By Abdullateef Aliyu

Lagos — There was panic at the international wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA), Lagos yesterday following a minor fire outbreak which cut off electricity supply at the airport.

The fire incident happened at Finger Main Distribution Board at the E-Finger of the Airport, it was learnt. It was reportedly triggered by electric spark.

A worker at the airport said the minor fire incident caused passengers and other airport users to scamper for safety as some people thought it was a major fire incident.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) through a statement by its Acting General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, confirmed the incident, saying power was immediately restored.

By Dicta Asiimwe

East Africa received a mixed bag of results in doing business in the latest report by World Bank; with Rwanda and Kenya leading while Burundi, South Sudan and Somalia brought up the rear.

The World Bank cited implementation of projects meant to improve trading across borders as key to the good showing while civil strife hampered those countries that did poorly.

According to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2017 report, Rwanda — ranked 56 from last year’s 59 — remains the easiest place to start a business in the region. Rwanda is also the second easiest country within which to do business in sub-Saharan Africa after Mauritius, which is ranked 49th.

Kenya — the bloc’s biggest economy — though at second place, was the most improved, moving 21 places up the ranking from 113 last year to 92. Uganda is ranked at 115 from last year’s 122, while Tanzania moved to position 132 from 144.

Troubled by civil strife, Burundi is ranked at 157. South Sudan, another East African country dogged by incessant conflict, was ranked at 186, four places short of being the worst performing country in the world. At 190, Somalia which also suffers the debilitating effects of war, terrorism and a fledgling government is ranked as the worst country to start a business in the world.

Rwanda saw its biggest improvement in its trading across borders measure, having moved 44 places from last year’s position of 131 to position 87 now. Uganda moved up five places in the trading across borders measure, while Kenya moved up two places.

Tanzania, which was hailed for improvements at Dar es Salaam Port, remained in the same position of 180 in the trading across borders measure due to the country’s high border compliance costs for importers and exporters.

Access to credit

But, Tanzania improved its overall ranking because of its rating in improving access to credit where the country moved up 108 places from last year’s 152 to 44 this year.

The country’s credit bureau system, which had by January 2016 registered 6.5 per cent of the adult population, is expected to ease the cost of borrowing money.

According to the World Bank doing business manager Rita Ramalho, 10 measures were used to come up with the ranking.

They are: Starting a business; dealing with construction permits; getting electricity; registering property; getting credit; protecting minority investors; paying taxes; resolving insolvency; enforcing contracts and trading across borders.

According to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2017 report, the East African Community did well in the trading across borders measure on account of several investments that have mostly been financed by TradeMark East Africa. These include investments in improvement of infrastructure at the region’s different entry points.

World Bank officials highlighted improvements at the Dar es Salaam Port, the construction of one-stop border posts in the region and the improvement of tax payment systems.

Ms Ramalho said measures such as resolving insolvency, protecting minorities and providing electricity remain a challenge in sub-Saharan Africa.

“More political momentum is necessary for these reforms as they are difficult to implement,” she said.

However, Kenya managed to implement reforms in resolving insolvency, protecting minorities and providing electricity, which are considered.

Kenya uses a geographic information system to connect electricity, which eliminates the need to conduct a site visit and saves on time.

Reformers

In the area of protecting minorities, the government introduced greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors.

“Kenya made it easier to sue directors in cases of prejudicial related-party transactions and allowed the rescission of related-party transactions,” said Ms Ramalho.

The country was among the 10 best reformers in the world. The other nine are Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Pakistan, Serbia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Brunei Darussalam.

In Uganda, Private Sector Foundation executive director Gideon Badagawa said a combination of factors, including failure to follow up on plans and policies both in government and the private sector, are to blame for the country’s failure to improve its ranking. “We are in the same environment as Rwanda, but they are ranked 56 while we are still at 115,” he observed.

Mr Badagawa blames the difference between the two countries’ ranking on poor attitude towards work in Uganda, and a lack of efficiency in sectors where money has been invested.

The latest loan given to Uganda’s competitiveness and enterprise development project by the World Bank was meant to ease land and property registration and improve the business licensing regime. But the results are slow in coming.

