Building tragedy: three in police custody

[BAK]

Building tragedy: three in police custody

By Mkinga Mkinga and Orton Kiishweko
THE CITIZEN

The contractor and two other people involved in the construction of the 10-storey building, which collapsed in Dar es Salaam on Saturday, surrendered themselves to the police yesterday.

The Dar es Salaam Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police Suleiman Kova, told reporters that the three men had turned themselves in as investigations into the incident began.

Three people narrowly escaped death when the building under construction collapsed and slammed into another belonging to the National Housing Corporation on Mtendeni Street in downtown Dar es Salaam.

The three, who included a catering business owner, Mrs Rubab Dhassee, were in the NHC building at about 10.30 am, when they heard a loud bang as the building came tumbling down.

A combined team of the police, army and other rescuers later pulled them out of the rubble.

Yesterday, the RPC said his officers had spent the whole day interrogating the three suspects who went to Central Police Station in the morning.

The three now in police custody, include the proprietor of NK Decorators Ltd, the main contractors, Mr Kantlaar Premji Laxman, 58.

The others are 55-year-old Athanas Mwageni, a structural consultant with a company called Codec, and 46-year-old Satish Godhan Narah, a site supervisor.

Mr Kova appealed to the architect, Mr Jonas Ndeme, to also present himself to the officers at the Central Police Station for interrogation before Monday morning.

The first person to be taken into police custody in connection with the collapsed building was the Ilala municipal engineer, Mr Robert Nassoro, who was arrested at the site on Saturday.

Mr Nassoro, who had told reporters that he had not issued a permit for the construction of the building despite the fact that the work has been going on since last December, was saved from an irate mob baying for his blood by police who shielded him, took him to their vehicle and drove him away.

Yesterday, commenting on the incident, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda warned that the five engineers involved in the construction and the owner of the building would face stern action.

Mr Pinda also called for a special quality and quantity audit of all the buildings put up by the firm to avert similar incidents.

According to the Premier, the professionals involved in the collapsed building should be charged with grave negligence.

Speaking to The Citizen by telephone, Mr Pinda said: ''This is pure negligence. All those responsible should face the law.''

The main contractor, water, electrical and municipal engineers must be made to explain what caused the building under construction to collapse, the PM said.

Asked what became of the report of a special committee appointed by former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa to investigate the quality of all major buildings in Dar es Salaam, Mr Pinda said: ''I have read the report today and it has some shocking findings.''

Among other things, the committee established that the mushrooming storey buildings in Dar es Salaam and other parts of the country had been built illegally and without observing construction rules and regulations.

The committee also revealed that some contractors and their clients, being driven by greed, were using unqualified personnel to supervise construction works.

The ratio of construction materials, including cement, sand, iron steel, electrical and other installations did not match required standard.

Some clients were opting to buy substandard materials, the committee said.

It also established that there was no close monitoring of the construction of storey buildings, especially in Dar es Salaam, with some government engineers colluding with contractors and clients to endorse poor construction works.

The committee also established that there was ''an unholy trinity'' involving municipal/city engineers, contractors and clients, which moral and ethical considerations.

Meanwhile, an electrical engineer who worked on the project before he fell out with his bosses, claimed yesterday that he had warned about the poor standard of the construction of the building but was ignored.

He said that some three months ago, he disagreed with his bosses, after his complaints that the work was being done unprofessionally went unheeded.

 

[BAK]

Collapsed Dar building: Contractor was not properly licensed

-Company officials, building owners all nowhere to be seen

SEBASTIAN MRINDOKO
Dar es Salaam

THERE is a looming scandal in the collapse of a 10-storey building in Dar es Salaam's central business district on Saturday, following revelations that the contractor involved is not licensed to undertake construction projects of such magnitude.

THISDAY investigations have established that city-based N.K Decorators Limited is in fact licensed by the Contractors Registration Board (CRB) as a Class Five contractor, and is therefore not permitted to handle any building works valued beyond 300m/-.

