Tanzania’s port services to regional countries are further opening up. And this time around the country’s Ports Authority (TPA) has opened its liaison office in Lusaka, Zambia.

The office, opened some few weeks ago was a clear testimony that Tanzania is committed to serve business community using Dar es Salaam Port.

It should be remembered that a similar office was inaugurated last year in Lubumbashi, Katanga region in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

From the business point of view, the decision to open a new office in Lusaka is a wellcalculated move. It is all about smoothening business between Tanzania and Zambia.

It is about making Dar port competitive and therefore convincing Zambians to utilise it … and at the end of the day benefiting both countries.

Emphasising the importance of the new office, one Zambian trader, Mukasa Mwalupasi said that “the office could have opened many years ago.”

However, there are other steps that should be taken urgently if Tanzania wants to emerge a competitive country in the region and avoid the Dar port becoming semi- redundant.

The chief among them is making railway systems work and further streamlining processes of clearing cargo at the port. This is because countries in the region are working tirelessly in making sure that their ports perform well.

Countries with ports work very hard to make sure that they also get a share of cargo from the country we call land locked countries.

Right now, Zambia through Zambia Railway Limited is operating a very active cargo train between Lusaka and Nacala port in Mozambique. So, Zambian traders now have the option of using Nacala port through that rail network.

Because of their proximity, this means also that DRC and Zimbabwean traders can easily be lured into using Nacala port via Zambia railway.

Durban port in South Africa and the largest Namibia commercial port, Walvis Bay are known for their efficiency and they mean business.

It must be remembered that other corridors are also opening up. Kenya is constructing a modern railway line that will connect the port of Mombasa with Uganda and Kigali, Rwanda.

In short, land locked countries are unlocking themselves while neighbouring countries with ports are putting their houses in order.

Talking to a group of TPA officials who visited different parts of Zambia to meet port’s business stakeholders, the Country Manager of Impala Warehousing and logistics in Ndola, Mr Craig Mynhardt, stressed a need to make Tanzania Zambia Railway (TAZARA) efficient line.

“When you use train there are savings on environment, roads and security of goods,” he said. He explained that Impala was ready to become a partner in reviving TAZARA line for the benefit of both the private and public sectors. “We have experience in such projects in Columbia and Central Africa,” he noted.

The President of Kitwe District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Allan Nyirenda, told the TPA delegation to strive more and put Tanzania in a position to compete with other countries in port business. Manager, Logistics, Konkola Copper Mines plc, Mr Fuday Daka, appealed to the Dar port delegation to make sure that clients’ challenges are solved on time.

“In any business, people look for efficiency and consider a service provider who gives a better deal,” he said. Dar es Salaam Port Manager, Mr Hebel Mhanga, promised to work on all challenges expressed by all stakeholders and make the port competitive in the region.

Source: All Africa

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