Kudos to John Pombe Magufuli, Edger Lungu on TAZARA redress

TANZANIA and Zambia have for years enjoyed cordial business, social and political relationship.

                                          Zambian President Edgar Lungu

And, the visit of Zambian President Edgar Lungu to the country promises to further cement the good relation that has existed for decades. We consider President Lungu’s three-day state visit as critical towards strengthening cooperation between Dar es Salaam and Lusaka through increased investment in the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) system and Tanzania Zambia Mafuta (TAZAMA) pipeline.

President Lungu and his 20-person entourage has already visited TAZARA Headquarters in Dar es Salaam. The visit has availed President John Magufuli and his guest with an ample opportunity to deliberate on strategies to revive TAZARA whose performance has been diminishing in recent years.

Both, Heads of States have principally concurred that poor management is the key problem haunting TAZARA, agreeing to amend the law to allow recruitment of competent, qualified and strong people to manage the authority.

The presidents have directed their respective Attorney Generals to draft the documents ready for amendment of the law. It’s therefore obvious that President Lungu’s visit has been of great success, promising to push things forward.

The promised management changes within TAZARA will undeniably benefit both Tanzanians and Zambians. Available statistics show that Zambia tops the list of countries using the Dar es Salaam port, importing and exporting millions of tonnes of cargo through the port.

But, the poor performance of TAZARA has been compelling traders to opt for road transport, which is not only costly but also unreliable.

Hauling the heavy cargo consignments from Dar es Salaam port to Zambia by roads too damages the expensively constructed transport infrastructure.

We firmly believe and fully support the presidents’ resolve to strengthen TAZARA as an effective strategy to protect the countries’ roads against heavy haulage. Reinforcement of TAZARA management and operations will further improve business operations between the two countries, easing trade and transportation services.