WHY FIRES AT KEY MARKETS CALL FOR DECISIVE ACTION

Yet another major urban market has gone up in flames, marking the latest incident in an alarming trend that is bound to raise even more questions than answers.

Mbagala Rangi Tatu market in Dar es Salaam was gutted early on Sunday, less than a month after a raging blaze swept through the sprawling Karume market in the city, and reduced it to ashes on January 16. Just two weeks after Karume market was razed to the ground, a large section of Mbuyuni market in Moshi was destroyed by fire.

Last July, the mother of all market fires reduced the iconic and imposing Kariakoo market building in Dar es Salaam to a smouldering shell. The intensity of the inferno was such that there was precious little members of the ill-equipped and much-maligned Fire and Rescue Force could do.

Luckily, there was no loss of life, but in all cases, traders – many of who had not insured their businesses – suffered huge losses, not to mention the adverse impact the fires may have had on surrounding areas and the environment in general.

One does not need to be a particularly learned and competent detective to note that the fires had one thing in common – they all broke out at night when businesses were closed. It is thus not surprising that speculation has been rife since Kariakoo market went up in flames.

The report compiled by the committee appointed by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa to investigate the Kariakoo blaze has yet to be made public.

As for the Karume market fire, the explanation offered by regional authorities was that the blaze was started, apparently inadvertently, by “some drug addicts”.

As markets continue to go up in flames with no solution in sight, anxious traders are not sure where disaster will strike next, and one can only imagine the psychological toll this is taking on them.

MAKE FEEDER ROADS A PRIORITY

Authorities in major urban areas seem to have overlooked the key role that good feeder roads can play in alleviating congestion. While the construction of new roads and upgrading of existing ones is commendable, more emphasis needs to be put on building and improving feeder roads.

For instance, feeder roads connecting key roads in Dar es Salaam are either non-existent or in poor shape, and this explains why progress in easing congestion is painfully slow despite the efforts being made to build and improve roads in the city.

It is hard to understand why there are no plans to pave feeder roads that are no longer than half a kilometre, but which connect key roads. Building and upgrading feeder roads should be part and parcel of plans to ease congestions in our cities and major towns.

Building good roads but leaving the feeder roads connecting them in a deplorable state defeats the whole purpose of constructing the roads in the first place.

Feeder roads play a key role in evenly distributing motorised traffic on major roads, which helps to reduce congestion and gridlocks that our cities and towns have come to be associated with in recent years.