Three ATCL planes grounded over defects and legal issues

Dar es Salaam. Three Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) planes have remained grounded for various reasons, the national carrier has announced.

According to ATCL director general Ladslaus Matindi, two of the three have technical defects in the engines whereas one is entangled in legal issues.

Mr Mtindi’s clarifications came a day after ACT-Wazalendo party leader, Mr Zitto Kabwe claimed that six of the 11 planes on ATCL fleet were not operating because of defects caused by the manufacturer.

Mr Kabwe was speaking on Sunday February 19, 2023 during the launching of the public rallies s held at the Mbagala Zakheim grounds, where he called for an investigation into the purchase of the planes and various issues that took place during the administration of John Magufuli, who banned political rallies in the country.

Also, Zitto claimed that ATCL has written a letter to the government to lease more planes so that they can fill the gap in the trips that were being made by the six planes that have ceased operations due to malfunctions.

"This is corruption, all six planes are not operating, and we want an investigation because the funds used belong to Tanzanians. These are the consequences of preventing public meetings," he said.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam on Monday, Mr Matindi said that apart from the three planes, eight other planes are operating and flying to various destinations, including China and India.

"We have eight planes that are operating without any issues issue; the two that are not operational are due to technical issues caused by manufacturers... you can follow up even at the airport and you will find these planes operational."

"It is possible that there will be necessary maintenance. We have no secret, these are public planes, it is Tanzanians' right to know where they are and what they are doing," Mr Matindi told journalists in Dar es Salaam.

In December 2022, the government allayed fears of the seizure of an ATCL’s Airbus A220 in the Netherlands, saying it could not be nationalized due to an appeal of the ongoing case at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

A Swedish firm that won a $165 million award against Tanzania had persuaded the court to uphold the attachment of the aircraft despite the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) having issued a stay of execution, pending annulment proceedings.

Tanzania has argued that the attachment is unlawful because it was obtained a day after the state petitioned the ICSID to annul EcoDevelopment’s award.

But the judge reasoned that the ICSID’s provisional stay of execution of the award only took effect on the date the institution registered the state’s annulment request.

EcoDevelopment, which is owned by 18 Swedish nationals, brought its ICSID claim in 2017 under the Sweden-Tanzania bilateral investment treaty.

That came after the government decided to unilaterally revoke the land title for a sugar project in Bagamoyo.