The challenge of slow progress is also being experienced in Tanzania, where the World Bank has invested in the competitiveness project over the past ten years, which involves improving land and property registration procedures, as well as easing the business licensing regime. But officials from both Uganda and Tanzania are hopeful that the the World Bank’s competitiveness loan will start having an impact soon.

COLUMNBy Karl Lyimo

Exactly 30 years to the day today is like so much water under the proverbial bridge, counting from when the British Government suddenly deregulated its financial markets on October 27, 1986. The event was to become known as the ‘Big Bang!’

This was in reference to the ‘Big Bang Theory’ in Astronomy – as opposed to the ‘Steady State Theory.’ The former is speculates that the Univesre originated billions of years ago from the explosion of a single mass of material – and that the ‘pieces’ therefrom are still flying apart today…’ Sheesh!

Back to the British Financial Big Bang… Britain deregulated its financial markets, leading to restructuring of the way those markets operate!

Perhaps as the Sisters of Fate would’ve it, a little more than a decade down the Financial Road, an economic minicrash took place (also) on an Oct. 27 (but, in 1997), when stock markets around the world crashed – largely from fears of a global economic meltdown.

In the event, for example, the legendary Dow Jones Industrial Average plummetted 554.26 points, falling to 7,161.15! The ‘Dow Jones Industrial Average’ is, of course, a measure of stock market prices based on 30 leading companies listed on the New York Stock Exchane (NYSE) in the US.

But, that’s another story…

As already noted, Britain’s financial markets deregulation a generation ago was followed a decade later – Oct. 27, 1997 – by the global economic minicrash that played havoc with national economies on Planet Earth this side of Heaven.

Even Tanzania was dragged into that financial Black Hole, forcing the Govt. to undertake various measures especially in the Financial Markets stakes.

For instance, President Ally Hassan Mwinyi of the Second Phase Government (1985-95) was cornered by force of circumstances into embarking upon economic liberalisation, beginning in the late 1980s. Some of the milestones in the country’s financial markets included the Foreign Exchange Act, enacted in March 1992. The Act liberalized external trade, and created an enabling environment for market-determined exchange rates.

In January 1994, the Mwinyi Govt. enacted the Capital Markets & Securities Act – followed in June that year by the Interbank Foreign Exchange Market (IFEM). IFEM is a wholesale market which facilitates determination of the exchange rate, replacing the weekly foreign exchange auction system.

Fast-Forward to May 2003, when the Third Phase Govt. of President Benjamin Mkapa (1995-2005) opened up for business the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange to foreign investors. (DSE was statutory provided for in Sept. 1996). Also, several regulations were published in 2003 to guide foreign investors dealings in the Stock Exchange, and establish regulatory safeguards for orderly, stable market activities…

Oh, it’s a long, interesting story… But, exactly what are financial markets, a colleague at the next work-station asks!

Well, very briefly, the term describes a platform that facilitates prospective sellers and buyers of assets such as equities, bonds, currencies and derivatives. Generally, financial markets are regulated as to their trading activities, complete with transparent pricing (or so we’re told!) – with market forces determining prices of the securities that’re traded! Really…?

There seemingly are a bazillion financial markets in national Economies worldwide: Capital markets; Stock markets; Bond markets, Money markets, Derivatives markets, Cash or Spot markets; Forex and Interbank markets; Primary markets; Secondary markets; Over-the-Counter (OTC) markets; Third and Fourth Markets, etc, etc…

Suffice it here to say that financial markets play crucial roles, each in its own way, in a nation’s economic daily life. For that, they must be regulated in one form or another – and to one degree or another…

Britain had its Financial Markets Big Bang on today’s date in 1986 when, among other things, the Govt. of Premier Margaret ‘Iron Lady’ Thatcher dramatically deregulated that economic sub-sector.

Could it be said in the same breath that Tanzania also had its Big Bang in 1994 when it introduced the Capital Markets & Securities Act, the Interbank Foreign Exchange Market, etc?

What do you say to that? Cheers!

By Sylivester Domasa

The European Union (EU) has maintained its position as Tanzania’s largest trading partner, with two billion US dollar (over 4trn/-) trade volume last year, a new report has revealed.

According to the “European Investment in Tanzania: How European investment contributes to industrialisation and development in Tanzania 2016,” report, the European companies also account for 68 per cent of the total Foreign Direct Investments in Tanzania.

