* Authorities investigate theft charges at main port
* Government trying to crack down on corruption
* Country losing traffic to rival ports in region
By Fumbuka Ng’wanakilala
DAR ES SALAAM, Aug 24 (Reuters) – Tanzania has suspended the
head of its ports authority and six other senior port officials
over allegations of cargo theft and embezzlement of public
funds, the transport ministry and local media said on Friday.
The government is struggling to crack down on corruption in
ministries and state institutions, with the public losing
patience at the slow pace of change.
Investors have long complained of graft as one of the main
reasons for the high cost of doing business in east Africa’s
second-biggest economy.
Tanzania’s main port, in the commercial capital Dar es
Salaam, which serves six landlocked countries, has often been
dogged by allegations of inefficiency and corruption.
It has been losing its market share of international cargo
to other ports in the region like Kenya’s Mombasa and
Mozambique’s Beira ports, the transport ministry says.
Continued…
