Why vandalism, destruction of public property must end

Dar es Salaam. When a steel fence was built at Buguruni section of the Nelson Mandela Road, it was meant to guide pedestrians crossing the busy road to use either the zebra-marked area or the pedestrian overpass.

However, some pedestrians find that to be a waste of time, hence destroyed sections of the metal fence as they look for a shortcut.

Vandalism of infrastructure has not only exposed pedestrians to risk of falling victim to road accidents but also extinguishing the public infrastructure and property along the road.

Years back, some roads like Nelson Mandela and Nyerere Road were cordoned off to control arbitrary crossing for safety but these infrastructure are at risk of extinction due to trespassing, vandalism and accidents.

Similar incidents of vandalism and destruction of public property are also reported in the Bus Rapid Transit infrastructure, bus stops, airports and other valuable public places.

While blame is put on reckless driving, poor surveillance and unemployment which result into theft; others say that the culture of caring for, taking ownership and respect for public property as well as the environment is missing among some Tanzanians.

“Some people steal public property such as metal bars used in fencing to sell it as scrap metal. This shows how some Tanzanians do not understand the management of public property and its resources are insignificant to them,” says Steven Moses, a resident of Tabata who runs his business at Ubungo.

He claims that theft of public property sometimes is done by street children roaming the city areas because they do not work.

“It is easy for them to get into theft. The government should look at the best ways to engage them in more productive activities,” he adds.

Other residents suggest putting up more surveillance to control destruction and theft of the property and taking culprits to task.

“The government should install cameras in key urban areas across the country to identify thieves of public property. This will help to protect and create respect for the amenities,” says Mr Aswati Same, a resident of Buguruni.

Tanzania National Roads Agency (Tanroads) Dar es Salaam regional manager Harun Senkuku says education is needed on managing public property so that citizens understand the importance of these things.

He also calls on the community to work together to provide education in collaboration with the media.

“We have installed cameras in some areas including the Tanzanite and Salender bridges which is why we were able to catch some thieves. We are also in the process of installing cameras in other areas like Ubungo to control theft of public property and arrest the criminals,” says Mr Senkuku.

He also adds that Tanroads will work with the police to see how best to enforce the law to contain criminal incidents.

Psychological problems

Experts think destruction of public property and infrastructure is linked to psychological issues and family background in which some people were brought up.

“Some people were born in a family that does not care about any property. Our upbringing has largely resulted in carelessness,” says Ms Zainab Rashid, a psychologist and lecturer at the Institute of Social Work.

She says other people do such actions for revenge.

“This is very common for young people who want to show their anger about certain social issues,” she says, adding that such people do not see the importance of the infrastructure and public property in their life.

“Families need to start educating children from an early age to value the importance of care.”

Mwanza-based independent psychologist Charles Mhando says that such incidents of public property misconduct are personal behaviours and normally influenced by the environment in which the particular person was raised.

“Such people know that if they steal individual property, they will be beaten. Alternatively, they start thinking of stealing things from the public, like road signs. That’s when we face the challenge of misappropriation of public property,” he says.

He advises the government that it has a responsibility to establish an education system that will help teach public property management from the beginning.

According to him, if possible, a special subject in primary and secondary schools may be introduced to help the students understand the importance of these infrastructure and ultimately create a sense of respect.

“The government puts these things but they do not provide education to the people. Children would be built in a better environment from school, if taught how to take care of public properties. But there is no such a lesson,” says Mr Mhando.

When contacted for comments, the police could not comment about the issue.

However, law enforcers have recently arrested people in several incidents involved in vandalism of public infrastructure.

The latest case involved the arrest of two people on suspicion of attempting to cut some iron bars at the newly-built Tanzanite Bridge linking Dar es Salaam’s Central Business District to Oyster Bay and Masaki.