JK is running around the world begging people to come and invest in TZ but who is going to come and invest in a country where Incompetence, corruption and bureaucracy are rampant. The Ports are to say the least congested, The Airline has failed, The Roads are a bloodbath, Electricity is unreliable, crime is rampant, Traffic in the commercial capital is at a standstill, Clean safe water is a luxury... I could go on and on. Is this really an conducive environment for investment. JK needs to concentrate fixing the problems at home first.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=7065
Zambian businesses will continue to shun Dar port â ZAM
By Mutale Kapekele
Tue 16 Mar. 2010, 04:00 CAT [44 Reads, 0 Comment(s)]
ZAMBIAN businesses will continue shunning Dar-es-Salaam port for as long as corruption and theft is not dealt with by Tanzanian authorities, Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM) president Chance Kabaghe has said.
But Tanzanian minister of East African cooperation Dr Diodorus Kamala has said authorities in the host country for Dar-es-Salaam port have made improvements and requested commerce minister Felix Mutati to lead a delegation to have first on-site inspection of the facility.
Dr Kamala was in the country last week to canvass for support from local entrepreneurs as part of the ongoing exercise to market Dar-es-Salaam port to transporters and businessmen in eastern, central and southern Africa.
The trade mission for the promotion of the Dar-es-salaam Port was co-sponsored by the Tanzanian government and Skysea Limited, a clearing and forwarding company based in that country.
Kabaghe said even though the port was the nearest to Zambia, local businessmen shunned it because of rampant corruption and loss of goods in transit.
The relationship between Zambia and Tanzania is very strong and it is only natural that we do business together,â Kabaghe said. But when it comes to using the Dar port, strong questions always arise. There are thoughts of corruption, stealing, inefficiencies and there are no guarantees. I can tell you that the majority of businessmen in Zambia hold this view.
He said Tanzania had a big challenge of convincing Zambians, who preferred the Durban Port in South Africa to Dar-es-Salaam port, to use the port for their exports and imports.
âAll businessmen would want to associate with a port that offers efficient and quality services,â he said. âIf what is being said that things have improved is true, then as the business community in Zambia, we will have no reason to use the Durban port, which is very far compared to Dar port. We would like our government to verify that things have improved before we can consider using the port. We wouldnât want to hear that things have improved only to find serious problems when we get there.â
Kabaghe said the Dar-es-Salaam port would be most suitable for Zambian businesses, as it would reduce the time it took for imports and exports to get to the final destinations.
But Dr Kamala swore that the issues of corruption and theft had been dealt with and the Dar-es-Salaam Port had improved on efficiency.
He said to enhance security at the port, most transactions were done electronically and non-tariff barriers had been resolved.
âThe direct trader fee which was payable to the direct trader input services has been waived and the customs clearing agents are linked to the customs automated system where they lodge transit declarations
electronically,â Dr Kamala said. âTransit goods are no longer subject to physical verifications which has reduced the number of check points and saves time. In order to decongest the Dar port, the customs department has resorted to licensing of inland container depots which has created more room for transit containers and reduced on thefts.â
At the same function, Dar-es-Salaam port commercial manager Henry Rica acknowledged that in the past, the port experienced theft and was inefficient.
He said this had created a negative perception of the port which was difficult to change even with improved service.
âSometimes when you are sick, you have to swallow pills to get cured,â Rika said. âWe have had bitter comments about pilferage of goods, especially vehicle parts. To cure that, we have introduced a certificate which is collected when goods are being collected from the port and before it is given out, the clearing agent and port officials inspect the vehicles to ensure that nothing is missing.â
And Mutati said Dar-es-Salaam port was vital to many problems facing the local exports, which were projected to increase this year.
Mutati said the Dar-es-Salaam port was a key component in reducing the cost of doing business for local businessmen.
âTransport offers significant challenges resulting in inconsistencies that contribute to the cost of doing business,â Mutati said. âZambia and Tanzania have agreed to break the barriers of trade one of which is infrastructure. In this effect, we are going to evacuate TAZARA Tanzania Zambia Railways to bring it to what it must be. The Dar-es-Salaam port is also a key component in reducing the cost of doing business because it is nearer. If we use the Dar port, we move one step to breaking the barriers of trade because this is a key exit for Zambia.â
He said Zambia and Tanzania had already negotiated a financing portfolio with China to improve operations of TAZARA.
He said a Chinese delegation would visit the company in May to look at the problem at the Uhuru railway line.
Mutati caused laughter in the meeting when he said politicians were willing to work at improving trade so that they could collect more tax, which paid their salaries.
Mutati also said the port had formed an improvement committee that held meetings fortnightly aimed at improving efficiency.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=7065