Unguja. Several months after it was feared that workers for ground handling companies at the Abeid Amani Karume International Airport would lose their jobs, it has come full circle with the first batch set to go home with effect from today, February 28, The Citizen has learnt.
This comes after the Labour Commission of Zanzibar approved the retrenchment of the workers after ground handlers complied with the commission’s demands.
“The labour commissioner has given you a go ahead to ahead with the retrenchment exercise at your institution. Please make sure that all due payments are made as required by the law,” reads the letter from the commissioner Mahammed Ali Salum.
This happens at a time when the opposition ACT Wazalendo says it was about time measures were taken against what it says were massive irregularities in the handling of a tender that gave exclusive rights to Dnata Zanzibar for ground handling operations at the Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (AAKIA).
Speaking during a public rally here at the weekend, the ACT Wazalendo party leader Zitto Kabwe said it was about time the Zanzibar Economic and Anti-Corruption Authority (Zaeca) intervened to probe those who are behind the local shares in the airport firm.
“Why should the Dubai investor be contracted at the airport without competition? Why should the government allow over 200 jobs to be lost that easily?” he enquired.
He added that by picking the Dubai firm single-handedly, the government was contravening with its own procurement laws that call for competition.
Zanzibar President Hussein Mwinyi last year defended the decision to award Dubai National Air Travel Agency (Dnata) a contract to operate ground handling services at the Abeid Amani Karume International Airport Terminal 3, saying that all the due processes were followed.
Meanwhile, documents that The Citizen has seen show that several people have been shown the exit door by various ground handling companies but whose operations were subdued after Dnata was contracted.
“We were left with no choice. We had to cut our hands for the body to survive. So far we have had eight terminations after international airlines were ordered to sign with Dnata if they intend to use Terminal 3 building,” said an official of one of the ground handlers who preferred anonymity.
According to him following meetings with the Communication and Transport Workers Union of Tanzania (COTWU), they are now going to pay severance packages to those who have been affected by the exercise.
And, in another development, the Zanzibar Airports Authority (ZAA) has restricted the operations of the Zanzibar Aviation Services & Trade (ZAT), one of the ground handling companies, to terminal 2 as part of the effective implementation of the September 14, 2022, notice.
In a letter dated February 23 and signed by the acting Director General Seif Juma, the authority informed the ground handler that it was within their mandate to designate areas for the company to provide services.
“Kindly be informed, that the ZAA has designated your company to provide ground handling services at Terminal 2 only effective from March 3,unless informed otherwise by the authority,” reads part of the letter.
The letter also reminded the ground handlers that the only preferred service provider at Terminal 3 is Dnata Zanzibar as informed by the September 14 notice.
On September 14, the Zanzibar Airports Authority (ZAA) issued a directive which gave the Dubai based company exclusive access to the new terminal which was constructed at a cost of $120 million.
The order by ZAA, gave ground handling firms at the airport until December 1, 2022 to move from the newly constructed Terminal 3, instructing airlines to make arrangements to work with Dnata.
Several other steps followed the order which included the auditing of the ground handlers in October and a meeting with airlines to fast-track their transitions towards a new service provider.
Whereas the other two ground handlers were denied access to Terminal 3, Dnata on the other hand can still operate in Terminal 2 as well.
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Tanzania Confirms Outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease
Dodoma — Tanzania today confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus disease in the northwestern Kagera region after one case tested positive for the virus following investigations and laboratory analysis of suspected cases of the disease.
President of the Republic of Tanzania, Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan, made the announcement during a press briefing alongside World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in the country’s administrative capital Dodoma.
“Laboratory tests conducted in Kabaile Mobile Laboratory in Kagera and later confirmed in Dar es Salaam identified one patient as being infected with the Marburg virus. Fortunately, the remaining suspected patients tested negative,” the president said. “We have demonstrated in the past our ability to contain a similar outbreak and are determined to do the same this time around.”
A total of 25 suspected cases have been reported as of 20 January 2025, all of whom have tested negative and are currently under close follow-up, the president said. The cases have been reported in Biharamulo and Muleba districts in Kagera.
“We have resolved to reassure the general public in Tanzania and the international community as a whole of our collective determination to address the global health challenges, including the Marburg virus disease,” said H.E President Hassan.
WHO is supporting Tanzanian health authorities to enhance key outbreak control measures including disease surveillance, testing, treatment, infection prevention and control, case management, as well as increasing public awareness among communities to prevent further spread of the virus.
“WHO, working with its partners, is committed to supporting the government of Tanzania to bring the outbreak under control as soon as possible, and to build a healthier, safer, fairer future for all the people of Tanzania,” said Dr Tedros. “Now is a time for collaboration, and commitment, to protecting the health of all people in Tanzania, and the region, from the risks posed by this disease.”
Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes haemorrhagic fever. It belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly. Patients present with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. They may develop severe haemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.
“The declaration by the president and the measures being taken by the government are crucial in addressing the threat of this disease at the local and national levels as well as preventing potential cross-border spread,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Our priority is to support the government to rapidly scale up measures to effectively respond to this outbreak and safeguard the health of the population,”
Tanzania previously reported an outbreak of Marburg in March 2023 – the country’s first – in Kagera region, in which a total of nine cases (eight confirmed and one probable) and six deaths were reported, with a case fatality ratio of 67%.
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In the African region, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
Marburg virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials. Although several promising candidate medical countermeasures are currently undergoing clinical trials, there is no licensed treatment or vaccine for effective management or prevention of Marburg virus disease. However, early access to treatment and supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms, improve survival.
Source: allafrica.com
