Government seeks for SA technical experts to demolish a building

THE Government has floated its tender in South Africa seeking for technical engineering experts with high Calibri to demolish a 16 storey building which has been earmarked for demolition along Indira Gandhi Street at the centre of Dar es Salaam city. The Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, William Lukuvi said that despite efforts made by his ministry of getting an expert who could apply a safe technology of pulling down such a high rise building from the country and within East Africa region has failed, the government has seen the need to look for such engineering expertise from South Africa. The Minister was briefing journalists on various development steps his ministry has taken so far in a move currently being undertaken to curb the escalating land problems which is being exacerbated by few unfaithful citizens in some regions in the country. Under the operation, his ministry through a taskforce formed consisting of land and building experts has noted that about 48 buildings which have been noticed to have been constructed in wrong plots in some suburbs in Dar es Salaam region have been ordered to be demolished immediately. He said the government has already set aside the sum of Sh. 1 billion for the demolition work of a 16 storey building in case it would get a strategic engineering company which will win the tender to do the job which the government had announced since the beginning of this financial year 2015/16. The building which was ordered by the government to be pulled down is owned by a Dar es Salaam based business man Raza Huseein Damji with the National Housing Corporation (NHC) having a 25 percent share in the project.  The government through the ministry of Lands, ordered the building be pulled down after building experts discovered that it had developed some internal cracks on its walls whose presence poses a great threat to the lives of the people around it. 

A 16 storey building which has been earmarked for demolition along Indira Gandhi Street in Dar es Salaam.

The Ministry had ordered the demolition after the former building owned by the same businessman that stood opposite it collapsed in March 2013 and killed about 36 people at a time when Prof Anna Tibaijuka was the Minister in-charge of the ministry.  Preliminary investigations had established that, the two buildings with different construction permits had violated the laid down contractual rules and regulations as stipulated in their contracts whereby the owner erected a 16-storey structure instead of 10 floors as stipulated in the building permits which had been issued by Ilala Municipal Council authorities in Dar es Salaam region.  The mistake was discovered when the former building collapsed and during the investigations that lasted for a couple of one month later, building experts had discovered that the present building had been constructed at fault and recommended immediate demolition to prevent further losses. The survey carried by the Citizen yesterday around the area noticed there is no sign post to indicate any danger around as required by the law so as to alert passersby in a bid to take precautions of any possible impending danger that might occur at such unlikely time of a day. Contrary to these alerts, the Citizen has discovered that business is going on as usual in the area as though the site is safer to the understanding of many people who do not know the rule and instead keep on cross passing near to the building to attend their various business missions in the city, while others park their cars close. However, a member of Tanzania Contractors’ Association Board who preferred anonymity said that, such sites which have been condemned under such dangerous situation depends on the structural integrity of a building, but is not necessary that it should be restricted from any social activities around near to it.