ENCROACHMENT ON ROAD RESERVES CAN BE CURBED
People encroaching on road reserves – deliberately or otherwise – is a problem that has refused to go away. As Tanzania’s population grows rapidly, people have been encroaching on road reserves with wanton abandon, and building houses and other structures.
The billion-shilling question here is: where are the Tanzania National Roads Agency (Tanroads) and other relevant authorities when people put up permanent structures on road reserves?
It is common to see buildings and shacks bearing the ‘X’ mark along entire stretches of major roads. The mark means that the buildings are standing on road reserves, and have thus been earmarked for demolition.
It usually takes weeks if not months for buildings to be erected on road reserves, and it is both illogical and absurd for the relevant authorities to wait until people have put up the illegal structures before moving in to demolish them.
The authorities are supposed to regularly inspect all roads falling under their jurisdiction, and it is hard to believe that inspectors only become aware of illegal structures on road reserves after they have been completed.
The authorities should prevent encroachment in the first place instead of turning a blind eye to developers, only to move in after the damage has already been done.
The importance of having uncluttered road reserves cannot be overemphasised. They not only allow for expansion and improvement of roads, but also act as buffer zones in case vehicles veer off the road.
People who build on road reserves are not entitled to any compensation in the event of their structures being pulled down, but it is the government through Tanroads or local authorities which in most cases ends up footing the bill for demolitions. This amounts to gross misuse of taxpayers’ money.
Failing to check illegal development on road reserves is inefficiency which we surely can do without. Road reserves should remain just that – road reserves.
PROMOTE ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Tanzanians have a tendency to neglect environmental issues—be it cleanliness in their neighbourhoods, pollution, poor sanitation, tree-felling or forest conservation. The grim reality is that we still have a long way to go if we are to pass on a better and sustainable environment to future generations.
Here are some home truths about the state of the environment: About 92,000 hectares of forest are lost each year through forest fires and tree cutting. It is estimated that 90 per cent of the population depends on charcoal and firewood as a major source of energy for cooking.
But there are no tree plantations created specifically for the charcoal market. This puts about 65 per cent of Tanzania at risk of drought if we do nothing to end the destruction.
We urgently need to reduce dependency on charcoal and firewood as a source of energy in both rural and urban areas. We can do so only by introducing alternative sources of energy such as natural gas and solar power.
To develop and promote alternative energy sources, we will have to lay down a huge investment. We have not done too well in that area, and it is time we rectified that state of affairs.
