80 pct of public buildings in Zanzibar unsafe: official

At least 80 percent of public buildings in Tanzania's Island of Zanzibar are not safe, according to an official of the Fire and Rescue Force.

Zanzibar commissioner of Fire and Rescue Force Ali Malimussy said on Monday that the situation was due to lack of emergency response in case of fire and fire-fighting gadgets in most buildings.

The official said that inspections carried out in many government buildings in the Indian Ocean Island of Zanzibar show that most of them have no emergency services including school buildings where it was necessary for the sake of student safety.

According to him, inspections had been conducted in public buildings, including boarding schools and recommendations had been forwarded to the government for preventive measures to be taken for security reasons.

"Houses with metal windows and doors are a major problem when fire breaks out because it will be difficult to save lives of the families," Said Malimussy.

Police and fire department officials in Zanzibar also revealed that aged buildings and their poor conditions in Stone Town may pose challenges in case they collapse with debris blocking the way of rescue force.

"Let us join hands with development partners to renovate buildings to minimise such incidents. We may be putting the lives of our people at risk by leaving old buildings unrepaired," said Police source.

Zanzibar has been recording increased collapsing of buildings in recent years, with the historical 'House of Wonders' collapsing in 2012 and since then it has been undergoing repairs. House of Wonders is a landmark building in Stone Town.

The Zanzibar Stone town Conservation Authority has been complaining of lack of funds to repair most of the old buildings, necessary to keep the Island's status as one of the world's heritage sites. Endit