According to one independent local contractor interviewed by THISDAY, it is ''virtually impossible'' for a Class Five contractor to be hired as the main contractor for the construction of a 10-storey building.

''Why was a Class Five contractor allowed to undertake a construction project that is clearly worth billions (of shillings)?'' he queried.

''High-rise buildings of this type are normally handled by Class One contractors, who are deemed to have the necessary skills, equipment and competency to handle such major projects.''

N.K Decorators, whose registered office is located on plot number 832 Senegal Street in Upanga, is listed by the CRB under registration number B5/0117/11/2000.

There are seven classes of contractors identified by the Board, with Class One contractors the only ones allowed to undertake construction projects of any magnitude.

Other classes of contractors with stated limits of the value of building projects they are allowed to handle are Class Two (up to 1.2bn/-), Class Three (900m/-), Class Four (600m/-), Class Five (300m/-), Class Six (150m/-), and Class Seven (75m/-).

N.K Decorators officials were not immediately available for comment yesterday and the owners of the collapsed building, McSoms Investments Limited and local businessman Mohsin Somji, were also nowhere to be seen.

This is against the background of spreading suggestions that shoddy construction work as well as regulatory loopholes could have been the root causes of the latest building collapse in the city.

Speaking separately to THISDAY in Dar es Salaam yesterday, a number of independent construction industry experts voiced their concerns about the ethical standards of all professionals involved in this particular project, from the architect, engineers and down to consultants, regulators and city building inspectors.

''In the construction process of such high storey buildings, there are several rules that have to be followed properly, and if not the result is likely to be such tragedies,'' said CRB contractor Mashuhuko Nkuba.

He mentioned some of the rules as properly studying the plot on which the building is to be erected, and conducting a proper tendering process for the work including architectural designs and actual construction.

According to Nkuba, after all the procedures have been fulfilled, the CRB gives its stamp of approval for the project to begin.

He said at each stage of the project, inspections and testing should be conducted and an approval given before moving on to the next stage.

Commenting on the competency of NK Decorators Limited, Nkuba said since the company was listed as a Class Five contractor, it could only have been allowed to undertake one phase of the tender that did not surpass 300m/- in value.

It has been established that two other city-based firms, Jeam Associates and CODEC, were hired as architect and structural engineers respectively for the project.

Architects and Quantity Surveyors Registration Board (AQRB) vice-chairman Amedeus Chaky also said there were indications that some procedures were ignored in the process involving construction of the building.

He said there were too many departments mandated to issue orders on such a project, which could cause confusion, in that one might say yes while another might say no.

Giving an example, Chaky noted that although CRB may refuse to approve documents related to a construction project, the Ilala Municipal council or even the Ministry of Infrastructure might go ahead and approve the same documents.

�It is sad to observe that the Ilala Municipal engineer had allowed the building construction to continue even after cracks had already started to appear,� he said.

The AQRB vice-chair also noted that some project owners do prefer to use low-profile contractors in order to cut costs, without foreseeing the hazards that might occur if some procedural steps were skipped.

According to one Ajay Laxman whose house situated next to the collapsed building was also damaged, the owner of the building was in the vicinity up to the moment when it collapsed, but apparently disappeared immediately afterwards.

Laxman said he himself had been left impoverished by the tragedy and currently he has no shelter for his family. ''Although my family is safe, I have nothing left�only good Samaritans have come to our rescue so far,'' he said.

 

[Ether]

this is jus sad..! how can a damn "decorator" be a general contractor and given this kinda project? only in bongo.

 

[Lunyungu]

Hawa wote ni CCM donors kama watu wa EPA and the likes are free itakuwa hao bwana ?

 

[Kuhani]

Yesterday, commenting on the incident, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda warned that the five engineers involved in the construction and the owner of the building would face stern action.

According to the Premier, the professionals involved in the collapsed building should be charged with grave negligence.

Speaking to The Citizen by telephone, Mr Pinda said: ''This is pure negligence. All those responsible should face the law.''

