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MPs endorse revocation of TICTS contract
2008-04-26 09:59:06
By Lydia Shekighenda, Dodoma
The National Assembly yesterday formally endorsed the abrogation of the controversial 15-year extension of the 10-year contract given to the Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS).
The extension is closely linked to a series of corruption scandal allegations facing a number of senior officials in immediate former president Benjamin Mkapa`s third-phase government, among them cabinet ministers.
Yesterday’s resolution by the legislature followed long hours of heated debate on a private motion tabled by
Godfrey Zambi (Mbozi East - CCM) on the legality of the extension and the cargo handling firm’s efficiency.
The motion contained detailed information, including confidential signed letters, written pieces of evidence and various other documents, most centring on gross violations of procedures, regulations and the 2004 Public Procurement Act, in respect of the extension of the contract.
Official records show the former president, former Finance minister (under him) Basil Mramba, and his entire cabinet as having had a hand in making the extension possible.
In a September 6, 2005 letter (reference No. TYC/R/160/32) to the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) commissioner general, Mramba states: ``I would like to inform you that the President (Benjamin Mkapa) has directed the Ministry of Communication and Transport, specifically the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), to extend TICTS contract to 25 years.``
The letter said President Mkapa had also directed that the ministry allow TICTS to use Berth No. 8 at the Dar es Salaam port, the land in the neighbourhood, and the Ubungo Container Depot in the city to store containers, then lying at the hugely congested port.
Moving his motion, Zambi said the contract was corruptly extended after Mkapa had dissolved the cabinet.
Contributing to the debate, Wilbrod Slaa (Chadema – Karatu) said the contract was extended during the elections leading up to the 2005 general elections that saw Jakaya Kikwete take over as fourth-phase President.
``How could the minister (Mramba) have dared direct the TRA commissioner general to extend the contract at a time when all ministers, including him, had handed over their responsibilities and duties to their respective permanent secretaries?`` a stunned Zambi wondered.
He charged that the contract was extended when efficiency at the terminal had deteriorated massively, attracting complaints from stakeholders, including the Prime Minister’s Office in a November 14, 2007 letter with reference No. AE 88/452/01, headlined: ‘Poor Performance at Dar es Salaam Port Container Terminal’.
The MP said the exclusivity clause in the contract between the government and TICTS went against the country’s laws and made the company reap a windfall while paying little, in terms of royalty to the government.
``In 2007, TICTS paid a mere 5.7m/- in royalty to the government compared to the huge profits generated,`` noted Zambia, quoting a document that showed the profits the cargo handling firm had earned.
TICTS was also accused of failing to invest as agreed in the contract, with the MP saying it had been investing too little relative to the profits it earned.
Slaa argued that the Mkapa government had strategically pushed for ``this illegal extension`` during crucial general election campaigns.
He added: ``The government must tell us who directed the illegal extension of the contract, while the company`s efficiency and services at the terminal were deteriorating.
This House must get full information...I support the termination of the contract, as proposed by MP Zambi.``Simanjiro legislator Christopher ole Sendeka (CCM) said it would be a waste of time for the National Assembly to discuss a contract that violated existing laws and crucial procedures.
``There is completely no need for us to waste our good time… The government should scrap the contract immediately - without any further delay,`` he stated, saying ministries and government leaders had been caught on conflicts of interest on the controversially awarded contracts now under scrutiny.
Masolwa Cosmas Masolwa (Bububu - CCM) described the 25-year contract awarded to TICTS as non-existent ``because the 15-year extension was illegally awarded and executed``.
He elaborated: ``In contract law, breach of the first contract automatically means that any extension made to it is null and void… On that basis, neither the 15-year extension nor the combined (25-year) contract legally exists because the first contract was breached. So, as we speak, there is automatically no contract between the government and TICTS.``
Infrastructure Development deputy minister Milton Makongoro Mahanga also supported Zambi’s motion, saying TICTS has been registering declining levels of efficiency.
However, he admitted that the problem of congestion at the country’s ports involved many stakeholders and not only TICTS or other cargo handling agencies.
He added: ``But this should not be an excuse for TICTS because the fact is that the extension of the contract is effectively illegal. I therefore support the termination of the contract.``
It was not immediately clear what measures would follow the MPs` endorsement of the revocation of the TICTS contract as proposed by Mbozi East legislator.
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