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Meghji’s bid to salvage Malindi Port Project
2006-10-26 09:11:32
By Mwinyi Sadallah, Zanzibar
Finance Ministe, Zakia Meghji has appealed to a Danish-based contractor, PHIL, to reconsider its intention to terminate the contract on the construction of Malindi Port.
Meghji’s appeal comes against the back drop of PHIL’s issuance of a 14-day ultimatum to the Isles’ government seeking to terminate the contract if the current impediments to the project development are not alleviated.
PHIL had in the notice, underscored the need for the government to resolve the stalemate with European Union, which is funding the project.
However, the minister requested the contractor to extend the deadline of the notice on grounds that the number of days stipulated in the notice had been interrupted by the Eid-El Fitr festive.
”The government has already faxed to the contractors requesting them to suspend the decision,” Meghji said.
Meanwhile, The Civic United Front (CUF) is disappointed by the Malindi Port Project contractor and warned it would negatively impact on wananchi.
Malindi Port is one of the strategic facilities in the importation and exportation of goods on the Isles.
In an official release by CUF Directorate of Information and Policy Dissemination, the opposition party described the government as the stumbling block to the completion of the project.
Shadow Minister for Communication and Transport, who is also Gando House of Representative Saidi Alli Mbarouk, advised the government to resolve the problem and let the construction of the project resume immediately.
The wrangle began initially from the bidding process, when the government delayed to sign the contract because the winning contractor, PIHL, was allegedly not its choice.
Opposition officials described the latest development as a technique to derail the contractor in the construction process, and pave the way for the government’s favourite firm.
The termination of the contract would force the government to compensate the contractor to the tune of 51bn/-, equivalent to the total cost of the project.
The opposition also blamed the Ministry of Communication and Transport for the delays, accusing it of blindly signing the contract without considering the technicalities involved.
’’It is six months now since the controversy came to the public limelight,’’ said the shadow minister.
Serious questions have been raised over the government’s silence over the stalled project, said Mbarouk, adding that the contractor is entitled to US$ 3000 daily because of the delays on the part of the government.
Poor performance at Malindi bay has hampered general operations of the facility. It takes three to four months for a container from Far East to dock in Zanzibar, but only three weeks to arrive in Dar es Salaam, said the shadow minister.
Freight charges from the Far East have spiraled to 2m/- while it costs less to transport the same container to Dar es Salaam.
Economic analysts have attributed the high prices of food and services on the Islands to partly high freight charges.
Some of the traders from Zanzibar have opted to shift their operations to Dar es Salaam, and thus deny the government huge revenue needed to accelerate socio-economic development, said the statement.
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