Maravi

‘Tanzanian govt rejected Zambia’s request to remove TAZARA director’

‘Tanzanian govt rejected Zambia’s request to remove TAZARA director’
Written by Chibaula Silwamba
Monday, April 13, 2009 4:06:07 AM

TANZANIA-Zambia Railways Authority (TAZARA) retirees chairman Listone Musachi has revealed that the Tanzanian government rejected Zambia’s request to remove Henry Chipewo as the company’s managing director.

In an interview, Musachi said Zambia’s Ministry of Communications and Transport permanent secretary Mukuka Zimba had travelled to Tanzania to discuss with her counterparts on the possibility to remove Chipewo from his position and re-instate his predecessor.

“A few weeks ago, Ms Zimba travelled to Dar-es-Saalam unannounced, to remove Mr Chipewo. Tanzanian board members were still not for the idea because Mr Chipewo’s performance has been impressive. The image of Tazara has drastically changed for the better,” Musachi said.

“The problems of poor revenue earnings have been eradicated, stranded trains due to fuel shortages is now a thing of the past, worker’s morale has improved, workers contributions to Zambia State Insurance Corporation [ZSIC] and National Pension Scheme Authority [NAPSA] which was stopped in 1993 are now being remitted, payments to Zambia Revenue Authority [ZRA] are being made, delay in paying workers’ salaries is now a story of the past, and the unauthorised bank overdraft incurred by the previous management has been cleared.”

He said around August last year, TAZARA’s former managing director Clement Mwiya, a Zambian, and his deputy Margaret Banyikwa, a Tanzanian, were suspended by the Tazara board of directors to facilitate investigations of the cause of the rail line’s poor business performance.

“At one of their meetings, the board appointed Henry Chipewo a Zambian, then a member of the board of directors as acting managing director and a Tanzanian, Dismus Ndumbaro, as acting deputy managing director. The duo was mandated to oversee the running of the affairs of TAZARA while the board was still looking for suitable replacement,” Musachi explained.

“Within two days of the duo’s appointments, the [Zambian] minister of communications and transport, Dora Siliya demanded the re-instatement of Clement Mwiya and removal of Mr Chipewo. Various meetings were held with then permanent secretary, Dr [Eustern] Mambwe on the matter to ensure that Mr. Chipewo is removed. At one stage when Siliya saw that things were not moving her way, she appointed a Mr John Chipuwa, an employee at the Ministry of Communications and Transport as managing director completely overlooking the requirements of the TAZARA Act.”

Musachi said Chipuwa was instructed to travel to Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania with a view to go and take over from Chipewo without having been issued with an appointment letter from the minister or the permanent secretary and without approval of the board of directors.

“This arrangement surprised officials at the Ministry of Communication and Transport in Tanzania. They failed to understand why the Zambian minister was acting in such a way without following the right procedures as provided for in the TAZARA Act that the managing director of Tazara must be appointed by the board of directors through competitive interviews,” Musachi explained. “Chipuwa’s appointment was not accepted by the Tanzanian ministry officials and was compelled to come back to Zambia.”

He said the board of directors of TAZARA consists of four Zambians, four Tanzanians and permanent secretaries who alternate as chairpersons.

Musachi alleged that between September and November, 2008, Siliya made several trips between Lusaka and Dar-es- Saalam to personally ensure that her intended changes were made.

“…but this proved futile because the Tanzanian officials at the Ministry of Communication and Transport objected to her unorthodox way of doing things by not following procedures as provided for in the Tazara Act,” Musachi said. “Siliya tried to force the permanent secretary, Dr Mambwe to remove Mr Chipewo but things did not work her way. Following Dr. Mambwe’s failure to remove Mr Chipewo, Siliya recommended for his transfer from her ministry which resulted into his transfer to the North Western Province.”

He, therefore, said the appointment of Zimba had resurfaced plans to remove Chipewo as TAZARA’s managing director.

“Over 2,000 TAZARA workers and retirees from New Kapiri-Mposshi to Dar-es-Salaam are not happy with the recent development in TAZARA, mainly the move to remove Mr Chipewo,” he claimed. “On 3rd April, 2009, the irate TAZARA workers, retirees and widows in Mpika wanted to hold a peaceful demonstration to express their disapproval of Mr Chipewo’s imminent removal but were denied a police permit. The situation was saved only by the coming of the Mpika district commissioner to the railway station where he addressed the workers and retirees who demanded to him that the government should not remove Mr Chipewo until he fulfills his vision.”

Musachi alleged that the administration of Mwiya and TAZARA’s former region general manager for Zambia Mwase Lungu failed to address the welfare of the workers and retirees.

“As a result, many retirees’ children do not go to school, college or university and retirees are unable to acquire basic necessities of life and cannot pay their electricity and water bills resulting in these services being disconnected by the utility companies,” said Musachi.

“It is sad that the majority of the retirees who participated in the construction of the Uhuru railway line from Dar-es-Salaam to New Kapiri-Mposhi during the early 1970s are now paupers.”

Efforts to contact Zimba proved futile as she could not answer her mobile phone by press time.

Labels: DORA SILIYA, HENRY CHIPEWO, LISTON MUSACHI, TAZARA

posted by MrK @ 3:07 AM