Nairobi — A regional conference for ports managers in eastern and southern Africa scheduled for next month in Dar es Salaam has been cancelled following a shake-up of the management of Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) by President John Magufuli. The meeting was set for February 15-17 and was organised by the Ports Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA) and TPA. “The conference was cancellation after newly elected Tanzania President John Magufuli relieved several TPA top managers, including the director-general, of their duties and dissolved the authority’s board of directors,” George Sunguh, the communication officer at PMAESA said.

This will be the first time for the annual PMAESA conference not to take place since its inception in 2007 in Seychelles. Last year, President Magufuli sacked TPA director-general Awadhi Massawe and the permanent secretary in the Transport ministry, Mr Shaaban Mwinjaka, as part of a campaign to crack down on corruption and inefficiency in the country. They were shown the door following the disappearance of over 2,700 shipping containers at TPA. Mr Massawe, who was acting director of the port since February before being formally confirmed to the position in October by President Magufuli’s predecessor, retired President Jakaya Kikwete, becomes the third TPA chief to be sacked in many years.

“President Magufuli has also disbanded TPA’s board of directors for failing to take action against the Dar es Salaam Port’s long history of poor performance,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement in December. President Magufuli has introduced economic austerity measures as part of his determination to fight against corruption. Security experts say Dar es Salaam is one of the main entry points for Afghan heroin bound for Europe and poaching gangs also use it to export ivory for China and wider Asian markets.

Source: All Africa

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