Despite Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa’s directive to put the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) fleet on road on trial basis by tomorrow, the public is skeptic over whether it will be real as reports about Sh8bn tax debt clearance by the project overseer company Dart, were equally murky as of Friday.
If the Premier’s order fails this time around, it will be the
second time in a row of his abortive attempts to put the Dar es Salaam’s
first rapid bus fleet up and running by using decrees amid unpaid tax
debts.
The buses were earlier expected to commute the routes on the new
road network by January 10, but postponed at the eleventh hour as the
government stuck to its guns, saying it would not allow operations
unless Dart had cleared tax debts for its 140-strong bus fleet.
But when reached on Thursday, Board Chairman of the company that
runs the project UDA- Rapid Transit Company (UDA-RT), Sabri Mabruk
echoed his January remark, telling The Guardian on Sunday that the
negotiations over tax settlements were at a mature stage due for
conclusion soon.
“We are still in talks with the government and we hope we will
arrive at an agreement on how to settle the unpaid government dues,” he
said.
The parties involved in the negotiation include Mabruk’s UDA-RT
which runs the project in the two-year interim phase, Tanzania Revenues
Authorities (TRA), the Prime Minister's Office (Regional Administration
and Local Government) and the Ministry of Works, Transport and
Communications.
But TRA’s Director of Taxpayers’ Education Richard Kayombo said he had no information over whether UDA-RT had paid the taxes.
“What I know is that there were negotiations going on to ensure
that they cleared the debt, but I’m not sure if they’ve so done,” he
said.
However, he said the Premier’s directive was primarily aimed at a
rehearsal for the rapid bus drivers to get acquainted with the
relatively sophisticated new means of transport including mastering the
state-of-the-art traffic details in an exercise that will involve both
drivers and commuters.
“We are going to start with drivers and then to commuters for them
to be familiar with the use of the new bus stations and tickets in the
form of magnetic cards,” he said.
The Surface and Marine Regulatory Authority (Sumatra)
Communications Manager David Mziray said they were currently working
with Dart and other stakeholders on the settlement of the widely
disputed rapid bus fares.
“We are finalising the process for the realistic and affordable rapid bus fares,” he said.
Earlier the proposed fares were set at Sh1,200 for Mbezi-Kimara to
Kivukoni on trunk roads, Sh700 for feeder roads and Sh1,400 for using
both feeder and trunk roads, but were rejected by stakeholders amid
claims they were too high for the mainstream Dar es Salaam city
commuters to afford.
On Tuesday Premier Majaliwa ordered the Dar Rapid Transit (DART) to
start final trials ‘next week’ by using 30 to 50 buses to give drivers
enough experience with the newly-built roads and traffic lights.
“They are going to start with between 30 and 50 buses operating on
all routes as per the scheme,” he said when he made an impromptu visit
on Tuesday to see the gas-powered stoves at the Ferry Fish International
Market in Dar es Salaam as well as to inspect construction of a fence
that separates DART and the market.
“It is important for other road users such as motorcycle riders,
commuter bus drivers and pedestrians to understand how DART buses will
be operating,” he said.
He said that authorities responsible for the project were up and
running installation of ticket machines requiring special payment
cards to access the transport services.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
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