New ferries must give the Nation value for money

A successful ferry service is important to business. Our economy can immensely benefit from it. That is why many will welcome the government’s decision to purchase three new ferries to ease transport woes and boost business in three regions.

According to officials, a new Sh6 billion ferry will ply the Magogoni-Kigamboni route in Dar es Salaam while Sh3.9 billion will be spent on a new ferry to operate in Mwanza. The third will provide services in Pangani, Tanga.

In Kigamboni, residents will tell you how important MV Magogoni and MV Kigamboni ferry services are to them. The same applies to Mwanza and Pangani where there are reliable services. But while we celebrate, we shouldn’t forget we are still counting our losses from the MV Dar es Salaam.

Launched amid pomp and fanfare, the Sh8 billion passenger ferry has regrettably become just another white elephant. Things haven’t worked out quite the way everybody had expected, or have they?

The ferry was meant to help decongest the Bagamoyo and Ali-Hassan Mwinyi roads by offering alternative transport over the nearly 78 kilometre distance from Dar-es Salaam Port to Bagamoyo.

Sadly, the ferry builders got it all wrong from the outset. Their choice of material was bad. Its speed as well. It could not work well for a three-hour route. It simply could not serve its purpose.

Considering that this project left a stain on the image of the Works ministry, we believe there will be no room for failure in the planned ferry purchases.

Have feasibility studies been carried out? Are we buying the right type or make of the ferries? Do we have the support infrastructure to operate the ferries? These are just some of the questions we should be asking as we cautiously celebrate the announcement.

And as a nation, we need to learn from past mistakes. Othewise the new ferries will be another charade.

TIME FOR  POLICE TO WIN TRUST

A culture of violence is taking root in our society. Suspected criminals get beaten up, stoned or burnt to death in the hands of the so-called angry mobs. This is turning ourselves into blood-thirsty creatures that aren’t in tandem with the type of nation we aspire to build.

We tend to forget we all must adhere to the rule of law without which ours becomes an anarchical state.

Taking the law into one’s own hands is often blamed on poor administration of justice. When people notice lack of seriousness on the part of the police and other law enforcers, their next option is taking the law into their own hands.

It means the police and Judiciary need to guarantee good people’s safety and ensure the bad ones are duly punished, if they are to earn people’s trust. On top of that, people see some law enforcers, who are supposed to show exemplary civil conduct engage in illegalities such as taking bribes, beating up, torturing or even shooting suspects. Every year, there are reports on extrajudicial killings.

At times criminals go scot free while law-abiding citizens are harassed. The fact is, law abiding people tend to kill suspects when they believe handing them over to the police will be a waste of time! Law enforcers must ensure they win public trust.