Unguja, Zanzibar:
Zanzibar’s President Hussein Mwinyi on Thursday, January 26, commissioned the operations of ground handling company Dnata Zanzibar at the Abied Amani Karume International Airport (AAKIA) calling it a historic event.
The commissioning of Dnata, a new ground handler with exclusive rights to Terminal 3 building comes at a time when the existing ground handlers are considering laying off staff.
Speaking at the ceremony Mwinyi said the coming of Dnata was timely because it is set to enhance service delivery of international standards at Zanzibar’s only international airport which registered 1.8 million arrivals is 2022.
“Despite the investments made at different times by the past administration, service delivery remained a challenge at the AAKIA. These included, supervision, lack of professionalism and lack of modern equipment to serve passengers and their cargo,” said President Mwinyi.
He added: This was a major discouragement to visitors and natives who used the airport, in the process leading to loss of government revenue.
He said that it was due these factors that the government entered into negotiations with Dnata, Emirates Leisure Retail, MMI Wine and Spirits and Segap in order to deliver services that suit the kind of investment that they had made.
The newly built Terminal 3 building at the airport was constructed at a cost of $120 million.
“The collaboration has been very instrumental in improving services at the airport with 34 international flights plying the Zanzibar route whereas arrivals have also gone up by almost 38 percent, from 1.3 million in 2021 to 1.8 million in 2022,” said Mwinyi.
According to Dr Mwinyi recent increase in revenue collection is also attributed to the improvements of service delivery at the airport.
The airport is said to have recorded Sh6.7 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year and amount which was further improved with collections of Sh 8.1 billion in the second quarter of the 2022 -23 financial year.
“This revenue is up from the Sh2.1 billion which was collected in the pre-Covid days and Dnata now employs 600 people,” said the President.
Ground handlers ponder retrenchment
However, as the president and speakers before him showered praise over the Zanzibar Airports authority’s (ZAA) preferred ground handlers Dnata Zanzibar, sources privy to ZAT and Transworld have confirmed that the two companies are pondering reduction of their current workforce.
They say that the recent order by the ZAA for airlines to either sign with dnata or leave the new Terminal 3 building has left them with very little choice.
“ We have been left with no choice, our hand has been pushed, especially when you look at the circumstances that airlines were forced to terminate contracts with our in favour of Dnata,” said a source close to the two ground handlers.
He added: We understand how this is likely to affect them and their families so we have decided that it will be a gradual process
The two ground handlers currently employ close to 500 employees in different capacities.
In a communication that The Citizen has independently verified, one international airline’s executive confessed that they had been forced against their wish.
With the terminations taking effect after a recent reminder that followed the September 14 notice, ZAT is left with two international airlines (Oman Air and Ethiopian Airlines) whereas Transworld has KLM and Air France on its books.
The four airlines have refused to sign with ZAA’s preferred ground handler and are ready to continue being served by ZAT and Transworld.
Las week, Transworld Aviation Limited filed a petition at the High Court of Tanzania, challenging the exclusive rights granted to Dnata which they say is contrary to the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority laws.
In July, 2022, President Hussein Mwinyi 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.
In November 2021, Dnata signed a contract with authorities in Zanzibar to provide ground handling services at newly built Terminal 3 at the Abeid Amani Kurume International Airport.
As part of the contract, two other Emirates’ subsidiaries, Emirates Leisure Retail and MMI will operate all 13 retailers and two lounges in the terminal. The retailers include restaurant, duty free and commercial outlets.
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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.
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