Preying on earthquake victims totally immoral

It is more than a week now since Bukoba Municipality and other parts of Kagera Region were rocked by a 5.7-magnitude earthquake, the most powerful to have been recorded in Tanzania.

At least 19 people were killed and hundreds others injured in the earthquake, which also destroyed or damaged hundreds of houses and other structures, particularly in and around Bukoba.

Relief efforts are currently in full swing to alleviate the suffering of those affected by the disaster. The positive response by neighbouring nations and other members of the international community should go a long way in lessening the pain experienced by the victims.

BODABODA MOVE LAUDABLE

Authorities in Dar es Salaam have announced new measures which, if well implemented, will streamline bodaboda operations in the city. The guidelines launched on Sunday include registration of motorcycle taxis by using special numbers that will also appear on uniforms the riders will be required to put on.

This plan, unlike others thet preceded it, has been accepted wholeheartedly by bodaboda operators. It is therefore important that authorities implement it as a matter of urgency.

The advent of bodabodas has not only made it easier for Dar es Salaam residents to move around the congested city, but has also provided hundreds of thousands of young people with employment in Tanzania’s commercial capital and elsewhere.

In Dar es Salaam alone, the bodaboda business employs more than 600,000 youth and provides livelihoods to over 1 million people.

But this useful service has its ugly side. Bodabodas are now the leading cause of deaths and injuries on Tanzania’s roads. In some public hospitals, there are wards specifically set aside for motorcycle accident victims.

Bodabodas have also been linked to a surge in violent crime in urban areas. There are people who pose as bodaboda operators whereas in fact they are robbers and muggers who use motorcycles as convenient getaway machines.

The initiative by Dar es Salaam authorities to introduce a code of conduct for bodaboda operators is thus long overdue.

The lives of thousands of people have been turned upside down. Schools have been closed, children and the elderly are sleeping in the open and famine is looming. There are fears that oncoming rains could precipitate a health crisis.

But amid all this suffering, some unscrupulous people are eager to take advantage of the uncertainty to make quick money. Reports yesterday suggested some businesspeople and service providers were out to capitalise on the disaster at the expense of the victims.

Religious leaders on Sunday raised the alarm,saying landlords had rushed to raise rent, while dealers in building materials such as cement, roofing sheets, bricks and timber had steeply raised prices in anticipation of a surge in demand as families rebuild their homes.

It is unfortunate, to say the least, that greedy individuals seem oblivious to the suffering around them as they fall over themselves to squeeze the last cent out of people who need compassion and sympathy at this difficult time.

Any attempt to add to the burden being borne by Bukoba residents must be condemned in the strongest terms possible.

There is nothing wrong with businesspeople making a profit, but capitalising on others’ misfortune to profiteer is not only immoral, it is abhorrent.