Sort out Lake Nyasa shipping contentions -PM
ippmedia.com/en/news/sort-out-lake-nyasa-shipping-contentions-pm
August 3, 2021
03
Aug 2021
Correspondent
Kyela
News
The Guardian
Sort out Lake Nyasa shipping contentions -PM
PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has directed the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) to consult their counterparts in neighbouring Malawi in finding solutions to regulatory disputes hampering trade flows in Lake Nyasa.
This instruction follows reports that three state-owned vessels operating routes to Malawi have been barred from carrying passengers and cargo from ports located on the Malawian side.
The premier inspected operations of the ships including MV Mbeya II, which was grounded and beached on the sand amid stormy weather on the lake nearly three months ago, stranded near Matema Port as it headed to Mbamba Bay from Kiwira port, in Ruvuma Region.
“I am giving you until August 25 to resolve existing disputes. We want the ships to operate on both sides of the lake for increased productivity,” he said, noting that the ships are also expected to transport coal from Liganga and Mchuchuma mines.
TPA should convene a business convention bringing together port operators from both sides to discuss existing challenges, and sensitise traders to use the ships plying Lake Nyasao ports to transport their commodities and industrial raw materials.
The premier aired this view after he was informed that MV Njombe and MV Ruvuma are docked at Kiwira port for months for lack of cargo since traders in the Southern Highlands have diverted to other transportation services.
Kyela District Commissioner Ismail Mlawa was tasked with enhancing cooperation with officials on the Malawian side to avoid disputes which affect trade between the two sides of the lake.
In some districts bordering neighbouring states, district commissioners have managed to ensure closer business ties with their counterparts, the premier remarked, citing Tanganyika District in Katavi Region and Tanganyika parliamentary constituency in neighbouring Congo (DRC).
Regional Commissioner Juma Homera must also initiate regular meetings with his Malawian counterpart to enhance existing relationships, he directed. “This would also help to strengthen our diplomatic ties and boost business activity,” he asserted.
TPA senior officer Dr Baraka Mdima told the premier that officials in Malawi have been barring Tanzanian ships from operating at its ports claiming to have other vessels for the task.
“There is a dispute which has lasted for years. We have been in a tug of war for a long period, but thanks to various interventions we are about to resolve it,” he said.
Mwita Waitara, the deputy minister for Works and Transport, said that he visited the Kiwira port soon after one of the ships—Mbeya II was beached, where he found out that there was negligence by some supervisors
The government suspended the ports manager at Lake Nyasa and replaced some other officials who were responsible for supervising port activities, he told the premier.
The ship building contractor, Songoro Marine Transport Ltd has until August 25 to complete maintenance of Mbeya II so that it starts operating, he added.