In this weeks summation of the book: A Monument to China-Africa Friendship so many people have been asking why the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) business model is not doing well or working properly? "I know some reasons, some business people who control the lorry transport industry do not want to see TAZARA running smoothly because that would affect their enterprise," says the number one African Studies Scholar, Professor Li Anshan of Peking University, when he spoke to Our Correspondent, JAFFAR MJASIRI who visited China recently.
The professor says that some of those who are behind the split of TAZARA are some wicked people in authority. If one wants to know who is behind this and why TAZARA is regressing and that lack of motivation prevails it is the syndicate between such individuals and business people.
"Therefore, there was no motivation whatsoever to push ahead and regenerate this magnificent Uhuru railway project, which is a monument to China-Africa friendship, until when the government decided to make intervention recently," said Professor Anshan.
He also mentioned that the Chinese government was reluctant when Tanzania asked for the construction of another railway. It only makes sense if Tanzania can make one railway work properly, that the Chinese government would have the motivation to build another one. In this case the need to revitalise TAZARA. The Professor explains that he once visited TAZARA railway station and saw tourists heading to Southern African region using the railway services.
So his argument is both countries; Zambia and Tanzania should make good use of the railway line. Though it was very interesting that my first premise had been qualified by the professor who agreed with my thesis which is the talking point on Uhuru Railway.
I continue to argue that greedy people who lack flexible business model are behind the regression of TAZARA railway line which is a life line for millions of people living along this terrain which their sole mode of transport is TAZARA.
But the Professor is also saying that he agrees with the second argument that I have raised in my thesis. I have proposed that the Chinese companies be given priority to run the Tazara.
So the Professor supports my thesis and even goes further to add that the Chinese company which might be awarded this project has to be given the opportunity to gradually absorb the Zambians and Tanzanians to the higher management level. He also proposes that for the first five years the Chinese experts should run it alone with little support from the locals at the management level.
Then, may be after again five years they can corun it with the locals. During the transition give it again five years which Tanzanian and Zambian workers can now start taking over, when the system is well established and capacity building is through.
It might sound like too much time, but given the state of business that was prevailing in TAZARA, this is the most ideal situation which can help the investors deliver a project which the locals will be able to turn it as a laboratory for learning how run other businesses with full skills and capacity building after it is transferred to them.
Given the exposure while recently in China, I have no doubt that Tanzania need to listen to our Chinese development partners and their experts on the best economic model to adopt for the revamping of TAZARA. There is no doubt that China has a very successful mode of railway transport. Therefore, let us ask ourselves what is there in TAZARA that the Chinese business experts cannot handle.
The truth of it, it appears that some people just don't want the Chinese model for apparent no reason whatsoever. No doubt it is just to protect their personal interests.
Meanwhile the professor continues giving his insights about technology transfer model which has been adopted by the government of Kenya in collaboration with Chinese construction company and some universities in China and Kenya. There are three stages of technology transfer, he said. The first stage has already started and it's about railway building.
You need a lot of technicians at this level. So far such training is taking place, he said, adding that also the project sends the best students to China at the Transportation University. However some are sent in Kenya institutions where they are trained. The second stage said the professor is the management of railway.
"I think this started this year since after the railway is built you need people to manage it and it requires a lot of specialties. He also mentioned the third stage which he said that it is the most important. It is according to him, the railway technician education system. So you need a whole bunch of people to follow-up the whole thing. He argues that Kenya had never had such kind of experience while China has.
I think as we speak Nairobi University and South Western China University and Chinese Embassy in Nairobi have already embarked on the talks and made some agreement on how to approach this cooperation and partnership toward helping Kenya to develop education system of railway operations. Thus the professor believes that that will be gradually achieved. But coming to think of it such technical support had been in place when TAZARA was built.
There were main training centres and manufacturing units which were equipped with machines and instruments which could make spare parts. But, unfortunately, we did not grab the opportunity as a country when TAZARA was delivered to us.
Unfortunately, we allowed greedy people to split TAZARA in a way and make it redundant while rendering the facilities which our Chinese development partners had left behind destroyed or even useless. It was a pity that when the Chinese handed over the railway to us, we did not focus on the maintenance nor sustenance of the mega project which was a life line to millions of people living in the fertile terrain where the railway passes.
Again one thing we always complain in Africa that we are third world country, we are always left behind and undermined. But the truth is we always give our critics an opportunity to laugh at us. I agree with Professor's thesis that Africa has to prove itself.
He said he mentioned this because recently he published an article on transnational cooperation review; Technology Transfer in China- Africa Relations; Myths and Reality. He discussed TAZARA situation and Mombasa -Nairobi railway project because it is in two different periods. Perhaps it is worth for our politicians to look for the journal which this article was published. Yet, it is in English.
(To be continued next week)
