Ships docked at Dar es Salaam port yesterday. Operations at the facility
have been seriously affected by the dispute between truck operators and
the government
. PHOTO | FIDELIS FELIX
By Athuman Mtulya and Veneranda Sumila, The Citizen
Posted Thursday, October 10 2013 at 00:00
Posted Thursday, October 10 2013 at 00:00
In Summary
Dar es Salaam. Dar es Salaam,
home to about 5 million people, is bracing for an acute fuel shortage
that could paralyse transport in the country’s commercial hub, The
Citizen has learnt.
Dar es Salaam has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
of Sh7.5 trillion ($4.5 billion) and contributes over 70 per cent of
monthly government revenue.
The city is likely to be the biggest casualty of
the decision by members of the Tanzania Truck Owners Association (Tatoa)
to go on strike from today in protest at the newly introduced penalty
on excess axle weight.
Adverse effects of the strike will also be felt in
upcountry regions, with analysts warning of acute shortages of fuel and
other goods, adding that this would lead to spiralling prices.
Two million litres of petrol, 3.9 million litres
of diesel, 550,000 litres of jet fuel and 190,000 litres of kerosene are
used in Tanzania daily.
Dar es Salaam and the rest of the country
virtually ground to a halt in 2011 when fuel dealers went on strike to
protest the government’s decision to regulate pump prices.
Motorists queued in long lines well past midnight
daily for about one week while those relying on public transport were
forced to walk up to 30 kilometres after daladala operators grounded
their vehicles for lack of fuel.
In a country where about 90 per cent of goods are
transported by road following the collapse of railway services a decade
ago, the strike will have serious repercussions on the economy if it
will not be averted.
Tatoa members operate about 15,000 trucks, which
transport goods between Dar es Salaam and other regions as well and
between the country and its neighbours.
According to data from Tatoa, on average, between
100,000 and 150,000 tonnes of goods are transported daily within and
outside Dar es Salaam.
Truck operators have been on a go-slow since
Monday protesting Work minister John Magufuli’s directive that truck
crews be penalised for weights that are at least five per cent above
axle limits, contrary to the Road Traffic (Maximum Weight of Trucks)
Regulations of 2006.
Truck owners said yesterday that Dr Magufuli
scrapped a clause of the regulations without consulting transporters and
following proper procedures. They urged the Attorney General to give a
correct interpretation of the regulations.
SOURCE: THE CITIZEN
As the standoff remained unresolved yesterday, stakeholders
warned of dire consequences which would result in higher commodity
prices for consumers.
More than 600 containers were piled up yesterday and a queue of ships had built up in the outer anchorage of Dar es Salaam port.
“We know that the more this stalemate continues,
the more it hurts our business and our economy. We are told some ships
have started to bypass our port. We love this country, for it is our
only home, but we need a win-win situation,” said Mr Faisal Edha, a
Tatoa member and owner of Overland Logistics.
University of Dar es Salaam lecturer Haji Semboja said Tanzania would rue neglecting the railways transport.
“When other countries are improving their railway
systems because it is cheaper to transport goods by rail, Tanzania is
fighting transporters by increasing penalties on axle load limits,” he
said.
Dr Semboja noted that in the last five years
earnings from penalties for overloading had increased by 65 per cent,
adding that these fines were not the most effective way to curb
overloading.
“I urge the government to go back to the table and
negotiate…they need to conduct a regulatory impact assessment before
imposing any additional penalties,” he said.
Tatoa members insisted yesterday that Dr Magufuli went overboard by revoking the allowance on cargo and passenger vehicles.
“This is unfair. The minister didn’t consult us in
his decisions, he just wrote on us imposing the new regulations a day
after he made such decision. We have presented our grievances to Prime
Minister Mizengo Pinda, and now we are waiting for the official
statement, until then our trucks will not operate to avoid discontents
in weighbridges,” said Mr Edha.
Dr Magufuli on Monday reiterated the government
stand saying they are going to uphold the maximum gross vehicle weight
of 56 tonnes, and saying exceeding weights have been damaging the
highways, citing Mlandizi to Chalinze as an example.
He also challenged those opposing his decisions to go to court instead.
“We are not going to rush to court, we know our
government will heed our cry, but the most important thing is, if this
excess was found to be damaging, a proper procedure involving the
Parliament could have been done and not the minister alone,” said Mr
Davis Mosha, a member of Tatoa.
The contentious five per cent allowance was established under
the Road Traffic Act No.30 of 1973, Regulation 2001. Section 114 of the
Act gives the minister discretionary powers to make some regulations on a
number of areas for the better implementation of the Act.
However, unlike Tatoa’s argument that the minister
broke the law by revoking the regulation, the President of Tanganyika
Law Society (TLS) Francis Stolla told The Citizen that it was under the
powers of the minister to do so.
“It is the duty of the Parliament to enact laws,
and if in the respective Act the minister was given powers to make
regulations, again it is under his powers to revoke the regulations
provided he is doing so by using other regulations, the same way the
Parliament is using Miscellaneous Acts to amend or revoke other laws,”
he said.
Dr Magufuli however, on Monday said the allowance was made through a letter and not a law and was revoked using the means.
Mr Edha added that the allowance was a result of
harmonisation with the axle load control recommendations of the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) and other neighbouring countries.
“This will leave us in an idle position, today
Mozambique they are speaking of 10 per cent tolerance, and here we are
revoking the five we have” he said.
Adding his voice over the matter, the Tanzania
Freight Forwarders Association President Stephen Ngatunga said that the
government must make consultation with key stakeholders before making
any decision.
“The government must know that private sectors are
driving the economy of this country, any decision without their
involvement leads to huge impacts to the economy,” said Mr Ngatunga.
He said that Freight forwarders depends more on
trucks to transport their customers cargoes, if trucks are on boycott it
means they difficultly earn their living.
“I urge the government to leave technical issues to be solved technically rather than politically,” he said.
SOURCE: THE CITIZEN