Pinda, umesha waambia majaji wa find negligence hapo.

Acha due process of law ifanye kazi. We mwanasheria wa wapi wewe?

 

[Gaijin]

pinda angalau kapata kitu cha kujikosha! manake mambo ya epa yamekaa pabaya, ila kwa hili najua atalikalia kidedea angalau uongozi wa ccm uonekane umefanya cha maana

 

[Kuhani]

Lakini maswala ya kisheria anatakiwa aiachie independent judiciary.

Labda sana sana angesema sheria ichukue mkondo wake. Kusema kuna legal negligence hiyo ni hitimisho linalotolewa mahakamani.

Juhudi zote za kupambana na uzembe na ufisadi haziwezi kufanikiwa kama haziendi hand in hand with effective and uninterrupted rule of law.

 

[Kasheshe]

Hawa wote ni CCM donors kama watu wa EPA and the likes are free itakuwa hao bwana ?

Tatizo lako unaharibu mijadala kwa kuifanya la kichama... hata mijadala ya proffesional za watu!

 

[Power to the People]

Wakati hili jengo linajengwa walikuwa wapi hawa wataalamu wasigundue mapungufu? Kinachokasirisha ni jinsi wanadamu wa nchi hii wanavyojifanya busy for nothing na kulaumu watu. Walikuwa wapi wakati hayo majengo yanajengwa??? na sidhani kama kuna jambo litakalofanyika kuwaadhibu hawa mabwana.

 

[Augustoons]

Pinda, umesha waambia majaji wa find negligence hapo.

Acha due process of law ifanye kazi. We mwanasheria wa wapi wewe?

Wewe nadhani ndio unachemka au wakati unasoma sheria hukuwahi kujibu maswali ya find the probable offences likely to be charged?Pinda hayo ni maoni yake na yeye kama mwanasheria kaona hilo ni probable wrong ya kuwacharge,sasa ni maoni yake binafsi hajaamua hapo,kwani kuna hatua zaidi ya hapo kuprove alichosema mkuu.

 

[Kuhani]

Wewe nadhani ndio unachemka au wakati unasoma sheria hukuwahi kujibu maswali ya find the probable offences likely to be charged?Pinda hayo ni maoni yake na yeye kama mwanasheria kaona hilo ni probable wrong ya kuwacharge,sasa ni maoni yake binafsi hajaamua hapo,kwani kuna hatua zaidi ya hapo kuprove alichosema mkuu.

Sikia we novice wewe!

Probable offense to be charged haina maana offense to be found guilty of. Waziri Mkuu kasha toa hitimisho hapa kwamba hii ni negligence. Hajasema hii ni probable negligence. Kakurupuka kisheria. Acha due process of law ifanye kazi yake.

Pili, Waziri Mkuu hawezi kusema kitu halafu ukasema anatoa mawazo yake. Kila anachosema kinaweza kuwa na authoritative influence. Hapa tayari kesha interfere with the independent judiciary. Hakimu atakuwa under political duress from a high ranking official of a coordinate branch of government, to find negligence. Lawyer mjanja wa hawa Wahandishi ataiibua hii ishu. Watch for that.

Tatu, Pinda huyu si aliwahi kusema ni vigumu kushitaki mtu kwa negligence, unakumbuka? Sasa mbona hapa anarukia hii offense ya negligence? Leo imekuwa rahisi?

Nne, listen to this we mtu. Kuna kitu Pinda anakosea kila siku. Eti kwa sababu yeye ni mwanasheria, basi kila mara utamsikia anatoa legal opinions. Mara oooh, watu wa Richmond/EPA itakuwa vigumu kuwashitaki kwa negligence. Anachemka. Yeye ni waziri Mkuu, sio Attorney General. Hatakiwi kabisa kutoa toa vi senti mbili vyake vya sheria.

Nitaanza kurekodi kwenye thread maalum michemko yote ya Pinda, kuanzia spichi yake ya kwanza, eti ana highlight kuwa mtoto wa mkulima, as if kuna mtu kwenye generation yake ni mtoto wa Kigogo.

