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: Samia Hands Over NBC’s 354m/ – Crop Insurance Compensation to Farmers Affected By Hailstorms
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, has handed over a cheque of 354m/- from the National Bank of Commerce (NBC) as compensation to tobacco farmers, who were affected by hailstorms during the previous farming season in various regions across the country.
Handing over the cheque in Dodoma, the compensation is part of the crop insurance service provided by NBC in collaboration with the National Insurance Corporation (NIC).
Furthermore, President Samia has also handed over health insurance coverage to members of the Lindi Mwambao Cooperative Union based in Lindi Region, through the Farmers’ Health Insurance service provided by the bank in partnership with Assurance Insurance Company.
While visiting the bank’s pavilion at the Nanenane Agricultural Exhibition and being received and briefed by the bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Theobald Sabi, she said: “This crop insurance is one of the crucial solutions in ensuring farmers have a reliable income, without fear of challenges such as natural disasters, including hailstorms.
“I call upon all farmers in the country to make the best use of this important opportunity by accessing these kinds of insurance services. I also highly commend NBC and all the stakeholders participating in this programme.”
Elaborating further on the crop insurance service, the Minister of Agriculture, Hussein Bashe, stated that it will help to recover the loss farmers incurred, especially in various calamities beyond their control.
Citing them as floods, fires, and hailstorms, which have significantly affected the well-being of farmers and caused some to be reluctant to invest in the crucial sector, Mr Bashe added: “However, our President, this step by NBC is just the beginning, as this is the second year since they started offering this service, and the results are already visible.
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“As the government, we promise to continue supporting the wider implementation of this service, with the goal of ensuring that this crop insurance service reaches more farmers.”
ALSO READ: NBC participates in TFF 2023/24 awards, promises to enhance competition
On his part, Mr Sabi said that the farmers who benefited from the compensations are from 23 primary cooperative unions in the regions of Shinyanga, Geita, Tabora, Mbeya, Katavi, and Kigoma.
He added: “In addition to these insurance services, as a bank, through this exhibition, we have continued with our programme of providing financial education and various banking opportunities to farmers, alongside offering them various loans, including loans for agricultural equipment, particularly tractors, to eligible farmers.:
At the NBC booth, President Samia also had the opportunity to be briefed on the various services offered by the bank to the farmers namely crop insurance and health insurance services.
There, the President had the chance to speak with some of the beneficiaries of the services, including the Vice-Chairman of the Lindi Mwambao Primary Cooperative Union, Mr. Hassan Mnumbe, whose union has been provided with a health insurance card from the bank.
Source: allafrica.com
Insecurity prompts Zanzibar to review its lucrative island leasing
The Tanzanian central government is planning to boost its security presence in the Zanzibar archipelago. A commission tasked with auditing the country’s security forces was appointed in July by President Samia Suluhu Hassan. It says it is concerned about the situation in the country’s Indian Ocean islands that are under the control of the semi-autonomous Zanzibar local government.Continue Reading
Africa: Rwanda Gets a Grip Of Marburg, But Mpox ‘Not Yet Under Control’
Monrovia — The Rwanda Minister of State responsible for Health, Dr. Yvan Butera, cautioned that while the country is beginning to see positive signals in its fight against the Marburg virus, the outbreak is “not yet over”. He, however, expressed hope that “we are headed in that direction”. The minister said the epidemiology trend, since the disease was first discovered in the country more than a month ago, is moving towards fewer cases.
Dr. Butera, who was giving updates during an online briefing yesterday, said in the past two weeks, only two deaths were recorded while 14 people recovered from the disease. He said Rwanda was expanding its testing capacity with 16,000 people already inoculated against the disease.
The priority right now, Butera said, is “rapid testing and detection”.
Marburg is a highly virulent disease transmitted through human-to-human contact or contact with an infected animal. The fatality rate of cases, which has varied over the period, is more than 50%, according to the World Health Organization. WHO said the highest number of new confirmed cases in Rwanda were reported in the first two weeks of the outbreak. There’s been a “sharp decline” in the last few weeks, with the country now tackling over 60 cases.
At Thursday’s briefing, a senior official of the Africa Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Ngashi Ngongo, said mpox – the other infectious disease outbreak that countries in the region are fighting – was been reported in 19 countries, with Mauritius being the latest country to confirm a case. He said although no new cases have been recorded in recent weeks in several countries where outbreaks occurred previously – including Cameroon, South Africa, Guinea, and Gabon – Uganda confirmed its first Mpox death. This, he said, is one of two fatalities reported outside Central Africa.
Dr. Ngashi revealed that there was an increase in cases in Liberia and Uganda. He said mpox cases were still on an upward trend.
“The situation is not yet under control.”
Source: allafrica.com
