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By ThisDay Reporter
7th December 2009
CONTROVERSIAL contracts for the leasing of locomotives and passenger coaches for Tanzania Railway Limited (TRL) valued at more than $37m (approx. 50bn/-) over a period of five years were drafted and signed by officials from RITES Limited of India, without the signature of any authorized government representative, THISDAY can now reveal.
Contracting parties in the lease agreements were all from India, with no one representing the interests of the Tanzanian government. According to THISDAY findings, even the persons who witnessed the signing of the contracts were from RITES of India.
The contracting parties in the lease agreements signed in September 2007 were TRL and RITES Ltd. However, TRL's expatriate management from India was appointed by RITES Ltd, which has a 51 per cent stake in the privatized railway company.
The Tanzanian government is a minority shareholder in TRL with a 49 per cent stake. This means that all signatories to the contracts were essentially representing the interests of one entity - RITES Ltd of India.
The highly controversial contracts involve the leasing of 25 locomotives and 23 coaches from the Indian company.
TRL's former managing director, Narasimhaswami Jayaram, and TRL's executive director in charge of rolling stock, Rathore Mukesh - who were both hired by RITES Ltd - signed the contract for the leasing of passenger coaches on behalf of the railway company.
RITES Ltd's general manager, Amitabh Sinha, signed the agreement on behalf of the Indian company while one C.C. Joy, manager of the RITES loco leasing project in Tabora, signed as a witness.
Likewise, Jayaram also signed the contract for the leasing of locomotives on behalf of TRL, with Sanjay Misra, the company's executive director, acting as a witness.
Sumit Sinha, executive director of RITES expotech division, signed the contract on behalf of the Indian company, with RITES Ltd's general manager Amitabh Sinha signing as a witness to the agreement.
The two contracts were thus signed by just one party - RITES Ltd - but bind TRL to pay more than 50bn/- over a period of five years for leasing locomotives and passenger coaches from the Indian company under dubious terms and conditions.
Under the lease agreement, TRL will pay RITES Ltd a staggering $31,777,850 (approx. 42.4bn/-) for hiring refurbished YDM-4 type engines from India over a period of five years.
The hefty price tag covers a wide range of costs, including a daily charge of $650 (approx. 900,000/-) per day per locomotive.
TRL was also required to pay in advance more than $2m (approx. 2.8bn/-) to RITES Ltd for mobilization of the locomotives from India.
In the contract for the leasing of passenger coaches, TRL will also pay RITES Ltd $5,515,300 (approx. 7.4bn/-) for leasing 23 wagons for five years.
RITES Ltd demanded an upfront payment of $1,247,995 (approx. 1.7bn/-) for the coaches.
Among other things, TRL was also required to pay the freight and insurance charges for transporting the locomotives and passenger coaches from India to Tanzania.
Transport industry watchers say despite the combined 50bn/- price tag for leasing locomotives and passenger coaches from India, railway services under TRL have actually become worse than they were under the formerly state-owned Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC).
The Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA), for one, has raised safety concerns over TRL operations, describing the national railway carrier as the worst public transport service provider in the country.
Inspections by SUMATRA have concluded that the safety of thousands of people using TRL services could be at risk.
SUMATRA's consumer consultative council assessed the quality of railway services after receiving a string of complaints from passengers, and council members travelled by train from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma to get first-hand experience of the prevalent conditions.
According to their findings, the problems include overcrowding of passengers, lack of communication between some railway stations, and appalling cabin conditions whereby many wagons are infested with rats, cockroaches and lice.
The SUMATRA report further notes that some passenger coaches, including the first-class cabins, have no lights, forcing passengers to travel in total darkness at night.
While it takes more than 48 hours for a train to reach Kigoma from Dar es Salaam, passengers are said to go without water services in the wagons during the entire trip.
RITES Ltd signed a 25-year concession agreement with the government to lease the 2,700-kilometre railway network.
But since the Indian firm took over the railway line, carried tonnage has gone even further down, workers have been staging on-and-off strikes over unpaid salaries, and the government and RITES Ltd have been heaping blame on each other over the decline in services.
Calls for the outright cancellation of the contract have echoed in parliament and elsewhere.
It's a shame that the government is protecting the investor (RITES Ltd), who has obviously failed to deliver, Tanzania Railway Workers Union (TRAWU) secretary general Sylvester Rwegasira told THISDAY.
TRL's current managing director, Hundi Lal Chaudhary, told THISDAY that RITES and the government are in ongoing talks on the future of the railway firm.
I cannot comment anything at the moment as the government has already explained to the public the prevailing situation at TRL," Chaudhary stated.
