PUTTING substantial investment in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to the country’s sea and lake ports to improve efficiency is crucial to increase their contribution to economic growth.

“If the ports are to become the wheel of the economy by running efficiently, there is no shortcut other than investing in ICT,” remarked Mr Suweid Faiz Faraj, Lecturer at the Institute of Tax Administration (ITA) at the 2015 Economic Freedom of Tanzania Conference in an interview in Dar es Salaam last week.

With sea and lake ports, Tanzania could link land locked neighbours to the global businesses, thus creating huge potentials to generate more revenues and jobs to its people.

Recently, the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) executed a major ICT project connecting the headquarters office with its 13 branches throughout the country. Through Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL) Fibre Optic Cable, TPA’s voice, data and internet services are set to be efficient and facilitate in improving port services.

Some of the TPA’s branches include, Dar es Salaam Port, Mwanza Port, Kigoma Port, Mtwara Port, Tanga port, Mafia Port, Lindi Port, Kilwa, Pemba, Bukoba, Nansio and Musoma Ports.

“In the modern world of high technology and low cost for communication and transportation, freedom of exchange across national boundaries is key ingredient of economic freedom,” said the Founding president and Executive Director of Uhuru Initiative for Policy and Education, Mr Isack Danford.

He said some of the components designed to measure wide variety of restraints or road blocks affecting global trade include quotas, tariffs hidden administrative restraints, controls on exchange rates and capital. Presently the function of a port is not only limited but has expanded to a logistical platform.

The efficiency of a port is important in international trade since a seaport is the nerve of foreign trade of a country. Thus as organizers of the forum, he said the objective behind the annual conference is to analyse and debate the cornerstones of economic freedom, voluntary exchange coordinated by markets.

The Minister of East African Cooperation, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, expressed optimism that the Dar es Salaam Port will in three years time become the major contributor of revenues to the national coffer if the ongoing improvements to enhance efficiency are timely implemented.

“The government commitments to remove all red tapes at the Dar es Salaam port and adoption of latest Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are progressively changing the port performance to international standards,” he said.

Dr Mwakyembe cited among others, the introduction of the Single Customs Territory (SCT) and the recent launching of the three freight wagon train routes to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda and Burundi.

Block trains give bulk shippers opportunities to save on transport costs and take delivery of their consignments timely. Cargo train gives business people more options and less red tape to deal with. This is great news for manufacturers and industrialists in Burundi and Rwanda.

Formerly, business people run away from the Dar es Salaam port due to inefficiencies like unnecessary delays that increased demurrage cost, theft, outdated ICT technology that slowed customs processes in the cargo clearance.

But currently, he said the evidence show that most traders are currently turning away from other ports in favour of the Dar es Salaam port due to the increased efficiency and reduced cost of doing business. Dr Mwakyembe said of the 26 check points along the central corridor have greatly been reduced.

For example, police check points have been reduced to six and sooner or later will be three, weighbridges to five and later three of Vigwaza, Manyoni and Nyakanazi.

“We currently talk of three and three days and half to Rwanda and Burundi respectively from over ten days few years ago,” he said.

The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) Customs Officer, Mr Stambuli Myovela, said at the forum that the volume of goods through the Dar es Salaam port to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, Rwanda and Burundi has increased massively.

For example statistics show that currently goods destined for DRC through the Dar port account for about 35 per cent, Zambia 24 per cent and Rwanda has gone up to 24 per cent from 22 per cent recently. Also with the introduction of Single Customs Territory, more improvements have been witnessed.

For example, in just six months of piloting the project, a total of 40 million litres of transit oil products which pass through the port and 7,000 Bakhresa trucks cross the borders.

Since ports are one of the primary components of the general transportation sector and that nowadays linked to the expanding world economy, increasing investment on ICT infrastructures is of paramount importance.

Source: Daily News

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.