Tanzania government maintains its position on ports agreement with Dubai

On June 10, this year, the Tanzanian Parliament consented to the declaration between the two sides despite heated debate going on in mainstream and social media over some provisions.

Former Prime Minister Joseph Warioba was a recent politician to speak about the agreement.

Yesterday, the government spokesperson, Mr Gerson Msigwa, reiterated the government’s decision, saying it cannot remain quiet while significant revenues are lost at the Port.

“We are told that the port services the country’s budget by 37 percent, but implementation of this investment agreement will lift contribution to 67 percent,” he told journalists in a live televised press conference.

“Annual revenue generation from the port will jump from Sh7.7 trillion to Sh26.7 trillion; what do Tanzanians want? People are citing provisions in the agreement; there is no contractual problem there,” he insisted.

He said the government was looking at how to improve system linkages, noting that studies show that congestion at the ports is largely caused by inefficient systems.

According to him, strengthening port systems was among the important goals of the agreement, noting that modern technology would improve container handling at the ports.

“We need to reach a point where ships entering the port are serviced on the same day, he said.

He insisted that worker retention was an area of the agreement, stressing that more jobs would be created during the contract’s implementation for the benefit of Tanzanians.

However, Judge (rtd) Warioba said on Friday that there was a need for the agreement to be reviewed, especially for provisions that cause confusion.

During an interview with a local television station, Judge Warioba said for a long time the Port of Dar es Salaam has been operating inefficiently, noting, however, that the signed agreement has doubtful provisions.

“I passed through the agreement. My belief was that since this is not the first time we have had such contracts in different areas, we were supposed to have learned something from past experiences,” he said.

“It is true that the agreement has provisions that cause doubts. We are not supposed to avoid this; rather, we should see how we can make improvements,” said Judge Warioba, who served the country in different capacities, including as the Attorney General (AG).

He said the country didn’t make enough prior preparations before inking the agreement papers.

“I think we are late in this regard because we had TICTS (Tanzania International Container Terminal Services) at the port, and we thought things had reached an end. We could have decided earlier because ports are very important for the country,” he said.

“It is not enough to say this is the agreement and that other concerns will be accommodated in special contracts. They are supposed to look at the issues of concern that lead to doubts and eliminate them,” he added.