Thursday, March 28, 2024

Chikwanda leads Zambian delagation at TAZARA meeting as Tanzania wants more benefitss

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Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda delivering the 2015 budget
Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda delivering the 2015 budget

MINISTER of Finance Alexander Chikwanda is leading a Zambian delegation at the 61st TAZARA council of ministers meeting in Dar es Salaam.

And the Tanzania Parliamentary Committee on Infrastructure has asked its government to review the law establishing Tazara for it to operate commercially instead of sticking to the present Act which only benefits Zambia.

Mr Chikwanda is acompanied by Minister of Transport, Communication, Works and Supply Yamfwa Mukanga, Minister of Commerce and Trade Robert Sichinga, permanent secretary Charles Sipanje and other senior government officials.

The meeting, which is being held at Tazara head office, is also being attended by Tanzanian Minister of Transport Harrison Makyembe, Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Abdallah Kigoda and other senior government officials.

Speaking after touring a number of projects in Dar es Salaam and Mbeya on Tuesday, the Tanzanian Parliamentarian Committee on Infrastructure called for more investment in Tazara.

The projects visited by the committee were: the gravel factory, rail-making plant at Kongolo Mswiswi in Mbarali and train engine repairing garage in Mbeya.

“The present law which states that the head of the rail should be Zambian and should also have the last say on the transport entity has been overtaken by events and therefore should be scrapped,” said Tunduru South lawmaker Mtutura Abdallah.

He said the formation of the railway agency was governed by the politics of the time which have been on the reign in operating it, adding that it ought to be reviewed to allow the first Uhuru railway on the continent operate commercially.

“Two things ought to be done at the same time. One is the review of the Act governing the rail operations so as to have it run commercially for the benefit of the shareholders. And two; the government to invest more into this agency for more productivity and the national economic growth,” Mr Mtutura said.

Mariam Msabaha (Zanzibar Urban West, Special Seats) said it is high time the government ensured that workers in the railway company were paid their salaries on time so they could work more efficiently and effectively.

For a number of years now, Tazara workers, particularly those on the Tanzanian side, have been going without salaries for many months.

She said this was so because Zambia had reviewed the establishing law.

Special Seats MP for Arusha Rebecca Mngodo said the Transport ministry ought to prepare a budget for the railway which should be passed by the parliament to make it more efficiency.

She said before investing more money in Tazara, the law must put it clearly how Tanzanians are going to benefit.
Committee chairperson Juma Kapuya said the committee will advise the government accordingly on what ought to be done to revamp Tazara.

“We have seen how the nation is poorly fairing in Tazara, besides we have seen many things including the good projects under the rail which are not running productively. We are going to document our observations to the government on its part in Tazara,” Professor Kapuya said.

And Dr Mwakyembe said he concurred with the lawmakers’ views that the rail company should now operate as a commercial entity.

He said circumstances which were governing during the establishment of the rail firm and the Tanzania-Zambia Pipeline were aimed at saving Zambia from depending on the exploitative Boer regime of South Africa. That is why the law had to favour Zambia more than Tanzania, he added.

“At present, such circumstances are non-existent, he said, therefore there is a need to change the law so as to benefit the shareholders equally, “he said.

The committee will also tour Itungi port on Lake Nyasa, Songwe international airport, and Momba district bordering Zambia.

8 COMMENTS

  1. The Tanzanians are right, TAZARA or any other company should be run on commercial basis. Our colleagues are kilometers ahead in liberalizing their economy, even those which Zambia considers to be of “strategic” national interest.
    The biggest problem with our parastatal companies is that the ruling party “strategically” uses them as a reservoir of employment for their relations,friends and party cadres. The “companies” were dismal failures even under KK, and continue to be a huge drain on our national revenues under the PF government.
    For example, when government has revenue shortfalls they look only to increase the Mines taxes but not the expenditure side e.g. borrowing money to prop up parastatals which should really stand on their own as commercial or private entities.

  2. Africans just TALK without going to the root cause of the PROBLEM ” Quote by kasaka” The problem is Finance management , Tazara has been funded by China for so many years, where does the profits go? AKA is a very good manager but he resigned, why not promote Prof. Clive to run it?? u know the man is presidential material not EL so he can do well in TAZARA first before being head of state in 2016

  3. The main problem of TAZARA is the single corrupt Steven Mandona of Mpika.
    The man should arrested and be investigated by the ACC.

    Mandona has been abusing young girls who come to look for employment.
    People are given fake transfares by this man and those who refuse are told to pay a bribery fee of K1000 or be put on suspension.
    As I write 50 of Tazara workers who refused to pay this man have all been put on suspension and the man is busy drawing their salaries with the Human Resource and many other corrupt so called Tazara Managers.
    The ACC should arrest and investigate this corrupt man.

    • @ Tazara-Kapiri
      Thanks a lot for bringing the issue of this man called Stephen Mandona.
      Mandona as the Head of Operations Officer has really been receiving corruption from the workers he corruptly trans fare so that he can receive K1000.

      Let the ACC investigate this man.

  4. I feel it could have been prudent for parliamentarian committee to come out and tell what benefits Zambia has benefited so far by citing Examples. if you go deeper and extract why TZR is limping you ll find most Challenges lies in the Corridor of Tanzania. The two GOVT could have just allowed the Chinese to run it otherwise us blacks will continual blaming each other.

  5. @tazara kapiri/mpika.
    you are very behind and illiterate villagers,tzr is rotten because of scumbags like you,what can 1 man change to this confused excuse of a company where workers do not even know whether they are coming or going.you chased mr masiliso(RGM),mr mbala(HHR) and mr mofya(HF) in 2012,the MD mr AKA also resigned because of village politics,but what has that helped you than making things worse.you want the company to remain headless without HD’s? then you are wrong and you should go back to night school and learn the importance of leadership.after harassing heads of dept’s in kapiri and now you are on mr mandona’s head,the company cannot go anywhere with this primitive mentality.In lafarge,we concetrate on business not personalities no wonder we’ve recorded a 37% growth.

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