Mwakyembe spits fire at Port staff

The Minister for Transport, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe last evening gave a two week ultimatum to Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) to automate the payment system and curb rampant theft of public money at the port.

Minister for Transport, Harrison Mwakyembe

He directed the TPA Director General, Director of Finance and Administration or IT Manager to ensure that the computerised payment system is working by June 1 or submit resignation letters before they get sacked.

Dr Mwakyembe said TPA has failed to attain the 100bn/- revenue collection target because of a thieving network that tampers the release orders from the port authority to deny the government huge revenues.

“There is a group of crooks who tamper with these release orders by lowering the payable amount…I have done thorough investigations and I know them,” he warned. Winding up his budget estimates for 2013/14 financial year, Dr Mwakyembe warned unfaithful TPA employees to change or face the wrath of the law, “I urge dishonest TPA workers who are about to retire to quit before they get caught and imprisoned.”

He directed the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA) to work out guidelines and ensure that Noah vehicles start transporting passengers by June 1. He also ordered immediate and unconditional release of all Noah vehicles retained at any police station anywhere in the country.

The minister reaffirmed the government resolve to revamp the Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL), but pleaded for patience as the government was still clearing the mess in the company’s finances.

But, he assured the legislators and the general public that ATCL will pick up and operate competitively and profitably. The ministry, Dr Mwakyembe said, has done a great job to reconstruct the central railway line, saying only a 734 kilometre stretch of the central line remains before the entire line is overhauled. The rail reconstruction, he said, will increase the train speed from the current 30 to 100 kilometres per hour.

By MASATO MASATO, Tanzania Daily News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.