Hassan gov’t pledges to rescue Air Tanzania

Tanzania’s new president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, has pledged to rescue struggling state-owned Air Tanzania (TC, Dar es Salaam), which is facing accumulated losses of TZS150 billion Tanzanian shillings (USD64.6 million). In her maiden speech to parliament in Dodoma, Hassan said her administration would continue to “nurture” ATCL “strategically” by looking into providing debt relief and lifting some taxes and levies. She acknowledged the airline’s losses had resulted from a heavy debt burden. A recent Auditor-General Report found ATCL had incurred TZS12.4 billion (USD5.3 million) in interest in the FY2019/21 on debts of TZS45 billion (USD19.4 million) accrued over the past five years. After having made a significant investment in the airline, government would not allow it to make further losses, Hassan said. Mindful of international aviation developments, she said her administration would do a thorough analysis and invest in human resources to ensure that the airline was run on commercial principles by professionals with the right business skills. Hassan also promised to continue the expansion of regional airports and the building of the new Msalato International Airport at Dodoma. She said 11 regional airports had so far been expanded or rehabilitated The president declared a zero-tolerance approach to “laziness, negligence, and theft” in the public sector and “misappropriation of property and public finance”. “In addition, we will take concrete steps to improve the business and investment environment in the country,” she pledged. She said the focus would be on restoring investor confidence, attracting strategic partners, and establishing an investment-friendly environment. Hassan said she had appointed the Ministry of Industries, Trade, and Investment under the supervision of Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa Majaliwa to remove investment-hindering red-tape. She said the government would also conduct a thorough review of state-owned enterprises, with the aim of making them self-sufficient and profitable. At the same time, the government intended to work closely with the Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) to address challenges in air transport. She laid emphasis on infrastructure improvement as the cornerstone to economic growth and promised construction, improvement, and refurbishment of tarmac roads, seaports, major bridges, and the completion of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) between Dar es Salaam, Morogoro, and Dodoma.