Launching the report in Dar es Salaam yesterday, EU Head of Delegation to Tanzania and EAC, Ambassador Roeland van de Geer, noted that the EU companies were also the largest taxpayers, paying 1.1 billion US dollars (over 2tri/-) in domestic tax in 2014, about 25 per cent of the total taxes paid by large taxpayers in the country.

“This goes to show that the over 1,000 European companies and individuals from large multinational corporations to small individual tourism ventures play a significant part in the development of the Tanzanian economy,” he said.

“This publication discusses the competitive edge that Tanzania has in trade, investment and production and the challenges that are currently faced. It also contains clear recommendations on the way forward. EU is committed to continue working with Tanzania and strengthening ties between our regions.

” The European companies have invested in energy, tourism, transport, banking, oil and gas, agriculture, mining, retail and trade, ICT, manufacturing and construction sectors. The envoy said the European private sector is well represented in almost all sectors of the Tanzania’s economy, with crucial impact on revenue collection and job creation.

“These are the best long term solutions for poverty reduction,” he said. EU Business Group Chairman, Mr Morten Juul, noted at the launching ceremony that Tanzania offers peaceful and stable environment, abundant natural resources and favourable geographical location.

“There are ample opportunities for European investors to work alongside local investors to create an active and successful private sector and continue to build the economy,” he said.

“We hope that through continued dialogue we can build an environment that further supports the EU investments in the country and we are willing to share our skills and experiences to address the current business impedi- Continues on Page 3 ments,” said Mr Juul.

Innocent Ruwende — South African President Mr Jacob Zuma is expected here next Thursday to attend the inaugural session of the Bi-National Commission where Zimbabwe and South Africa are set to discuss trade, investment, energy, tourism, water, health, regional and global developments. The Bi-National Commission would be jointly chaired by President Mugabe and Mr Zuma. President Zuma leads a delegation of eight Cabinet ministers and a number of agreements are expected to be signed at the conclusion of the meeting. The BNC was established on April 8 last year following the signing of an agreement by ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two countries during a State visit to South Africa by President Mugabe.

During the visit, three landmark agreements and two memoranda of understanding, which are expected to steer bilateral relations and development of the two neighbours to greater heights, were penned.

The BNC is a successor to the Joint Commission for Cooperation signed by Zimbabwe and South Africa on March 2, 1995 and it seeks ways and means of promoting and enhancing cooperation in the various sectors of Government and to coordinate initiatives in this regard as well as to facilitate contact between the public and private sectors of the two countries.

In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the session to be held in Harare on November 3, would be preceded by a ministerial meeting on November 2 and a senior officials meeting from October 31 to November 1 this year.

“It is also expected that a number of agreements will be signed at the conclusion of the meeting. On October 21, 2016 the Political and Diplomacy Committee of the Zimbabwe – South Africa Bi-National Commission met in Harare.

“The committee emphasised the importance of political and diplomatic consultations as a forum to enhance bilateral cooperation and an effective mechanism to track progress on the implementation of decisions taken at the BNC and other consultations,” reads the statement.

During President Mugabe’s visit to South Africa last year the key agreement signed was on the establishment of the BNC, which Zimbabwe Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and South Africa International Relations and Co-operation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane signed off.

The two ministers also signed a memorandum of understanding on Diplomatic Consultations; while Finance ministers Patrick Chinamasa and Nhlanhla Nene signed the agreement on Mutual Assistance Between Customs Administrations.

The agreement on Co-operation on Water Resources Management and establishment and functioning of the Joint Water pact were signed by the then Environment, Water and Climate Minister Saviour Kasukuwere and his South African counterpart. Industry and Trade Minister Mike Bimha and South Africa’s Rob Davies, signed an MoU on Economic and Trade Co-operation.

Presidents Mugabe and Zuma both hailed the agreements, MoUs and talks as notable milestones in the development of the two countries’ relations, expressing their desire to see these reflected in greater regional and continental integration for the betterment of citizens’ lives. President Mugabe said there was much the two countries could learn from each other. South Africa is Zimbabwe’s biggest trading partner in Africa.

By Bassey Udo and Ebuka Onyeji

There has been mass sack of over 3,000 workers in Nigeria’s oil industry as the country’s economic recession bites harder, two unions have said.

