By JAMES KUNDA –
THE Governments of Zambia and Tanzania have resolved to immediately inject US$25 million into the operations of the Tanzania Zambia Authority (TAZARA), in a continued effort to save the rail firm from collapse.
TAZARA management and the board of directors have since been directed to draw up a comprehensive and bankable business plan by the end of January 2015, which would clearly map the future of the company and ensure that it becomes self-sustaining.
A communiqué to this effect was signed by Tanzanian Transport minister Harrison Mwakyembe and his Zambian counterpart Yamfwa Mukanga in their respective capacities as chairperson and co-chairperson of the TAZARA council of ministers.
This was after a TAZARA council of ministers meeting held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Saturday to discuss the welfare of the rail company.
The performance of TAZARA had fallen to record low levels of less than 300,000 tons of freight per year in the recent past from the peak of 1.2m tons per year in the late 1980’s.
“In this regard, the Council resolves to immediately inject not less than $25 million into the Authority, subject to an acceptable and bankable business plan being in place.
“The two Governments remain fully committed to the financing of TAZARA operations and, nonetheless, we urge the board and management to look for other more sustainable ways of financing the Authority by engaging the private sector,” reads the communiqué.
The Council of ministers also reviewed the progress in the implementation of the resolution of the at its last meeting in July where it was agreed to provide funding of $80 million for re-capitalisation and working capital requirements at TAZARA.
“The shareholders have so far released about $6 million, which has been applied on paying salaries in both countries.
“We have noted that the Management has implemented some changes in the operations of passenger and freight services but urge them to further review these operations and find ways of eliminating losses and improving the services,” the communiqué reads.
The Council of Ministers directed that other railway operators such as Zambia Railways Limited should be allowed to run both passenger and freight services to Dar es Salaam and that TAZARA should equally be allowed to go from Dar es Salaam to the Copperbelt, Lusaka or any part of Zambia.
In this regard, the board was directed to work out the modalities of allowing access of other operators into the TAZARA line by the end of January 2015 or even earlier.
Efforts have also been made in implementing the decentralisation policy as directed by the Council at the last meeting in July.
Further studies however, need to be undertaken to scrutinize the likely impacts and come up with options and recommendations on how best to embrace decentralisation by the end of February 2014.
The Council of Ministers also directed that the review of the TAZARA Act of 1995 in order to make the Authority more business-oriented should be expedited with the draft changes to the Act in submitted to the Chairperson of the Council by the end of December 2014.
The Council also wants positions for some senior executives of the Authority that have been outstanding to be filled by the end of February 2015.
“We re-affirm that although bi-national in nature, TAZARA is a unitary railway and shall remain so as originally founded by Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda and Chairperson Mao Zedong, who are also the founding fathers of Tanzania, Zambia and China, respectively,” reads the communiqué.