We might have heard of almost every consumable and other products requiring certification by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards but not the bricks we use to put up a shelter over our heads.
Buildings have been collapsing not because of lack of expertise on the part of builders as TBS is now pointing an accusing finger at people engaged in making bricks for failure to seek certification before selling the material to clients.
THE lives of Tanzanians are at stake following the bulk of bricks produced for constructing houses being of low standard, as many contractors and the public prefer purchasing them from freelance brick makers owing to their low prices.
The situation arises from the mushrooming of roadside brick-makers in the city of Dar es Salaam and elsewhere, growing rapidly in recent years. Many fail to abide by approved national standards, as those engaged in brick making prey on the ignorance of those who purchase bricks, even if they themselves know how to produce quality bricks.
A weeklong survey conducted by The Guardian in different parts of the city discovered that the majority of brick makers have poor knowledge or observance of brick making procedures, hence posing a danger to people.
They also did not seem to be which public body regulates this type of business and whether there were any legal procedures to be followed if one wants to establish such a business.
A city resident, Johnson Kipingu when interviewed wondered whether there was a body which regulates the quality of bricks because the business is scattered in every corner of the city.
“Many people have been engaging in this business but I don’t know who regulates it… They also differ inproduction methods as some produce many bricks from one bag of cement while others get much fewer bricks. But at the end of the day they sell all the bricks,” he said.
A brick maker in Kinondoni giving his name as Juma Chambua said that normally he produces 35 quality bricks of five inches width from one bag of cement or 25 bricks of 6 inches width but these must be sold at a higher price.
The majority of customers prefer bricks sold cheaply which in most cases are below standards. He said that in order to sell at sufficiently low process he needs to produce 50 bricks of 5 inches width with one bag of cement, which is below required standards.
Damian Eligy, owner and manager of Motto and Company, a brick making firm, said that most bricks manufactured are of low standard but they have been getting a bigger market compared to quality bricks.
“We are forced to produce bricks below standard because the majority of customers cannot afford to pay for quality bricks,” he said.
A quality brick of 6 inches width goes at 1500/-, while 5 inches brick is sold at 1200/- and those below standard can be sold at 1200/- for 6 inches width and 1000/- for five inches width.
Eligy said that many local contractors prefer cheap bricks which he said were not good for construction.
They usually rush for cheap bricks while disregarding the quality, in which case the trend of some high buildings collapsing is persisting, said Eligy. He said one bag of cement should produce 28 bricks of 6 inches with and 35 bricks of 5 inches width.
But the story is different on the other side as some brick makers go up to 40 bricks of 6 inches width and slightly above 50 bricks of 5 inches width from one bag of cement.
He said the government needs to form a monitoring agency for regulating and inspecting the quality of bricks sold in any place for construction.
He similarly urged the government to reduce cement prices to help brick producers manufacture quality bricks.
The Tanzania Bureau of Standards admits that the mushrooming roadside bricks business lacking in national standards observance. It says that it has embarked on a strategy to educate people engaging in the business so that they certify their product before it enters the market.
Speaking to The Guardian in an exclusive interview at midweek, TBS Acting Director General Joseph Masikitiko said that bricks standards were among the list of compulsory standards thus it was upon the consumers to see the necessity of purchasing quality bricks.
“It is obvious that the bricks business which does not abide by standards has been mushrooming in recent years. TBS has embarked on a strategy of educating the manufacturers to ensure that they certify the quality of their products before they start production,” he stated.
The use of cheap building materials preferred by a number of local contractors puts the lives of many people in danger, he said.
Construction experts have attributed the collapse of buildings to lack of monitoring by TBS, contributing to the use of cheap building materials by unfaithful contractors.
For his side, the Registrar of the Contractors Registration Board (CRB), Eng. Boniface Muhegi said that collapsing buildings are built in a situation of lack of supervision by authorities to see that the building materials used are of the right quality.
“There are some contractors who put out cheap building materials to avoid costs,” he affirmed, intoning that this happens because there is no authority keeping an eye on the brick makers when producing the materials.
He was persuaded that many of the bricks made in Dar es Salaam are of poor quality, urging the rapid formation of an agency to superve the product.
When contacted to specify on what TZS 283:2002 says in that regard, TBS Quality Assurance Officer Steven Minja detailed that it a manufacturer has to bring the brick for quality assurance after twenty eight days from its manufacturing.
“We do not direct them on how to make the bricks. They can manufacture anyway they want as long it meets the quality when checked by TBS,” he specified.
What TBS does is to break the brick and see how hard or smooth the brick divides into two pieces after it has been kept in water for some days, the standards chieftain explained.
A brick is tested to determine its quality and if found that it meets the standards, it is then given a batch verifying that samples of the product had been tested and certified by TBS on the basis of the relevant standards.
After notification that the product has been certified, the mark is then inscribed on the product, with the number for the relevant Tanzania standard (TZS 283:2002). The mark is applied to bricks that meet the standard of quality.
The standards mark is a sign of product quality and gives assurance to manufacturers and buyers that the product can be used safely and reliably, he said.
The standards mark of quality makes people buy with confidence. On the other hand, it protects the manufacturers from competing with inferior products and enables them to prove to the market that their products meet requirements as per the relevant standards.
TBS has a building and construction laboratory for testing building and construction materials and components.
Materials and components tested at the laboratory include cement, aggregates, hardened concrete, bricks and blocks, clay and concrete tiles, concrete pipes and culverts, he added.
