Pressure mounting on JPM to form maritime ministry

President John Pombe Magufuli

Maritime stakeholders are mounting pressure on President John Pombe Magufuli to form a separate Ministry of Maritime and Railways.

 

Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS) chief executive officer, Paul Wallace told The Guardian yesterday that because of its importance to the economy of this country, maritime deserves more attention.

 

“Dar es Salaam port alone accounts for not less than 40 percent of revenue collected by TRA annually,” Wallace said as he firmly put his weight behind Container Depot Association of Tanzania (CDAT), chairman, Ashraf Khan and Tanzania Shipping Agents Association (TASAA) board of trustees chairman, Emmanuel Mallya.

 

He said Dar es Salaam port which is currently under expansion and modernization, will remain an important gateway for the country and landlocked countries to the global market hence the need for better supervision by an own ministry.

 

“We are experiencing cargo growth in general, Rwanda and DR Congo have their cargo volumes increasing,” the TICTS CEO said. The company which operates the largest container terminal with length of 720 meters at Dar es Salaam port and handles over 70 percent of cargo transiting through the prime port, has a concession lasting 2025.

 

Recently, TASAA’s Mallya and CDAT’s Khan, urged Dr Magufuli to seriously consider the plight of Dar es Salaam port’s transport and logistics backbone.

 

“Without a better railway system to ship away cargo from Dar es Salaam port there can never be efficiency, we need a strong railway network if cargo will be ship to the hinterland on time,” said Mallya.

 

He said if properly managed, Dar es Salaam port has capacity to significantly contribute to the country’s gross domestic product because it serves six landlocked countries with 90 percent of the country’s imports and exports going through the prime port.

 

“The presence of three seaports and another three lakes in the country means that maritime is a major industry which alongside railways, needs its own ministry,” Mallya noted.

 

Currently, Dar es Salaam port serves landlocked countries of Burundi, DR Congo, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. Over 90 percent of the transit cargo is transported by trucks because two major railway lines, Central Railway and Tanzania Zambia Railways Authority are clogged by financial problems.

 

TAFFA’s Igogo seconded Mallya’s observation and requested the president to heed stakeholders’ advice to rescue the country’s maritime industry. 

 

“Maritime is a mammoth industry which has been neglected for so long, we want to work with president Magufuli to address this,” Igogo noted.    

He said because authorities treat the maritime sector just like any other business, massive sums of revenue end in private pockets while the government struggles to collect revenue.

 

Igogo named countries such as United Arab Emirates which have a complete ministry to manage maritime hence developing a world class port city in Dubai. 

 

He expressed optimism that Dr Magufuli will carefully consider his choice for Minister of Transport, its relevant agencies and institutions to ensure that the maritime sector is given required attention.

 

In his inaugural address to parliament last week, Dr Magufuli has already pledged to address the problem of a collapsed railway network as a way of improving port efficiency.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN