NEMC faulted over Dar factories

Dar es Salaam. People living at Ubungo National Housing area have pleaded with authorities to help them cut out air and water pollution caused by two factories operating in their vicinity.

They told The Citizen that contaminated water and heavily polluted air wafting out of the facilities is upsetting them.

They named them as Tasipa Limited and Hengji Investment Limited which are owned by Chinese nationals.

They accused the management of the Tanzania-China Friendship Textile Company (Urafiki)-owned estate and Kinondoni Municipal authorities of failing to solve the problem despite frequent complaints to them.

The two companies which are engaging in manufacturing of jute bags and plastic bottles are tenants of Urafiki.

Operations of the factories are carried out close to the residential area.

They say the polluted air hovers at unhealthy levels in areas surrounding the industries and were affecting people working there.

“We sometimes experience difficulty in breathing,” said one of the residents, Timoth Mtoi.

He said they have raised the issue with local authority leaders and the management of Urafiki but nothing was forthcoming.

Health and environmental officer for Ubungo Ward Ms Doroth Kimata admitted to have received several complaints from the residents.

“I have written to the management of the factories to increase the height of the chimney to help protect public health to no avail,” she said.

She added: I understand that officers from the National Environment Management Council (NEMC) and the Occupation Safety and Health Authority (Osha) have visited the factories more than once in response to the residents’ complaints.”

Ubungo National Housing local government chairman Mr Amani Sizya said he has received many complaints on toxic water from the factories directed into the nearby Ng’ombe River.

“NEMC (the National Environment Management Council) has visited the area several times. I have done my job as a politician to unearth the problem; the rest is for relevant authorities to act,” he said.

Efforts to contact the factories’ management failed after a security guard blocked this reporter from making it into the offices.

However, Mr Calvin Shem, sales executive at Hengji, admitted thatthey have received complaints about heavy smoke from the factory, saying they were doing everything in their capacity to solve the problem.

The NEMC official, who declined to be named, promised to comment on the matter today.

For his part, Urafiki estate manager, Moses Swai, told The Citizen that he had not received any formal complaints about pollution, but acknowledged NEMC officials last year visited the factories.

“We are not aware. What I know is that sometime last year NEM officials visited the industries, so it is them who can comment on the issue,” said Mr Swai who is also the company’s assistant deputy general manager and human resources manager.

Our inquiries established that children around the area are exposed to polluted air which can endanger their health.

Residents of the area also complained about a nearby dump which has blocked water passage to compound the problems.

“There is a pond near the dump, and this has attracted mosquitoes as they prefer stagnant water to produce,” explained Mr James Pius.

A teacher at Urafiki Primary School, who pleaded for anonymity, complained about polluted air from the two factories and bad smell of contaminated water from a place where chickens are slaughtered at Sinza-Shekilango market.

“We suffer from a combination of polluted air and bad smell from Ng’ombe River,” the teacher said.

There are numerous diseases that may be caused by air pollution. In Europe, it is estimated to reduce life expectancy by almost nine months.

Exposure to some chemicals found in polluted air or water has been linked to disruptions in fertility, reproduction, sexual maturation and other health effects.

It can also cause cancerous tumours, birth defects and other disorders.

“Our worry is on our children playing near the factories,” explained Mr Hamidu Suleiman, a resident of Urafiki area.

Tasipa assistant manager Fadhili Karia said the residents need not to worry about the air from the two factories.

“It’s not harmful,” he claimed, likening the situation with someone who wants to buy a car but does not want to see smoke getting out of its exhaust pipes.

Vegetables produced from the gardens around the area are also something that the residents worry about.

Growers of sweet potatoes, onions and tomatoes also use contaminated water fropm the two industries.

Some residents of the area do not buy vegetables from the nearby gardens, according to a young lady who identified herself as Mary.