Dar es Salaam. Mamlaka ya Bandari Tanzania (TPA) imekwama kupata fidia iliyoomba na kuambulia kiduchu kwenye kesi ya meli iliyozama bandarini Dar es Salaam mwaka 1999.
TPA ilifungua kesi dhidi ya Reza Company Limited, ikidai fidia ya fedha ilizodai kuzitumia wakati meli ya kampuni hiyo ilipopinduka, kuzama na kumwaga mafuta yaliyochafua mazingira.
TPA iliomba ilipwe zaidi ya Sh515.4 milioni ikiwa ni fidia ya gharama ilizodai kutumia kuiibua na kuiondoa meli hiyo mahali ilikozama, kusafisha mazingira ya bahari yaliyochafuliwa na mafuta yaliyomwagika na hasara ya kushindwa kuendesha shughuli zake mahali ilipozama.
Kesi hiyo ilisikilizwa upande mmoja wa TPA pasipo kampuni hiyo kufika mahakamani kujitetea.
Hata hivyo, Mahakama Kuu Masjala Ndogo Dar es Salaam imekataa madai ya fedha ambazo TPA inadai kuzitumia ikabakiza hasara ya jumla ya Sh100 milioni.
Katika hukumu ya Mahakama iliyotolewa Aprili 15, 2024, Jaji Awamu Mbagwa amesema TPA imeshindwa kuwasilisha uthibitisho wa gharama hizo, hivyo ilipwe Sh100 milioni za fidia ya hasara ya jumla, kiwango ambacho ni hiyari ya Mahakama kukadiria inachoona kinafaa kwa madhara aliyoyapata mwathirika kwa tukio au jambo alilotendewa na mdaiwa.
“Kwa kuwa mdai ameshindwa kuwasilisha nyaraka hata moja kuthibitisha malipo ya gharama alizodai kuingia au hasara halisi ya kibiashara, ni uamuzi wangu kwamba, ameshindwa kuthibitisha hasara halisi,” amesema Jaji Mbagwa.
Amesema baada ya kutathmini ushahidi wote, kwa kuiibua na kuiondoa meli hiyo ilikozama kuna gharama ambazo TPA iliingia pamoja na usumbufu, japo mamlaka hiyo ilishindwa kuthibitisha kwa uhakika.
Jaji Mbagwa amesema katika hali ya kawaida kitendo cha meli kuziba gati namba 10 na 11 (mahali ilikozama), shughuli za TPA zilivurugika na kwa sababu hizo, ama ilipata usumbufu au ilikosa mapato kwa njia moja au nyingine.
Amesema kisheria hasara ya jumla haihitaji kuwa imeombwa na kuthibitishwa kiuhalisia, bali inaweza kutolewa na Mahakama hata kwa kuzingatia maelezo pekee.
“Kwa kuzingatia ushahidi wa mdai ninampa fidia ya hasara ya kiujumla ya Sh100 milioni,” amesema Jaji Mbagwa.
“Hatimaye kwa uchambuzi huo, ninatoa hukumu na tuzo kwa manufaa ya mdai. Ninatoa amri kwamba mdaiwa anaamuriwa kumlipa mdai Sh100 milioni zikiwa ni fidia ya hasara ya kiujumla, riba ya asilimia saba ya kiasi hicho kuanzia tarehe ya hukumu hii mpaka tarehe ya kukamilisha malipo yote na atalipa gharama za kesi,” amesema.
Meli hiyo ya M.V. Mytham, ambayo ndiyo chimbuko la kesi, ilizama Machi 4, 1999 ilipokuwa ikipakia mizigo katika gati namba 11.
Kwa mujibu wa hukumu hiyo, baada ya meli kupinduka na kuzama ilisababisha mafuta kumwagika baharini ambayo yalikuwa miongoni mwa bidhaa zilizokuwa zimepakiwa ndani, hivyo kusababisha uharibifu wa mazingira ya bahari katika eneo hilo.
Pia ilizuia gati namba 10 na 11 hali iliyosababisha shughuli katika magati hayo kusimama kwa muda, jambo ambalo liliilazimu TPA kuingia gharama kukabiliana na tatizo hilo.
Baada ya jitihada za pande zote kumaliza suala hilo kwa amani kushindikana, TPA ilichukua hatua za kisheria na kufungua kesi mahakamani dhidi ya kampuni ya Reza.
Katika kesi hiyo ya madai namba 374 ya mwaka 1999, TPA ilidai kupinduka na hatimaye kuzama kwa meli hiyo kulisababishwa na uzembe wa maofisa wa kampuni hiyo, hususan nahodha na ofisa mkuu.
TPA ilibainisha uzembe uliofanywa na viongozi wa meli hiyo kuwa ni kutokuzingatia taratibu za upakiaji makontena melini, kutokuwa na uwezo na maarifa, kushindwa kuchukua tahadhari muhimu, na meli ilikuwa na matundu.
TPA iliomba ilipwe fidia ya Sh515.49 milioni, ikiwa ni gharama ilizoingia kutokana na kuzama kwa meli hiyo bandarini, riba ya asilimia 31 ya kiasi hicho kuanzia Machi 4, 1999 mpaka tarehe ya hukumu.