Buildings have been collapsing not because of lack of expertise on the part of builders as TBS is now pointing an accusing finger at people engaged in making bricks for failure to seek certification before selling the material to clients.
THE lives of Tanzanians are at stake following the bulk of bricks produced for constructing houses being of low standard, as many contractors and the public prefer purchasing them from freelance brick makers owing to their low prices.
The situation arises from the mushrooming of roadside brick-makers in the city of Dar es Salaam and elsewhere, growing rapidly in recent years. Many fail to abide by approved national standards, as those engaged in brick making prey on the ignorance of those who purchase bricks, even if they themselves know how to produce quality bricks.
A weeklong survey conducted by The Guardian in different parts of the city discovered that the majority of brick makers have poor knowledge or observance of brick making procedures, hence posing a danger to people.
They also did not seem to be which public body regulates this type of business and whether there were any legal procedures to be followed if one wants to establish such a business.
A city resident, Johnson Kipingu when interviewed wondered whether there was a body which regulates the quality of bricks because the business is scattered in every corner of the city.
“Many people have been engaging in this business but I don’t know who regulates it… They also differ inproduction methods as some produce many bricks from one bag of cement while others get much fewer bricks. But at the end of the day they sell all the bricks,” he said.
A brick maker in Kinondoni giving his name as Juma Chambua said that normally he produces 35 quality bricks of five inches width from one bag of cement or 25 bricks of 6 inches width but these must be sold at a higher price.
The majority of customers prefer bricks sold cheaply which in most cases are below standards. He said that in order to sell at sufficiently low process he needs to produce 50 bricks of 5 inches width with one bag of cement, which is below required standards.
Damian Eligy, owner and manager of Motto and Company, a brick making firm, said that most bricks manufactured are of low standard but they have been getting a bigger market compared to quality bricks.
“We are forced to produce bricks below standard because the majority of customers cannot afford to pay for quality bricks,” he said.
A quality brick of 6 inches width goes at 1500/-, while 5 inches brick is sold at 1200/- and those below standard can be sold at 1200/- for 6 inches width and 1000/- for five inches width.
Eligy said that many local contractors prefer cheap bricks which he said were not good for construction.
They usually rush for cheap bricks while disregarding the quality, in which case the trend of some high buildings collapsing is persisting, said Eligy. He said one bag of cement should produce 28 bricks of 6 inches with and 35 bricks of 5 inches width.
But the story is different on the other side as some brick makers go up to 40 bricks of 6 inches width and slightly above 50 bricks of 5 inches width from one bag of cement.
He said the government needs to form a monitoring agency for regulating and inspecting the quality of bricks sold in any place for construction.
He similarly urged the government to reduce cement prices to help brick producers manufacture quality bricks.
The Tanzania Bureau of Standards admits that the mushrooming roadside bricks business lacking in national standards observance. It says that it has embarked on a strategy to educate people engaging in the business so that they certify their product before it enters the market.
Speaking to The Guardian in an exclusive interview at midweek, TBS Acting Director General Joseph Masikitiko said that bricks standards were among the list of compulsory standards thus it was upon the consumers to see the necessity of purchasing quality bricks.
“It is obvious that the bricks business which does not abide by standards has been mushrooming in recent years. TBS has embarked on a strategy of educating the manufacturers to ensure that they certify the quality of their products before they start production,” he stated.
The use of cheap building materials preferred by a number of local contractors puts the lives of many people in danger, he said.
Construction experts have attributed the collapse of buildings to lack of monitoring by TBS, contributing to the use of cheap building materials by unfaithful contractors.
For his side, the Registrar of the Contractors Registration Board (CRB), Eng. Boniface Muhegi said that collapsing buildings are built in a situation of lack of supervision by authorities to see that the building materials used are of the right quality.
“There are some contractors who put out cheap building materials to avoid costs,” he affirmed, intoning that this happens because there is no authority keeping an eye on the brick makers when producing the materials.
He was persuaded that many of the bricks made in Dar es Salaam are of poor quality, urging the rapid formation of an agency to superve the product.
When contacted to specify on what TZS 283:2002 says in that regard, TBS Quality Assurance Officer Steven Minja detailed that it a manufacturer has to bring the brick for quality assurance after twenty eight days from its manufacturing.
“We do not direct them on how to make the bricks. They can manufacture anyway they want as long it meets the quality when checked by TBS,” he specified.
What TBS does is to break the brick and see how hard or smooth the brick divides into two pieces after it has been kept in water for some days, the standards chieftain explained.
A brick is tested to determine its quality and if found that it meets the standards, it is then given a batch verifying that samples of the product had been tested and certified by TBS on the basis of the relevant standards.
After notification that the product has been certified, the mark is then inscribed on the product, with the number for the relevant Tanzania standard (TZS 283:2002). The mark is applied to bricks that meet the standard of quality.
The standards mark is a sign of product quality and gives assurance to manufacturers and buyers that the product can be used safely and reliably, he said.
The standards mark of quality makes people buy with confidence. On the other hand, it protects the manufacturers from competing with inferior products and enables them to prove to the market that their products meet requirements as per the relevant standards.
TBS has a building and construction laboratory for testing building and construction materials and components.
Materials and components tested at the laboratory include cement, aggregates, hardened concrete, bricks and blocks, clay and concrete tiles, concrete pipes and culverts, he added.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
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