NEW board of the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) and Director General Deusdedit Kakoko have an uphill task to double the amount of dividend to the government for next year; Else, their jobs are at stake.
The authority this year handed over 480bn/-dividend, leading all institutions with the highest amount.
Yesterday, when launching the new board of directors, Minister for works, Transport and Communications, Eng Isack Kamwelwe, directed that the board should work to ensure that the TPA gives 1tri/-dividend next year.
“You have to raise 1tri/-dividend next year because it is possible. If you think you can’t make it quit,” the minister told the director general and the board members.
The minister was optimistic that if revenues systems is well managed, the authority has the capacity to double the dividend.
Eng. Kamwelwe noted that he appointed members of the board by considering areas of weaknesses to raise revenues.
“There is still a problem on the part of revenue collection… there is a difference when you look at the collections in the systems and issued receipts,” Eng Kamwelwe said.
The minister explained that the actual collections had been differing from those shown in the systems. He said the TPA could collect much more revenues if some shortfalls could be addressed.
He also instructed the new board to supervise the Dar es Salaam Port expansion project well as another window which would enable the port to increase its revenues.
“Chart a strategy for ensuring that vessels are offloaded and loaded at the right time because delays lead to loss of revenues,” he said.
On other hand, he commended the outgoing board for a good job during the past three years, enabling TPA to give the highest dividend to the government.
Board chairman Prof Ignas Rubaratuka, promised the minister that the board would continue cooperating with the government and ministry in implementing it responsibility to oversee the TPA.
Prof Rubaratuka said the board will act on the minister’s directives to increase the dividend to the government.
The members of the board that the minister appointed recently are Mr Malata Pascal, Dr Jabir Bakari, Mr Masanja Kadogosa, Eng. Ephrem Kirenga, Mr Renatus Mkinga, Mr Jayne Nyimbo and Dr Dephine Magere.