The two major unions in the oil and gas sector, NUPENG and PENGASSAN, have thus threatened to go on strike saying over 3,000 of their members were affected.

The unions on Wednesday issued a 21-day ultimatum to the federal government calling for a halt to the sack of their members by international oil companies in Nigeria.

The National President of NUPENG, Igwe Achese, who addressed the media at the end of the Central Working Committee, CWC, meeting of the union in Effurun, Delta State, said government must do something urgently to stop the mass retrenchment of its members to avoid grounding the industry.

Mr. Achese disclosed that most of the companies – Chevron Nigeria Limited, ExxonMobil, Pan Ocean, Sapiem, and Hercules oil and gas limited, among others – have terminated the appointment of over 3,000 of their workers apparently over the current economic recession in the country.

“More than 3,000 of our members are affected,” Mr Achese said. “Chevron alone is about 1,500; Mobil is about 1,000; the entire workers of Hercules Oil & Gas are being asked to go home; Pan Ocean have since closed shop and are gone.

Industry-wide everybody are being asked to go.

“We are now asking ourselves where are we heading with the industry. We have lost so much of Nigerian personnel working in the oil and gas industry. What is happening in Nigeria cannot be compared to what is happening in other African countries. We want government to wake up and address some of these issues.”

The spokespersons for Chevron and Mobil, the two oil firms most involved in the mass sack, did not return calls or reply text messages sent to them on the dismissals.

Mr. Achese said if government failed to act and direct the oil companies to stop these ongoing retrenchment of their members in the sector, they would be compelled to act to protect their interest.

“It is painful to say as I address you, Chevron has wound up in the East and their offices closed. A total of 1,500 workers were sacked without their entitlements. Nobody is saying anything about it. As we speak, many companies have left and many others are winding up to go.

“The Federal Government should act fast to avert further loss of jobs. There is too much redundancy in the oil industry, which needs urgent action from government to salvage the situation,” Mr. Achese said.

The oil industry has been hit by the massive decline in global oil prices, even as armed militant groups in the Niger Delta region led by the Niger Delta Avengers continue to attack oil facilities in the country.

Oil production has been massively cut by almost half, from an average of 2.1 million barrels per to about 1.1 million barrels per day, according to recent figures by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

By Jimmy Lwangili

Police in Dar es Salaam are holding for interrogation two Chinese nationals who are suspected to have kidnapped their fellow Chinese woman, Liu Hong (48) who works at Le Grande Cassino.

They have allegedly demanded a ransom of 19,000 US dollars from her relatives in China. The Dar es Salaam Special Zone Commissioner of Police (CP), Simon Sirro, mentioned the names of the suspects as Wang Young Jing (37) and Chen Chung Bao (35). He said the incident occurred on October 23 this year, in the morning at the Cassino which is located on Samora Avenue in the city.

He said police received information that there is a Chinese woman who has been kidnapped by unidentified people. According to preliminary investigation, police discovered that the kidnappers were hiding themselves in Palm Beach hotel and demanding a ransom of Yen 100,000 equivalent to 19,000 US dollars to release the victim.

“On October 24 in the evening, police through the cyber crime unit went to the Palm Beach hotel at Upanga in the city and discovered that the suspects were hiding in room number 9. They knocked the door but the suspects refused to open,” Sirro told journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

According to him, police decided to break the door. But suddenly one of the suspects, Wang Young Jing, opened the door and the police got into the room and found another Chinese man and a woman who had been kidnapped. She had lost her consciousness from the beatings she got and had been wounded in the face.

CP Sirro further explained that in the hotel room, that was rented by Chen Chung Bao, police found two pieces of towels with bloody, plastic ropes and a syringe. They rushed the victim to Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) for medical treatment.

The suspects will appear before a court of law after police complete investigation. Meanwhile police in Dar es Salaam have arrested four suspects including a student of the College of Business Education (CBE) in connection with a car theft.

The suspects were arrested on October 22 this year in the city. Mr Sirro said the police were tipped-off on the presence of a group of people involved in car thefts. The suspects allegedly bought the documents of cars that got accidents and paid insurance claims.

They also took chasis numbers. After preliminary investigation police arrested a suspect, one Denis Gasper Ushaki (25) at Tandale in Dar es Salaam. They found him with scraps of a Toyota Alphad car with registration number T 290 DDM.

