TPA overspends on meetings

The management of Tanzania Port Authority (TPA) has been directed to reduce the number of meetings which have prompted the authority to spend more than 200m/- by paying each participant over 200,000/- as per diem for sitting in for not more than two hours.

The Minister for Works, Transport and Communications, Prof Makame Mbarawa, directed the TPA’s Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Deusdedit Kakoko, to see the possibility of reducing the number of such meetings. He said unnecessary meetings should be cancelled.

Prof Mbarawa said that such huge large amounts of money being used to pay per diem for participants for attending the meetings could have instead be spent on improving small ports on Lake Tanganyika.

The ports are located in three regions of Rukwa, Katavi and Kigoma. The ports are afflicted by numerous challenges. The minister further said that presently the TPA holds six meetings which sit for almost a month at a total cost of 200m/-.

The meetings are held twice in a year.

“This is very costly because TPA could set up video conferences in effort to cut down expenses. This means it could bring together its senior officials from Mtwara , Kigoma , Tanga and Dar Es Salaam to a single meeting without spending a lot of money,” insisted the minister.

The minister rejected reports read before him by the Kasanga Port Manager, Engineer Seleman Kalugendo, that it failed to show the goals and amount of money collected for the past six months.

The minister issued these directives after inspecting and seeing the small amount of work the port of Kasanga is doing. Kasanga Port is located on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in Kalambo District and is the second port in size after Kigoma Port.

Prof Mbarawa was disappointed by the way Kasanga Port was collecting its revenue on cash and was even shocked after learning that even the port manager was not aware of how much money was collected at the port in a year.

The minister reacted by directing the TPA’s Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Kakoto to make sure all small ports on Lake Tanganyika in the three regions of Rukwa , Katavi and Kigoma collect revenue by using the electronic system.

“Collection of revenue which is being carried out by Kasanga Port is not only poor but is done using outdated methods. This offers leeway to dishonest officials to siphon out some of the money. Even its manager is not aware of how much money was collected last financial year,” said the minister.

Prof Mbarawa is in Rukwa for a three-day working tour during which he will inspect the improvement of major roads to tarmac level. The minister further observed that even the department of marketing of TPA has not done enough in exploring competitive foreign markets in neighbouring Burundi, Zambia, Rwanda and Congo DR Congo.