He, however, noted that if the chairman and chief executive officer of the firm, Mr Robert Kisena, had not effected the payment, he would now be facing legal measures, including losing the lucrative deal.
Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli yesterday commended Simon Group Limited (SGL) chairman for having finalised payment of the controversial Sh5 billion used to purchase the 51 per cent shares of Usafiri Dar es Salaam (Uda).
He, however, noted that if the chairman and chief executive officer of the firm, Mr Robert Kisena, had not effected the payment, he would now be facing legal measures, including losing the lucrative deal.
The shares owned by SGL had raised concern among MPs and the public as it was not clear how they had been allotted.
Dr Magufuli made the statement when launching the operations of the Dar es Salaam Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), a project which was financed by the World Bank through the Second Central Transport Project (CTCP2).
The launch was attended by the World Bank Vice President for Africa Region, Dr Makhtar Diop, ministers, government officials, opposition leaders, ambassadors and the general public.
“Today, I was prepared to give my verdict but I’m glad you have finalised the payments and therefore we can continue with business,” stated Dr Magufuli.
This development means that Uda now has two owners, namely SGL which holds 51 per cent stake and the government that has 49 per cent.
With the payment, Dr Magufuli directed the City Council to ensure it comes up with elaborate decision on how the funds will be used to further development in Dar es Salaam or the money should be handed to the Regional Administration and Local Government docket for further plans.
The first phase of the BRT project that commenced in August 2010 and was completed in December 2015 was worth Sh403 billion funded by the World Bank (Sh317 billion) and the government (Sh86.5 billion).
Currently, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is funding Phase II of the project, while the World Bank has agreed to fund Phases III and IV.
Meanwhile, President Magufuli ordered the minister in charge of the project to submit a detailed report on the revenue collected from the scheme since it kicked off in May last year.
According to him, the public needs to know whether the project was viable and worth their tax money.
“If this project ultimately incurs loss it will be borne by the people in charge of it and not the government,” he stressed.
He stressed that it was imperative to know whether the project was profitable so that he could make a decision to establish a parking lot for Mbezi residents.
The facility will enable the residents to park their private vehicles at Kimara and use the rapid buses to go to town. The move is aimed at reducing traffic congestion.
Furthermore, the Head of State said since there was ample road reserve, it means there would be no need for paying compensation.
President Magufuli also highlighted a plan of building a bus stage at Kimara that will connect Dart with the local daladala transport.
He, however, noted that for the project to be viable there was the need to construct an interchange facility at Ubungo, which currently faces high congestion and thereby interfering with the rapid bus operations.
President Magufuli thanked the WB for its support of $4.2 billion for 28 projects including funds for running reform programmes in the Judiciary and electricity sector.
Meanwhile, Dr Diop said Tanzania is among African countries that has undergone huge transformations in the transport sector -- in the sense of affordability and quality.
“In the next six months, we plan to work with you to finance Phases III and IV including flyovers,” he said.
Explaining about the construction of Phase One of the BRT infrastructure, he said that it consists of a 21km dedicated trunk lane, five terminals; 27 stations; seven feeder stations; three connector stations with the existing public transport system; as well as two bus depots.
The services commenced in 2016 after the arrival of buses operated by the U-Dart Company under an interim operator’s concession while procurement processes were underway for a full service operator.
For his part, Minister of State in the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government), Mr Simbachawene said the project took into consideration all groups including pregnant women, disabled, children and the elderly.
