Hassan Magulumali
On the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, residents and local leaders have voiced their concerns over poor road infrastructure, with tears of frustration as they struggle with impassable routes.
Residents of Mbopo and Mabwepande have highlighted the severe challenges they face due to the poor condition of roads, particularly the collapsed Kidoboya Bridge, which has remained in disrepair for a long time, disrupting daily activities.
Despite repeated pleas for repairs, they claim that their Member of Parliament, Josephat Gwajima, visited the area and provided shovels for them to fill the bridge with gravel but never returned as promised.
“What you see here was partly cleared using hoes, and MP Gwajima only gave me shovels,” said Mohamed Abdallah Amiri (Zungu), a resident of Kidoboya.
“During the rainy season, we have to pay about 1,000 shillings for children to be carried across the bridge,” added Angel Mwampashe, another resident.
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Mabwepande Street Chairman, Hassan Polomo, stated that fixing the road has been an unfulfilled promise for many years, spanning the tenures of former MPs Rita Mlaki and Halima Mdee, and now under the current MP, Josephat Gwajima.
“The Mabwepande road is always used as a campaign tool during elections, but once the elections are over, nothing gets done,” Polomo lamented.
Residents are now urging the government to take immediate action to reconstruct the bridge and improve the road to ease transportation and daily life.
