TANZANIA Ports Authority (TPA) stakeholders have urged public and private institutions serving the country’s dry ports to increase efficiency in a bid to make Dar es Salaam port more competitive.

The Acting Chairperson of the Committee, Mr Hebel Mhanga, said over the weekend in Dar es Salaam that the port will be modern and competitive if dry ports’ service providers will increase staff and adopt longer working hours.

“Some dry ports fail to meet their objectives simply because of the absence of some of institutions in all 17 dry ports,” he noted. Reading some of the committee’s meeting resolutions, he mentioned some of those institutions as Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS), Tanzania Weight and Measures, Ministry of Agriculture and Tanzania International Container Terminal Ltd (TICTS).

He noted that should that be implemented, it will help speedy clearing of cargo and conforming to a working speed of the port which now operates for 24 hours. Managing Director of Jefan Logistics Tanzania Ltd, Mr Luca Neghesti noted that all port’s stakeholders ought to work hard and realise Big Results Now (BRN) plan.

“All stakeholders need to make sure that services improve to the best,” he added. Operations Manager, Tanzania Road Haulage (1980) Ltd, Mr Ali Hussein Lilani stressed a need to work together among stakeholders to realise a bigger picture of making Tanzania a preferred port for imports and exports in the region.

Apart from being strategic for Tanzania, the port also serves a number of neighbouring countries. Dar port serves seven landlocked countries including DRC, Zambia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Several representatives of the port’s stakeholders who attended the meeting were drawn from Tanzania Shipping Agency Association, Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association (TAFFA), Container Inland Depot Association of Tanzania, shipping lines, Car freight owners, and Terminal operators.

Others were government departments and institutions including TRA and police force. TPA management and port’s stakeholders have agreed to meet every last Thursday of the month to discuss various matters geared toward strengthening TPA services.

Source: Daily News

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