Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE government is keen on revisiting the Dar es Salaam Bus Rapid Transit (DART) hesitancy in digitizing its services.
Speaking here yesterday, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa noted with concern the firm’s failure in embracing the e-ticketing system in improving revenue collections.
The Premier observed that the company was struggling to raise revenues, thanks to the use of barcode tickets.
According to Mr Majaliwa, such a system was also giving leeway for the issuance of fake tickets.
“The firm needs to up its game because it is losing a lot of money through the tickets, the system also gives leeway to dishonest officials to make a kill, we will therefore revisit such a failure and take actions where need be”, said the Prime Minister while bringing down the curtain on the 5th Tanzania Annual ICT Conference here.
Mr Majaliwa suggested that the use of smart cards will be a lasting solution to BRT’s revenue loss.
“Instead of purchasing the tickets, a commuter can easily load cash on his smart cash and just swipe before boarding the buses,” he explained.
The use of smart cards was first introduced on the system in 2017, but it was reported a few months later that of the about 200,000 cards that had been sold by then, only about 50,000 were actually in use.
However, in 2016, the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) seized 100,000 smart tickets from UDART over tax concerns.
The cards were seized at Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA).
TRA’s decision forced the firm to extend the use of barcode tickets for all commuters.
In the same vein, the Premier has tasked the ICT Commission to liaise with the Home Affairs Ministry in exploring ways of deploying surveillance devices in major cities in Tanzania.
This is in a bid to beef up security in cities like Arusha, Dodoma, Dar es Salaam and Morogoro.
“Zanzibar has already done this, it is high time we follow suit,” he said.
The Prime Minister assured that the government will prioritize the procurement of closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) surveillance technology in the next financial year.
On her part, Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Ashatu Kijaji said the government was determined to make the ICT sector a pillar of the country’s economic growth.
Dr Kijaji described ICT as an important driver and essential for the fourth industrial revolution.
“We are working with experts in ensuring that Tanzania doesn’t miss out on this opportunity,” she revealed.
According to the Minister, the government had set aside 1.70bn/- for the extension of the National ICT Broadband Infrastructure Fibre Optic Backbone (NICTBB).
Earlier, a United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) country representative Joseph Marinakiza, observed that access to technology was crucial in bridging the digital divide.
He further assured that the organization was committed to support Tanzania in building a digitized society.
The conference brought together more than 845 ICT experts, development partners and innovators under the theme of ‘Building a Digital Nation’.
For More News And Analysis About Tanzania Follow Africa-Press
