The Zanzibar Airports Authority will today meet representatives of all airlines that fly into Zanzibar regarding the order to shift their ground handling to Dnata.
In an email that The Citizen has seen, the director general said he was to have a meeting with the station managers on Thursday, October at 10am in order to align on the September 14 notice.
The meeting comes at a time when ZAA is conducting what the authority has called an independent audit of ground handlers operating at the Abeid Amani Karume International Airport for the first time.
In the September notice by the acting ZAA director general, Seif Juma, to all Airlines and airport users, the authority said that the government of Zanzibar in its quest to improve service delivery at the airport, has entered a management agreement with three companies.
He named the companies as Dnata Zanzibar Aviation Services Limited, Emirate Leisure Retail, and SEGAP.
“From December 1, 2022, unless informed otherwise by the authority, all services from terminal 3 shall be conducted under the auspices of Dnata for provision of ground handling and the Marhaba lounge Services,” read the notice.
The letter further stated that the Emirates Leisure Retail shall provide food and beverage service, shops and duty free shops, whereas SEGAP will provide technical support to ZAA management and airport operations.
In the notice, ZAA advised airlines intending to use the newly built terminal 3 to enter negotiations with Dnata to avoid inconveniences.
Since then, only two airlines, Eurowing and Neos have effected the order that requires all international airlines to adopt Dnata Zanzibar as their sole ground handler in Terminal 3.
With the clock ticking away to the December 1 deadline, most airlines that have spoken to The Citizen on condition of anonymity say they are waiting for guidelines from the Tanzania Civil aviation Authority (TCAA).
On October 10, the Tanzania Airline Operators Association (Taoa) wrote to TCAA seeking the annulment of the said directive because it was against regulation 20 of the Civil Aviation (Ground Handling Services) Regulations of 2012, which requires the selection procedures of ground handlers to adhere to principles of transparent, non-discrimination, and international competitive tendering.
TCAA is yet to respond to that letter .
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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.
CIC Insurance Group posted a 0.64 percent rise in net profit to Sh709.99 million in the same period as net earnings of Liberty Kenya nearly tripled to Sh632 million from Sh213 million, while Sanlam Kenya emerged from a loss to post a Sh282.2 million net profit.
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
