EDITORIAL: TOUGHER STANCE NEEDED TO PROMOTE TOILET USE
Despite concerted efforts made by the government and civil society in recent years, the goal of ensuring that all Tanzanians use proper and decent toilets, irrespective of their incomes or social standing, still seems a long way off. It is one of those problems that have stubbornly refused to go away even as Tanzania prepares to mark 60 years of independence later this year.
Survey findings showing that up to 90 per cent of households in some areas lack toilets that conform to acceptable standards make for grim reading. However, they are representative of the wider picture in the country.
The lack of proper toilets remains a problem both in urban and rural areas due to various factors, including widespread poverty, ignorance, a rapidly increasing population and unplanned development.
This partly explains why cholera and other communicable diseases caused by poor sanitation are common occurrences even in urban centres such as Dar es Salaam. The big question here is: is enough being done to ensure proper and adequate sewage disposal?
We may be in the 21st century, but there are people who still think that it is perfectly in order to relieve themselves in the bush.
Study findings show that proper toilets are not very high up on the list of priorities of a vast number of Tanzanians. They are simply not viewed as a necessity, with some regarding them as a luxury they can barely afford.
Civil society organisations that have been conducting programmes aimed at making it possible for more people in rural areas to build and use proper toilets deserve to be commended.
The education campaign the government has been conducting since the early days of independence needs to be supplemented with strict enforcement of by-laws on proper sewage disposal.
We should get to a point where people should be made to understand that not having a proper toilet amounts to breaking the law.
ACT TO CURB LAND GRABBING
People of ill will often strike at soft underbellies because they represent people or institutions that are not in a position to put up strong resistance against oppression. Even if they summon courage to do so, they are likely to run into a brick wall.
Land set aside for schools is a case in point, as it is frequently targeted by grabbers with deep pockets, some of who will stop at nothing to lay their hands on what is essentially public property, and unashamedly put it to personal use.
The warped logic here is that it is wasteful for schools to be given vast open spaces in prime areas “just” for playgrounds and the like when it could be converted into business premises for financial gain. Talk about one reaping what they did not sow.
The readiness by people to resort to violence to have their way is particularly disturbing. It is part of a countrywide problem that requires a broader, earnest response. Greedy developers continue to encroach on school land, often in connivance with municipal authorities, grassroots leaders, and, sadly enough, education officials.
The government must flex its muscles by, among other measures, enacting tougher legislation to address the problem.
