| THE | ARUSHA TIMES |
ON THE WEB
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ISSN 0856-6135; No. 00205 |
January 26 - February 1, 2002 |
ON THE WEB
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Tanesco in Labour!By lute wa lutengano The other evening as we were drowning our sorrows of entering the New Year in poverty at one of the watering holes in town, the power simply went off. Everybody seated at what is popularly known as the 'roundabout' cursed loudly. "We are getting used to this Tanesco game," commented one serious looking member. "Since the Government announced that Tanesco would be handed over to an international management team and later privatised, there has been what are thought to be some deliberate actions to sabotage power supply in the country by Tanesco staff. This is very serious," he added. Sure enough, a few days later, staff of Tanesco in Mara region issued a stern warning to the Government. "Meet our demands or we blow up Tanesco plants in the country!" they demanded. That is very serious! In Dar es Salaam, the workers issued another warning to the Government. They gave it a one‑week ultimatum to meet a set of conditions short of which they would block the new private management firm from taking over later this month. They said they would instruct their lawyers to begin proceedings for a court injunction. This whole conflict between Tanesco staff and the Government is, to say the least, amusing to most Tanzanians. If the discussions at the roundabout are to go by, Tanzanians are on this occasion supporting the Government's move. A very rare scenario indeed! One will recall how Tanzanians rallied behind the workers during the privatisation of the National Bank of Commerce. Tanzanians, supported by Newspapers, from all walks of life condemned the manner and process of privatising the NBC. The Government had to watch every step on the matter very carefully. But with Tanesco, Tanzanians have a different view. They suddenly recall the many times they have argued futilely with the almighty Tanesco demi‑gods who storm their household disconnecting power without even checking on the bills. They recall the many times they have been forced to stand under scorching sun or torrential rains waiting to pay their imaginary bills. They also recall the many times they have been forced to part with money to Tanesco staff so that they get their rightfully paid‑for services. As far as Tanesco is concerned, the "Customer is Never Right." Even foreigners, in this case, the hundreds of staff of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, have a bone to pick with Tanesco. Many are stories whereby they are sent bills amounting to millions of shillings for two or three months stay in the houses they have just moved in. These are swiftly followed by some days in the dark as Tanesco goes ahead and disconnects power. I am told each staff of the Tribunal has a harrowing story to tell about Tanesco. Tanzanians who are in the process of building houses have even worse stories. Some have been waiting for more than three years to get connected after paying for the service. Tanesco staff members are notorious for wanting to be paid something before they can do what they are officially paid to do. So when Tanesco staff airs the cries for injustice, the rest of the community is very amused. The serious member of roundabout summed up the whole saga with a Swahili saying "Usitukane Wakunga wakati Uzazi Ungalipo"? 'Do not abuse midwives while child bearing is still there." The Tanzanian midwives have abandoned Tanesco as it goes into labour. Oh! What a pity! |
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Last modified:
January 25, 2002. Webmaster: WDJMallya |