Tanzania, DP World sign controversial deals on Dar es Salaam port

By Evelyne Musambi NAIROBI, Kenya

Tanzania’s government signed a controversial port management deal with Dubai-based DP World that had fuelled protests in the East African country in the past months and led to arrests of dozens of critics.

The deal was signed on Sunday in the presence of Tanzania’s President Samia Hassan, who has recently been accused of cracking down on critics such as her predecessor, the late John Magufuli amid calls from opposition for the contracts to be made public.

Tanzania Ports Authority Director General, Plasduce Mbossa, said that DP World, based in the United Arab Emirates, will only operate four berths of the Dar es Salaam Port, located in the country’s commercial capital, and not the entire port. 

He said the signed contracts include the Host Government Agreement (HGA), the lease and operation of berths 4-7 and the joint operation of berths 0-3 between TPA and DP World for commercial and governmental activities.

“These contracts do not involve all port operations in Dar es Salaam or all other Tanzanian ports.” He said.

“After the signing of these agreements, the government will be able to keep more than 60 percent of all revenue as all operating costs will be borne by DP World.” He said.

Custom duties collected by the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) will be based on the number of serviced ships, leading to a significant increase in revenue as more ships will be serviced.

Its performance would be reviewed every five years for a total contractual period of 30 years.

The opposition and civil society have protested the government decision to have a foreign logistics company manage Tanzania’s ports. 

The government has said the move would increase port efficiency and grow the country’s economy.

The ports agreement was approved by Tanzania’s parliament on June 10, triggering protests in which more than 22 people have been arrested so far, according to Human Rights Watch.

The international rights group in August urged Tanzania to respect freedom of expression and the right to protest.

Tanzania has made some reforms since the death in 2021 of autocratic President Magufuli, who cracked down on critics and introduced draconian laws.

President Hassan, has been accused of continuing his anti-democratic policies. However, she was lauded in 2022 for lifting a prohibition on four newspapers that had been banned by the former leader.

Opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, has challenged the government to put public the contracts instead of empty words by the government. 

Talking to Tanzania diaspora in US today, Lissu call for Tanzanians not to believe the government words that the deal will benefit the country more than now. "No body can believe in this government, it is an hypocritical government! Let them put the contracts open so that we may believe them, other ways it's mere empty words as usual." Said Lissu.