Ilichanganua kuwa gharama zikitokana na vifaa vilivyohusika katika uvutaji meli, Sh29.76 milioni, gharama za kuondoa na kudhibiti uchafuzi wa mazingira (Sh1.44 milioni), gharama za vifaa na nguvu kazi wakati wa ukarabati meli hiyo katika karakana kuu ya TPA (Sh7.66 milioni).
Nyingine ni gharama za malighafi na nguvu kazi wakati meli ikiwa gatini (Sh1.66 milioni), gharama za kukodi vifaa na kuwahusisha wataalamu kwa ajili ya kuiibua meli hiyo na kuiondoa (Sh94.63 milioni).
TPA ilibainisha gharama nyingine zilikuwa ni hasara ya kukosa mapato (Sh100 milioni), fidia iliyoilipa kwa kampuni yenye mzigo uliozama na meli hiyo (Sh280.2 milioni), pamoja na gharama za kesi.
Miaka 22 baadaye, Mei 5, 2021, TPA iliiondoa mahakamani kesi hiyo kwa kibali cha kuirejesha na Mei 27, 2021 iliifungua upya na kusajiliwa kama kesi ya madai namba 81 ya mwaka 2021. Ilianza kusikilizwa upande mmoja Februari 20, 2024.
TPA iliwakilishwa na mawakili wa Serikali, Erighi Rumisha na Mwantumu Selle.
Source: mwananchi.co.tz
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Britam half-year net profit hits Sh2bn on higher investment income
Insurer and financial services provider Britam posted a 22.5 percent jump in net earnings for the half-year ended June 2024, to Sh2 billion, buoyed by increased investment income.
The rise in half-year net profit from Sh1.64 billion posted in a similar period last year came on the back of net investment income rising 2.5 times to Sh13.27 billion from Sh5.3 billion.
“We are confident in the growth and performance trend that Britam has achieved, supported by its subsidiaries in Kenya and the region. Our business is expanding its revenue base while effectively managing costs,” Britam Chief Executive Officer Tom Gitogo said.
“Our customer-centric approach is fueling growth in our customer base and product uptake, particularly through micro-insurance, partnerships, and digital channels.”
The investment income growth was fueled by interest and dividend income rising 34 percent to Sh9.1 billion, which the insurer attributed to growth in revenue and the gains from the realignment of the group’s investment portfolio.
Britam also booked a Sh3.79 billion gain on financial assets at a fair value, compared with a Sh1.8 billion loss posted in a similar period last year.
The increased investment income helped offset the 12.7 percent decline in net insurance service result to Sh2.13 billion in the wake of claims paid out rising at a faster pace than that of premiums received.
Britam said insurance revenue, which is money from written premiums, increased to Sh17.8 billion from Sh16.6 billion, primarily driven by growth in the Kenya insurance business and regional general insurance businesses, which contributed 30 percent of the revenue.
The group has a presence in seven countries in Africa namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Mozambique, and Malawi.
Britam’s insurance service expense hit Sh13.6 billion from Sh11.3 billion, while net insurance finance expenses rose 2.6 times to Sh12.3 billion during the same period.
“Net insurance finance expenses increased mainly due to growth in interest cost for the deposit administration business driven by better investment performance. This has also been impacted by a decline in the yield curve, which has led to an increase in the insurance contract liabilities. The increase has been offset by a matching increase in fair value gain on assets,” said Britam.
Britam’s growth in profit is in line with that of other Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed insurers, which have seen a rise in profits.
Jubilee Holdings net profit in the six months increased by 22.7 percent to Sh2.5 billion on increased income from insurance, helping the insurer maintain Sh2 per share interim dividend.
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Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak
Tanzania today declared the end of Marburg virus disease outbreak after recording no new cases over 42 days since the death of the last confirmed case on 28 January 2025.
The outbreak, in which two confirmed and eight probable cases were recorded (all deceased), was the second the country has experienced. Both this outbreak, which was declared on 20 January 2025, and the one in 2023 occurred in the north-eastern Kagera region.
In response to the latest outbreak, Tanzania’s health authorities set up coordination and response systems, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, at the national and regional levels and reinforced control measures to swiftly detect cases, enhance clinical care, infection prevention as well as strengthen collaboration with communities to raise awareness and help curb further spread of the virus.
Growing expertise in public health emergency response in the African region has been crucial in mounting effective outbreak control measures. Drawing on experience from the response to the 2023 Marburg virus disease outbreak, WHO worked closely with Tanzanian health authorities to rapidly scale up key measures such as disease surveillance and trained more than 1000 frontline health workers in contact tracing, clinical care and public health risk communication. The Organization also delivered over five tonnes of essential medical supplies and equipment.
“The dedication of frontline health workers and the efforts of the national authorities and our partners have paid off,” said Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses, WHO Representative in Tanzania. “While the outbreak has been declared over, we remain vigilant to respond swiftly if any cases are detected and are supporting ongoing efforts to provide psychosocial care to families affected by the outbreak.”
Building on the momentum during the acute phase of the outbreak response, measures have been put in place to reinforce the capacity of local health facilities to respond to potential future outbreaks. WHO and partners are procuring additional laboratory supplies and other equipment for disease detection and surveillance and other critical services.
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.
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.
Source: allafrica.com
