRB) and their sticker is strategically placed on top.  He said the agency will incorporate its activities under various Acts that governs sustainable cities developments programs which includes Acts of city planning, heath status, land ownership, local government authority, safety at work and environmental Acts. Under these Acts the agency will be in a position to perform their duties more effectively and in efficient manner