Uhandisi = Siasa... wapi unapata PESA? Uh ni BONGO
Soma hii kutoka Citizen la leo labda utaelewa.
=======
By Elisha Magolanga
Dar es Salaam. Nominated MP James Mbatia was among the heroes of the rescue effort at the site of the collapsed high-rise building in Dar es Salaam.A civil engineer by profession, Mr Mbatia was at the site throughout the search and rescue operation that lasted three days after the 16-storey building crumbled last Friday.
The title of his Masters' thesis at Hanze University Applied of Sciences in the Netherlands in 2009 is Risk Management for the Damsterd City Parking Facility. He was asked when defending his thesis whether it was applicable to Africa, to which he replied: "Yes, it is. We live in a global village. I will go back Africa to apply the knowledge I have acquired."
The Citizen witnessed Mr Mbatia, who is also chairman of the opposition NCCR-Mageuzi, working closely with members of the Dar es Salaam Regional Security Committee for three consecutive days as rescue teams sifted through the rubble looking for survivors and bodies.
This was in contrast to other politicians who visited the site for a few minutes before hurriedly leaving the area.
He directed excavator operators and truck drivers during the rescue operation.
At times, he helped to control crowds that were hampering the operation.
Mr Mbatia was the one who proposed the demolition of the perimeter wall of an adjacent mosque to make it easier to remove the mountain of rubble. The idea made the work a lot easier and faster.
An eyewitness at the site of the disaster, Mr Khamis Issa, a resident of Micheweni, Zanzibar, told The Citizen that Mr Mbatia also participated in search and rescue operations after the sinking of the ferry MV Skagit ferry in 2011 in which 144 people died.
"This is the second time I'm seeing Mr Mbatia participate in rescue operations. I saw him in Zanzibar during the MV Skagit disaster," he said.Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Commander Suleiman Kova commended Mr Mbatia, describing him as a true patriot.
"I didn't know that Honourable Mbatia is a professional in risk management. I have learned something important from him. This will help us to deal with similar events in the future," he said.
Mr Mbatia also participated in rescue efforts in the aftermath of the devastating December 2011 floods in Dar es Salaam.
Asked what his motivation was, Mr Mbatia replied: "It all boils down to patriotism. I want to practise in my country what I learnt in the Netherlands. I want the knowledge I gained abroad to benefit my compatriots."
He said, however, that the collapse of the building was a "man-made" disaster.
"This is not at accident. This was caused by sheer negligence. The relevant authorities are to blame for this...this is not an act of God," he said.
Mr Mbatia advised the government to establish rescue management units from the district to national levels to ensure quick and effective response to disasters. He said there should be no bureaucracy in responding to disasters.
Recalling his days at the University of Dar es Salaam, Mr Mbatia blamed "militancy" for his suspension in 1992 when he was in the fourth year of his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering studies.
He had organised a demonstration to oppose the cost-sharing remedy prescribed by the World Bank.
The demonstrators urged the government not to accept the World Bank's conditions.
Mr Mbatia was the first MP from an opposition party to have polled over 85 per cent of the vote in a parliamentary election when he was elected Vunjo MP in 1995.
Source: The Citizen, Tuesday, 02 April 2013 21:34