 

[Augustoons]

Sikia we novice wewe!

Probable offense to be charged haina maana offense to be found guilty of. Waziri Mkuu kasha toa hitimisho hapa kwamba hii ni negligence. Hajasema hii ni probable negligence. Kakurupuka kisheria. Acha due process of law ifanye kazi yake.

Pili, Waziri Mkuu hawezi kusema kitu halafu ukasema anatoa mawazo yake. Kila anachosema kinaweza kuwa na authoritative influence. Hapa tayari kesha interfere with the independent judiciary. Hakimu atakuwa under political duress from a high ranking official of a coordinate branch of government, to find negligence. Lawyer mjanja wa hawa Wahandishi ataiibua hii ishu. Watch for that.

Tatu, Pinda huyu si aliwahi kusema ni vigumu kushitaki mtu kwa negligence, unakumbuka? Sasa mbona hapa anarukia hii offense ya negligence? Leo imekuwa rahisi?

Nne, listen to this we mtu. Kuna kitu Pinda anakosea kila siku. Eti kwa sababu yeye ni mwanasheria, basi kila mara utamsikia anatoa legal opinions. Mara oooh, watu wa Richmond/EPA itakuwa vigumu kuwashitaki kwa negligence. Anachemka. Yeye ni waziri Mkuu, sio Attorney General. Hatakiwi kabisa kutoa toa vi senti mbili vyake vya sheria.

Nitaanza kurekodi kwenye thread maalum michemko yote ya Pinda, kuanzia spichi yake ya kwanza, eti ana highlight kuwa mtoto wa mkulima, as if kuna mtu kwenye generation yake ni mtoto wa Kigogo.

Yeye kuwa waziri mkuu haina maana aache kutumia professional yake katika kuongelea mambo fulani.Sisemi kama vitu vingine hachemki,hapana,ila kwa hili alikuwa na haki ya kusema hivyo,au kwa sababu katumia kiingereza?natumai angesema kwamba huo ni uzembe wa kupindukia usingesema kitu ila labda kwa sababu kazungumzia negligence. Kwa taarifa yako tort of negligence nimeifanyia reearch sana tu wala usijaribu kutia mguu kwenye hiyo area nitakuaibisha.Novice ni hao first year,na vicertificate huko chini.
Kuhani nakuheshimu sana kwa mchango wako hapa jf lakini kwa hili sikubaliani nawe na kwa hiyo we have to agree to disagree.
HEBU angalia tena haya maneno ya mwandishi akimnukuu Pinda.
According to the Premier, the professionals involved in the collapsed building should be charged with grave negligence.
Speaking to The Citizen by telephone, Mr Pinda said: ''This is pure negligence. All those responsible should face the law
Hapo hajaingilia uhuru wa mahakama au kwamba kuna duress labda ungeniambia kuwa amewaamulia Police au AG kwamba wamshitaki kwa kosa gani?lakini kumbuka halazimisha,isipokuwa utaona sasa watendaji wanavyoanza kucopy kauli zake as if ni directive,wakija kuchemka baadaye wanasingizia ooh pm aituamuru.
Aidha yeye anasema this is pure negligence,hata watu wengi hapa wamesema huo ni uzembe sasa tatizo ni nini?ni uzembe ndio unaotokana na breach of duty.Na uzembe huu atika sheria ya madhara ni ule unaoitwa professional nengligence. Sasa how do you establish that, is a question of law and fact.
Hivyo mie nadhani pm yupo sahihi tu na tena kaongeza they should face the law, hivyo watendaji wataamua whether they should face criminal or civil law but kwa mujibu wa pm he is talking of civil law.

 

[Morani75]

Heshima mbele wakuu... Leo nimeona pale kwenye Thisday hii article hapa chini!! Kwa kweli ukiangalia kwa harakaharaka ni haya:
1. Class 5 contractor kupewa kazi zaidi ya uwezo wake ni rushwa kwenye vibali, na hata CRB nao si lazima wafanye ukaguzi au?