On his part, the Minister for Infrastructure Development, Dr Shukuru Kawambwa, told THISDAY that the government is still searching for a lasting
7th December 2009
CONTROVERSIAL contracts for the leasing of locomotives and passenger coaches for Tanzania Railway Limited (TRL) valued at more than $37m (approx. 50bn/-) over a period of five years were drafted and signed by officials from RITES Limited of India, without the signature of any authorized government representative, THISDAY can now reveal.
Contracting parties in the lease agreements were all from India, with no one representing the interests of the Tanzanian government. According to THISDAY findings, even the persons who witnessed the signing of the contracts were from RITES of India.
The contracting parties in the lease agreements signed in September 2007 were TRL and RITES Ltd. However, TRL's expatriate management from India was appointed by RITES Ltd, which has a 51 per cent stake in the privatized railway company.
The Tanzanian government is a minority shareholder in TRL with a 49 per cent stake. This means that all signatories to the contracts were essentially representing the interests of one entity - RITES Ltd of India.
The highly controversial contracts involve the leasing of 25 locomotives and 23 coaches from the Indian company.
TRL's former managing director, Narasimhaswami Jayaram, and TRL's executive director in charge of rolling stock, Rathore Mukesh - who were both hired by RITES Ltd - signed the contract for the leasing of passenger coaches on behalf of the railway company.
RITES Ltd's general manager, Amitabh Sinha, signed the agreement on behalf of the Indian company while one C.C. Joy, manager of the RITES loco leasing project in Tabora, signed as a witness.
Likewise, Jayaram also signed the contract for the leasing of locomotives on behalf of TRL, with Sanjay Misra, the company's executive director, acting as a witness.
Sumit Sinha, executive director of RITES expotech division, signed the contract on behalf of the Indian company, with RITES Ltd's general manager Amitabh Sinha signing as a witness to the agreement.
The two contracts were thus signed by just one party - RITES Ltd - but bind TRL to pay more than 50bn/- over a period of five years for leasing locomotives and passenger coaches from the Indian company under dubious terms and conditions.
Under the lease agreement, TRL will pay RITES Ltd a staggering $31,777,850 (approx. 42.4bn/-) for hiring refurbished YDM-4 type engines from India over a period of five years.
The hefty price tag covers a wide range of costs, including a daily charge of $650 (approx. 900,000/-) per day per locomotive.
TRL was also required to pay in advance more than $2m (approx. 2.8bn/-) to RITES Ltd for mobilization of the locomotives from India.
In the contract for the leasing of passenger coaches, TRL will also pay RITES Ltd $5,515,300 (approx. 7.4bn/-) for leasing 23 wagons for five years.
RITES Ltd demanded an upfront payment of $1,247,995 (approx. 1.7bn/-) for the coaches.
Among other things, TRL was also required to pay the freight and insurance charges for transporting the locomotives and passenger coaches from India to Tanzania.
Transport industry watchers say despite the combined 50bn/- price tag for leasing locomotives and passenger coaches from India, railway services under TRL have actually become worse than they were under the formerly state-owned Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC).
The Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA), for one, has raised safety concerns over TRL operations, describing the national railway carrier as the worst public transport service provider in the country.
Inspections by SUMATRA have concluded that the safety of thousands of people using TRL services could be at risk.
SUMATRA's consumer consultative council assessed the quality of railway services after receiving a string of complaints from passengers, and council members travelled by train from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma to get first-hand experience of the prevalent conditions.
According to their findings, the problems include overcrowding of passengers, lack of communication between some railway stations, and appalling cabin conditions whereby many wagons are infested with rats, cockroaches and lice.
The SUMATRA report further notes that some passenger coaches, including the first-class cabins, have no lights, forcing passengers to travel in total darkness at night.
While it takes more than 48 hours for a train to reach Kigoma from Dar es Salaam, passengers are said to go without water services in the wagons during the entire trip.
RITES Ltd signed a 25-year concession agreement with the government to lease the 2,700-kilometre railway network.
But since the Indian firm took over the railway line, carried tonnage has gone even further down, workers have been staging on-and-off strikes over unpaid salaries, and the government and RITES Ltd have been heaping blame on each other over the decline in services.
Calls for the outright cancellation of the contract have echoed in parliament and elsewhere.
It's a shame that the government is protecting the investor (RITES Ltd), who has obviously failed to deliver, Tanzania Railway Workers Union (TRAWU) secretary general Sylvester Rwegasira told THISDAY.
TRL's current managing director, Hundi Lal Chaudhary, told THISDAY that RITES and the government are in ongoing talks on the future of the railway firm.
I cannot comment anything at the moment as the government has already explained to the public the prevailing situation at TRL," Chaudhary stated.
On his part, the Minister for Infrastructure Development, Dr Shukuru Kawambwa, told THISDAY that the government is still searching for a lasting