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Cooperation the only way to make our ports deliver
2008-04-11 10:13:18
By Our Correspondent
Ports have for years played a pivotal role in Tanzania`s social and economic development. In this article, Our Correspondent argues that things can continue improving if certain conditions are fulfilled.
There has been a deluge of conflicting reports in recent years about the efficiency or otherwise of Tanzania`s transport and communication sector, with most directed at air, marine and road travel, telecommunications.
In sum, the preponderant view appeared to be that the situation was bad and the major culprit was the fact that a large proportion of the activities where the assessment of competence or effectiveness was being made were in the hands of the government or government-run agencies.
As people bearing the brunt of the problems the chaotic state of affairs felt the pinch more and more, there was a dramatic rise in appeals for the privatisation of the sector as well as other measures that many saw as having the potential to lead to better performance.
It is mainly because of those calls from the citizenry and other quarters, including local and foreign investors, aspiring investors and members of the business community that today Tanzania has a number of mobile telephone service providers, a wide range of print, broadcasting and electronic media institutions, and urban and 'cross-country\' cargo haulage and passenger service bus companies with fleets of all sorts of vehicles.
All this was not only unheard-of but also impossible to imagine in the country as recently as, say, in the late 1980s when there was little room for people to read the newspaper of their choice, to ride on the city commuter bus (daladala) they felt comfortable with, to decide whether to move from Dar es Salaam to Kampala or Kinshasa by Air Tanzania or some other carrier or, in fact, by Scandinavia Express Bus via Nairobi, by Mohamed Trans via Mwanza or by train for later connection by marine vessel from Mwanza.
It is indeed great joy for Tanzanians that they can now choose whether to call their loved ones, employers, employees, business associates or some other people practically from and to any part of the globe by either landline or mobile telephone, electronic mail and so on almost effortlessly and be sure to get appropriate feedback virtually instantly.
Just of the many glories of advancements in science and technology in this era of globalisation.
In many of our backyards, things have been moving with such great speed that some people have found it extremely hard to catch up, and hence some of the conflicting reports and the trading of blame and accusations on whether these developments have been a boon or a bane.
A striking example of this "clash of opinions" is with regard to whether Tanzania's chief port of Dar es Salaam and, to be fair, ports in the country generally have been operating as efficiently as is obviously expected of them by the nation and the outside world.
There are two major conflicting views here - one suggesting that we are in a terrible mess because the ports are congested beyond measure and there is little indication of things being rectified any day soon and the other admitting that there are problems but insisting that these can be cured with relative ease if the government, the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) and all other parties whose responsibilities or operations are directly linked to the operations of ports invest more resources, commitment and seriousness in their work.
And herein lies the crux of the problem: Who does exactly what - and when and how - to decipher the riddle of the tribulations that are said to have bedevilled our ports all these years so that the efficiency of such other ports like Mombasa in Kenya can no longer threaten the profitability or survival of our own facilities?
Doubtless, seeking answers to this question would not be an exercise in futility. And the reason for this is simple - ports are crucial supply lines on which the country\'s social and economic development so heavily depends.
That being the case, time ought to come for people to decide to rest for some time the raging controversy over the legality, desirability, appropriateness and timing of the extension of the contract under which the government granted the Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS) a tender to manage the operations of the container terminal at the Dar es Salaam port.
Blame shifting can be pardoned as a valid component of the practical side of transparency and good governance but, at the end of the day, what Tanzanians most want to see is a significant rise in efficiency, productivity and profitability at our ports and all other social and economic sectors.
What this means is that, rather than keep on dwelling on peripheral issues, people short focus their attention on the factors known to have led to the reported congestion at the Dar es Salaam port and go around this invaluable gateway to the world.
By TICTS' own account, all import containers discharged at the port that have completed the necessary documentation and customs clearance procedures are duly and promptly released from the terminal.
But the company recently complained that many containers that had completed the documentation and examination processed were, strangely, yet to be collected by the respective customers.
Should one take the company by its word, prompt action by customers or their clearing agents in the form of collecting containers would significantly contribute to efforts by TPA's special operations committee to decongest the terminal.
However, TICTS has also been stressing time and again that the great potential it has "to maximise the efficiency of the complex port operations" is hampered by the fact there is just too little space available in their container yard. In other words, it would work miracles were it allocated more land from which to operate.
One could decide to view that as trademark public relations sweet talk but it speaks volumes about the seriousness and urgency with which the government, TPA and other stakeholders ought to move in helping Dar es Salaam and other ports win pride of place in the community of similar facilities in the world.
Reports say the port of Dar es Salaam was by 2004 one of the top performing ports in sub-Saharan Africa, while impressive GDP growth in Tanzania and neighbouring landlocked countries mean bigger business for the port.
This is a blessing that Tanzanians, local and foreign investors and businesspersons, as well as the country's development partners should feel obliged to capitalise on by ensuring that the port operates at optimum capacity and efficiency. Given the cut-throat capacity out there, this matters much.
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