2. Hata NHC ambao ni wamiliki washiriki wa hilo jengo huko Kitonga Street, walipofanya tender evaluation hawakuliona hili?

Mimi kwa upande wangu ni conclussion moja tu, RUSHWA!!!! Na hii imeanzia CRB, Owner wa jengo mpaka kwa Council Officials!!

Dar building collapse: Same contractor has more major projects in the city

THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam

THE controversial construction company behind the weekend fatal collapse of a high-rise Dar es Salaam building is currently undertaking several other similar building projects in the city way beyond its Class Five licence authorization, THISDAY can reveal today.

Fresh investigations have established that although N.K Decorators Limited is licensed by the Contractors Registration Board (CRB) to handle building projects of a value not exceeding 300m/-, it has managed to land a number of obviously multi-billion shilling projects within Dar es Salaam.

For instance, the company is named as the main contractor for an 11-storey residential apartments complex along Kitonga Street in the city’s Upanga area, now apparently approaching completion.

The Kitonga Street project is a joint venture between a private company, Prime Properties Limited, and the state-owned National Housing Corporation (NHC).

Jeam Associates, the same architects hired for the 10-storey building that crumbled to the ground in Dar es Salaam last Saturday killing at least one person, are also named in the same capacity for the Kitonga Street project.

Further investigations by THISDAY have revealed that N.K Decorators is also named as main contractor for another proposed 16-storey residential-cum-commercial building project along Libya Street in downtown Dar es Salaam.

This project is still in its early stages of execution.

According to our sources, the registered office of N.K Decorators - on plot number 832 Senegal Street in Upanga - is actually the residential home of company proprietor Kantlaar Premji Laxman, who is one of six people currently in police custody pending prosecution in connection with the weekend tragedy.

When asked if he was aware that the same contractor involved in the weekend tragedy is also behind several other mega building projects contrary to its licence authorization, Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Abbas Kandoro, told THISDAY that the City Council is the competent authority to respond to the matter.

’’I am hardly knowledgeable of such things�there are authorities at the municipal level that deal with the licensing of building works,’’ the RC stated.


He reiterated a call for patience as a probe committee he has formed continues to investigate the causes and circumstances that led to the building collapse last Saturday.

According to various construction industry experts interviewed by THISDAY, it is illegal for a Class Five licence contractor like N.K Decorators to be hired as the main contractor for such large-scale building construction projects.

There are seven classes of contractors identified by the CRB, with Class One contractors the only ones allowed to undertake construction projects of unlimited magnitude.

Other classes of contractors with stated limits of the value of building projects they are allowed to handle are Class Two (up to 1.2bn/-), Class Three (900m/-), Class Four (600m/-), Class Five (300m/-), Class Six (150m/-), and Class Seven (75m/-).

According to the Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Suleiman Kova, the six people already arrested in connection with Saturday�s building collapse will soon be formally arraigned in court to face manslaughter charges after at least one person trapped in the rubble was pronounced dead.

Apart from the N.K Decorators proprietor, the other five are Mohsin Somji of McSoms Investments Limited (owner of the collapsed building); Ilala Municipal council engineer Robert Massoro; construction site supervisor Saesh Narah; consultant engineer Athanas Mwijage; and Jonas Mndeme, an architect designer for Jeam Associates and CODEC which were hired as project architects and structural engineers respectively.

The deceased victim of the tragedy, who was trapped in the collapsed building for three days before finally succumbing, has been identified as 45-year-old Shamte Said.

 

[Fundi Mchundo]

The deceased victim of the tragedy, who was trapped in the collapsed building for three days before finally succumbing, has been identified as 45-year-old Shamte Said.

Kwa siku tatu nguvu zote za dola zimeshindwa kumtoa mtu kwenye kakifusi! Kweli tutayamudu hayo ma cyclone yanayokuja kutokana na climate change?

 

[Pezzonovante]

Amani Jamani Tujadili Mada