Those who spoke to this paper differed on the overall performance of the entity with some of them saying it has contributed to the growth of the port of Dar es Salaam and others said it has the potential to do more.
John Urio, the president of the Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association (TAFFA) said TICTS performance has been improving on an annual basis, being part of the growth of the port.
“For example, in the past month about 67,000 tonnes of cargo was cleared by TICTS. This is the amount of cargo cleared in one year at the Zanzibar port. We as stakeholders believe in what TICTS is doing and the investment it has injected over the years,” he affirmed.
He said that without TICTS cargo handling and delivery at the port, service would suffer; the company has been improving in service provision over the years it is operating, he emphasized, specifying that TAFFA would not comment on whether the contract should be extended as that is solely for the government to decide.
Ally Saleh, spokesperson for Information, Technology and Transportation at ACT- Wazalendo, said this is the right time for the government to carry out an appraisal and review TICTS performance. The report of its appraisal should be made public for easy assessment by the general public, he stated.
He was of the view that TICTS performance has been poor as data is available of huge amounts of cargo destined for the port of Dar es Salaam being redirected to other ports due to the long waiting time.
The former MP said the port has the potential to perform better, especially after the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) joined the East African Community (EAC). This was a wakeup call to the government and port stakeholders, he asserted.
“We’ve a saying in Kiswahili…it is the wearer who knows where the shoes pinch…if the shipping and import community are not satisfied with TICTS than we side with them. They do not see them as competent so the government should not renew their contract,” he stated.
Omar Kiponza, a stakeholder with the Tanzania Association of Transporters (TAT) declined to comment on the matter, citing potential conflict of interest.
Ludovick Utouh, the former Controller and Auditor General (CAG), said he has not done much research on the matter and thus not in a position to speak on the renewal.
Views differ among local freight forwarders, within the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) and other public agencies say TICTS has woefully failed to meet key contractual obligations, like ensuring the growth of container traffic at the Dar es Salaam port by up to a third each year.
The lease agreement signed in 2017 between TICTS and TPA said that renewal upon expiry would be strictly subject to TICTS meeting at least 80 per cent performance of each of the key performance indicators agreed, citing 37 per cent growth of container traffic annually as a key element.
Critics point out that TPA data shows that last year TICTS managed to deliver 0.8 per cent growth of container cargo at the port, as in 2021, TICTS handled 606,169 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of container cargo, from 601,654 TEUs in 2020.
They say that over the past five years, while rival ports in the region have posted an impressive growth in container cargo, Dar es Salaam port has been underperforming, as in 2017, TICTS handled 482,836 TEUs, rising to 519,776 TEUs in 2018 and 605,002 TEUs in 2019.
This is interpreted differently by other analysts, seeing it as a reflection of the country’s economy; wider logistics sector attractiveness, etc.
