Tanzania probe $6.7m TAZARA scam

TANZANIA President John Magufuli has ordered the Treasury to probe 15.3 billion shillings ($6.65 million) paid by the government over two years to revive operations of Tazara which links the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam to neighbouring Zambia.

e Presidency said in an emailed statement that the funds were allocated to buy seven new locomotives to increase cargo capacity by 400,000 tonnes, refurbish tracks and improve aging infrastructure.

Instead, the railway is only handling 250,000 tonnes of cargo annually.

e 1,860 kilometre railway known as Tazara needs 19 new locomotives and 700 wagons to ferry passengers to return to pro tability, according to the statement.

He issued the order when he made a stopover at Tazara Main Station in Dar es Salaam before he boarded the train on his way to Kisaki, Morogoro Region, a trip that will also take him to Ru ji, Coast Region where he is today expected to lay the foundation stone for the historic Ru ji Power Project.

According to President Magufuli, the Act that established Tazara denied either partner (Tanzania and Zambia) a chance to make any investment initiatives single-handedly, a situation that also made it di cult to make any reforms in running the authority.

e president directed that the documents with proposals for the legal framework changes be sent to the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication to be submitted to his o ce within this week.

In order to revamp the authority, the two heads of state directed attorneys general of the two countries to meet and review the legal framework of the 1975 Tazara Act to accommodate changes and make it commercially viable and attractive to private players.

President Magufuli met with his Zambian counterpart, Edgar Lungu, to discuss among other issues, Tazara’s long-standing woes in November 2016.

He said their decision was aimed at restoring Tazara’s ability to serve its customers, noting that in 1976, Tazara transported ve million tonnes of cargo annually, but due to low investment causing lack of engines and wagons, the gure had dropped to less than 300,000 as of last year. –