Monday, February 21, 2011

GONGO LA MBOTO-TANZANIA DISASTER APPEAL

Below is a GONGO LA MBOTO-TANZANIA DISASTER APPEAL which has been the media's 
headlines in Tanzania, East Africa, over the last week. 

For those who did not get the news, there were yet another BOMB BLASTS from one of the
Tanzanian' amy base in Gongo la Mboto, Dar es salaam, that has led to many people being 
displaced or affected in one way or another.  

The bomb blasts appear to be not new to people of Dar es Salaam as there was another blast
that happened on 9 September 2009 though was at a smaller scale.  

Two events have been scheduled to take place in the UK as tabled below; one in London and
the second one in Reading.  If it is your wish to support the events you may make contacts
using the numbers provided below.

I thought it would be useful to summarize this announcements in English for our readers.


The Citizen Reporters
Dar es Salaam. There are indications that professional negligence might have caused Wednesday night’s powerful explosions at a military base on Dar es Salaam’s outskirts that killed at least 23 people.However, military experts told The Citizen on Saturday yesterday that the army could not escape liability for the blasts at Gongo la Mboto, saying munitions dumps had to be routinely inspected to ensure safety.

Meanwhile, the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) head of security, Brigadier General Paul Meela, speaking  at a news conference at TPDF headquarters, conceded that negligence could be one of the causes of such disasters.

He warned, however, that it was too early to speculate on what might have caused the explosions, which levelled one of TPDF’s largest munitions depots and caused extensive damage over a wide area.  Even as journalists suggested several possible causes, Brig-Gen Meela insisted that it is too early to know what caused the explosions, and called for patience.

People who spoke to The Citizen on Saturday cautioned that the government would be further damaging its credibility if it picked a team to investigate the cause while it was obvious that poor military management was to blame.

A retired TPDF major general, who spoke to The Citizen on Saturday on condition of anonymity, said it was almost impossible for such an incident to happen given the stringent safety rules supposed to be enforced at munitions depots.
The former senior officer, who retired after serving the military for 36 years, dismissed claims of sabotage, saying those were “mere rumours”  being circulated deliberately to cover up the negligence.

“We have lost over 50 brothers and sisters in a period of less than two years…the blasts hint at a crisis within the military. It is high time the Commander-in-Chief held a number of big shots in the ministry responsible for the explosions,” he said.

It was almost impossible for munitions preserved in a military depot to explode without being mishandled, he said, adding that stored artillery shells could also not go off due to a sharp increase in temperature, as ha been suggested by some commentators.

He also dismissed reports that overheating in depots caused by power cuts was the cause of the incident, saying “bombs are not stored in air-conditioned rooms or refrigerators”.
The retired officer added: “Something that is being hidden, and I won’t be surprised to hear of another series of blasts very soon if we continue playing politics.”

Another military expert commented: “In my many years of service, I never heard of bombs exploding without being triggered by something …I think we need to do something to establish the real cause of the blasts…the sooner, the better.”

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Comment on Mzalendomuungwa na’s suggestion: Instead of wasting time and resources on building temporary shelters, victims who survived could be housed in some of our best hotels temporarily. The most important we should do for the victims is assisting them to open a case against TPDF in the courts of law for proper compensation on the troubles caused on them by ammunition explosions which occurred within their residential areas , caused by gross violations of the common rules of explosives handling and storage TPDF. Families qualify a minimum compensation of 10 million UD$ per lost life. Proper compensation for Disturbances, injuries and property damages should also be decided by the courts of law. The case is very straight forward: The stringent rules governing handling and storage of explosive do not allow any excuse for causing any explosion damage on residential areas (life and properties). TUWEZESHE SHERIA KUCHUKUA MKONDO WAKE VINGINEVYO HALI ITAENDELEA KUWA MBAYA ZAIDI

Anonymous said...

why don't the GOVT. give order to build temporary new residence for the VICTIMS immediatly. All the facilities are available.....sometimes the GOVT.TZA is spending millions of USD for unnecessary parties of special functions. WHY can't they start giving RELIEF to the VICTIMS. "YES WE CAN "
aLL OF CAN START NOW BY DONATING SOMETING. PLEASE OPEN THE DOORS....gOD BLESS AFRICA-TANZANIAN

Anonymous said...

I AGREE WITH YOU ndg yangu. This is good idea if the Govt could think constructing house for the victims. This place could serve as temporary camp for victims of different calamities like floods that frequently hit Dar. We know it will take long time to settle recovering dues and even for the victims to settle. So build a camp is an ideal solution while settling other issues

Anonymous said...

When are we going to wake up Tanzanians???OMG i cant believe it citizens who are innocent and make every effort to live in this country of corruption and irresponsible govt...Is this how the govt is paying its people???This explosion is the second explosion and it has left many people homeless,other dying and others wounded and get scars for them to look and remember it for there entire life..
What the shameless govt is doing is giving money for the funerals...I'm telling u govt God is there and you gonna pay for it..You make us sleep in dark while u sleep in lights,u make us pay for dowans the thing which u entered contract with without thinking,u make many pple suffer due to your unfulfilled promises..
...and now nobody is stepping down for the negligence and the worst part is the president is not even taking disciplinary actions to all those who are behind it...
Govt of Tz its time for u to be accountable and responsible for every thing that is taking place

Anonymous said...

Tanzania will continue to be the victim of an irresponsive government three piller. There is no second chance for some serious position like ministerial and senior position in the TPDF in particular regarding to what happened in Gongolamboto. Anyway, there is no dought that African democrecy means "Put up with stupid things".

Anonymous said...

It has happen twice, God forbid what else is coming, We must learn and we must have an immediate respond TEAM (EMERGENCY RAPID ACTION) I feel sorry it took more time to respond for HELP.
why don't the GOVT. give order to build temporary new residence for the VICTIMS immediatly. All the facilities are available.....sometimes the GOVT.TZA is spending millions of USD for unnecessary parties of special functions. WHY can't they start giving RELIEF to the VICTIMS. "YES WE CAN "
aLL OF CAN START NOW BY DONATING SOMETING. PLEASE OPEN THE DOORS....gOD BLESS AFRICA-TANZANIAN

Anonymous said...

In the best interest and the safety of the nation, the gvt. servant who has absolutely failed two times already in his duties, should resign immediately!!! There is no excuse for him to be milking the clock! May God Bless Tanzania

Anonymous said...

am also so disappointed with the leadership coz it doesn't seems to be an accident instead the planned thing,am sorry to say this but we are so corrupt and i will nt get shocked if the same thing appears again, there are some people who were caught selling the blanckets of the victims so we can see where we are aheading.