Where civil contractors flouts CRB rules

ONE of the major roles being played by Tanzania’s Contractors’ Registration Board (CRB) is to ensure that all building and civil contractors in the country observes their rules and regulations to the maximum level possible. The Board’s rules and regulations set are the pillars that guides all contractors and the public in general. This is in a bid to avoid shoddy construction work intended to be done in a given project. There are so many rules and regulations set by the Board and therefore to be complied by contractors in order to build a good relationships between them as employers and their personnel at work places. Such rules directs them to strictly observe the environment in which they work such as taking into account the safety measures and others in order to maintain security at work places and thus, enhance work performance. But on the other way around, contractors are to blame for they do flout these rules for unknown reasons and consequently the habit leads them into performing shoddily.

This is a contractor’s sign board placed strategically at the center of a junction road of Ally Hassan Mwinyi Road and Ocean Road near the traffic lights at Salander bridge at Upanga area in Dar es Salaam city. The area is close to the shores of Indian Ocean. The details on the board describes a routine maintenance of Ocean Road/Luthuli street whose construction covered a stretch of a 19 km road, is already finished and was funded by Road Fund Board. Sajo civil engineering and building contractors ltd were the contractors.

The placement of the contractors’ sign boards at a project site is such one rule that has to be strictly adhered by all contractors in a progressive project anywhere. But to some extent, this is flouted without caring the messages being portrayed on their boards, and if the project is finished, it’s advisable that such
Sign boards like this one here must be removed from their positions when a project is finished. This is another contractor’s sign board strategically placed at the corner of a main road from that comes from Buguruni Malapa and joins with that one of Nelson Mandela Highway at a place near Buguruini CCM bus stop in Dar es Salaam city. This is also wrongly placed, does the CRB supervisors care for this? The sign board states a routine maintenance of municipal roads zone B Ilala area from Msimbazi streets. This is work was being undertaken by SKO Building contractors limited of Dar es Salaam, the presence of these sign boards creates confusion to motorists and passersby.

A contractors’ sign board normally carries details of the construction work in progress in their sites. In actual fact, contractors are supposed to place such boards that describes the nature of the work being undertaken and the names of contractors and company’s involved close to their sites and this must be arranged in a systematic manner to highlight the public what the project is all about.

When have you ever seen a contractor’s sign board is placed on top of a roof? This is completely awkward, what a hale is this? It’s all about a rehabilitation work being undertaken by Zein Enterprises Limited, a Dar es Salaam based civil contractor at Ukonga area in Ilala district, Dar es Salaam region. This is a 7 km road project being geared by Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS) it starts from a place known as Mombassa going up to Msongola which is a new settlement past TARAZA railway line.

This road which is being rehabilitated, it joins Ukonga-Mombassa and Msongola village 7 kilometers away but not into a tarmac level, this involves the spread of a gravel an aspect that courses inconveniences during rainy seasons.

But on the other way round, you might be perplexed to see that these boards are sometimes placed in a wrong positions that are sometimes a great confusion to passersby and drivers who speeds on the road.

You can see this sign board is placed on top of a small business booth belonging to a petty trader. It’s actually placed in a wrong position. Nobody actually knows who is at fault, the contractor or the owner of a trading booth?

Most of the contractors never mind to put them on the right position, but who is at fault? Does the CRB supervisors do not carry out their supervision work? Or is it because of negligence of the whole concept? Who has to be blamed for this?