“After interrogation the suspect helped the police to arrest three other suspects who have been identified as Alfred Ditrik (33), Venance Avity Bureta (24) and Dickson Valentino Godfrey (23) who is a student at CBE. The suspect was found in possession of a car make with registration number T 368 CSE, a Toyota Passo,” he said.

He added that the suspects admitted to committing car thefts at separate areas in Dar es Salaam. The suspects will appear before a court of law after investigation is completed.

By Ouma Wanzala

Senior teachers have emerged the biggest winners of the salary deal reached this week between their unions and the employer.

The workers through the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) signed new collective bargaining agreements that will cost taxpayers an additional Sh54 billion for next four years starting July next year.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) currently spends Sh168 billion out of its Sh192 billion budget to pay salaries to more than 290,000 teachers across the country. This will now increase to about Sh200 billion.

On Wednesday Kuppet signed its agreement with TSC, a day after Knut concluded its own. The two are now expected to deposit the agreements in court next week to formalise them.

Kuppet Chairman Omboko Milemba said the deal was timely and had been concluded quickly.

“We have been fighting for the increment to be pegged on the basic salary which is what has happened and that means that retiring teachers will now get a better package,” he said.

TSC Chief executive Nancy Macharia said the CBA had established a new grading and salary structure based on the principle of “equal pay for equal work.”

She said teaching had been enriched and enlarged in order to attract and retain the best professionals in public schools.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) also states that teachers who perform well in schools will earn automatic promotions after annual performance evaluation and contracting.

The new deal make the recruitment of head teachers more competitive since senior teachers at grade C2 will now be eligible to apply and compete with deputies at grade C3.

In the re-organisation, those in Job group J to N earning from Sh24,662 to Sh48,190 will now be under C1- C5 grade earning between Sh27, 195 to Sh77, 840.

Those in Job group P to T earning between Sh77,527 to 109,089 will now be under D1-D5 with a minimum salary of 93,408 and a maximum of 157,656 .

And more than 50,000 teachers who are not affiliated to any union but who will benefit from the deal will be required to pay agency fees at two per cent of the basic salary to either Knut or Kuppet.

Mrs Macharia said the CBA had created distinct career paths for all teachers.

“This will ensure that both teachers in administrative and non-administrative positions have clear career progression paths,” she said, adding that in determining the new pay grades they were guided by the principle of the relative worth of the job.

EXPAND GRADING STRUCTURE

“The worth of every job has been determined based on the category and size of school, level of responsibility and the impact of decisions made at every level. The CBA has recognised the need to expand the grading structure of the top cadre of our employees, majority of whom are school administrators in Post Primary Institutions,” said Mrs Macharia.

She added that the agreements had addressed other non-monetary but crucial benefits to teachers in areas of leaves and professional development.

Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion praised the deal, saying teachers will now be appreciated for the value of service they offer and not just for their professional credentials.

“The improvement in terms of service for teachers will make teaching competitive and attractive and will bring equity,” he said on Wednesday.

The official said the re-organisation had defined the highest apex of the teaching profession since the post of principal had been made more attractive and competitive.

He said the job evaluation that was conducted by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) played a critical role in the determination of the new salaries, adding that teachers’ services had been understated for too long.

“Teachers will now have a rightful place in the society in terms of value,” he said and urged teachers to meet their part of the bargain by working harder.

The responsibility and special schools allowances have been integrated with the salaries since principals and teachers in special schools will be moved to higher job groups.

This means that apart from earning higher salaries, teachers will also get improved allowances due to upward mobility in cadres.

It will be mandatory for headteachers to be degree holders unlike in the past when those with certificates could be promoted to the top based on experience.

According to the agreements, TSC will evaluate the performance of teachers annually through tools developed with the help of the unions.

“Parties further agree that the employer shall develop performance development programmes with a view to enhance productivity in the teaching sector,” states the CBA.

By Amos Ngwomoya

Kampala — City investors planning to grab schools’ land risk being prosecuted by the courts of law to save the future of children’s education, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) executive director, Jennifer Musisi, has warned.

Her warning comes on the heels of the rampant cases of grabbing schools’ land in the city, something she said doesn’t only cripple the future of the country’s education system but also violates the rights of education of the children, whom she said, would help in transforming the livelihood of Ugandans.

“I am warning all those people who think they will grab schools’ land and just walk away… . I can assure you that we are serious on this issue and all those who fall victim of the same will definitely face the law because when you demolish a school for your personal interests, it means that you shattering the future of the children. As authorities, we shall continue guarding against such acts.” Ms Musisi said.

She was speaking yesterday to Journalists shortly after officiating at the handover of the renovation of Kiswa Primary School in Nakawa division by Sadolin paints and BAPs, a relief charity organization.

Ms Musisi decried the low funding to school children in the city and called upon different organisations to support city programmes especially in the health, education and environmental sector, stressing that it will make the city more attractive.

“There are 79 primary schools in the city and according to the government budget, it allocates only Shs. 10,000 per head of a pupil per year but this money isn’t enough because these children need a lot of requirements for them to excel. I thank Sadolin and BAPs Uganda for giving back to the community and I call upon other organizations to come and support us,” she said.

Asked about the performance of city schools since KCCA took over in 2011, she noted that there have been a lot of reforms and that they will continue improving the standards of not only schools but also other city projects.

Sadolin country executive director, Chris Nugent, said that one of their goals is to support the welfare of the society.

“Am happy to be part of the transformation of the education system and we shall keep on offering support to many more institutions in the city,” he said.

BAPs country coordinator, Harish Bhuptani, noted that many city schools are in poor state but pledged to partner with KCCA to improve the standards of institutions in need.

The renovation, among others involved painting of all the six classroom blocks of the school using quality paint.

The head teachers of the School, Aisha Ntege Namaganda, expressed fear over the high costs of electricity costs and asked government to subsidize costs of public institutions to enable them cope with the economic standards.

“At times we are disconnected from power and this affects our work. We also don’t have a perimeter wall and since we are in the urban setting, there is a lot of noise pollution, which absolutely affects the concentration of our learners,” she said.

Founded in 1959, Kiswa Primary school is a government aided primary school managed by KCCA. It has an enrolment of 2026 pupils and 49 teachers, 38 of whom are paid by government while 11 are temporary. It has seven classroom blocks and 21 classes.

The latest school to face land grabbing is Kasubi Family Primary school in Rubaga Division, which was demolished by unknown people in May this year. Three classrooms blocks were destroyed but KCCA intervened and restored sanity at the school by deploying Police and later provided tents to accommodate the affected pupils.

By Haika Kimaro

Mtwara — Dangote Cement Company management says it is increasingly being frustrated by the failure by authorities to make good their promises of supplying it with cheap fuel and other logistical solutions.

It has, particularly, been irked by a decision by the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation to refuse to supply natural gas at cheaper prices, and by the government’s decision to ban it from importing coal from South Africa.

Dangote plant chief executive officer Harpreet Duggal told a delegation of the ruling party, CCM, that visited the plant on Tuesday that due to lack of cheap fuel, the plant spends millions of shillings on purchasing diesel.

“Our plant uses six million litres of diesel per month to run generators after the promises to supply it with natural gas, which is produced in nearby gas wells, failed to materialise,” he told the delegation that included Mtwara Regional Commissioner Halima Dendegu.

The Dangote plant was built in Mtwara to take advantage of cheap natural gas that is extracted in nearby fields.

But Mr Duggal said the Dangote management and TPDC failed to agree on the prices after the latter insisted on charging them the prices they charge their Dar es Salaam customers.

“We resorted to importing coal from South Africa which is cheaper than the natural gas,” he said.

“The price of coal from South Africa is lower than the one set by TPDC on natural gas,” Mr Duggal noted without mentioning the prices.

For her part, Ms Dendegu promised to work on the matter, but wondered why no official complaints have been forwarded to the regional authorities.

“It seems there is a communication breakdown between the regional authorities and Dangote management. I have never even received a single letter detailing all these problems,” she said.

“During the construction of the plant, we used to communicate on various issues pertaining to the plant. Thereafter, there has been no communication,” she added.

The RC urged the Dangote management to officially forward its complaints to her office.

Mr Duggal also informed the delegation that despite its poor quality, the price of locally produced coal increased by 20 per cent after the government banned the plant from importing coal from South Africa. Coal is mined from Songwe Region, hundreds of kilometres away from Mtwara.