Tanzanian coastal and inland ports and shipping: crises and policy options

Abstract

This paper explores the current state of coastal and inland shipping in Tanzania. It provides an overview of the state of ports and shipping in Tanzania, and the reasons underlying the present crisis of competitiveness in terms of both global pressures and national and regional dynamics. Problems of competitiveness are at least partially due to under-investment, management failures, skills shortfalls and difficulties in interfacing with the railway network. Less easy to resolve structural problems include the great imbalance between imports and exports, heightened regional competition and ongoing political instability in the Great Lakes region.

Ports and shipping in Mozambique: current concerns and policy options

“…In common with other East African countries, such as Tanzania [73], Mozambique imports larger quantities of goods than it exports, so that imports of goods (including general merchandise, goods for processing, repairs on goods, goods produced in ports by carriers and non-monetary gold) amount to US$ 997.3 m compared to the equivalent figure for exports of US$ 726 m. As indicated above, this leaves a trade deficit of over US$ 270 m [7]. This deficit is at least partly due to the current status of the production of primary commodities and the manufacturing sector, but is also related to the reduction in protectionism as outlined above.…”

Monetary values of freight transport quality attributes: A sample of Tanzanian firms

“…The seaport of Dar es Salaam is facing stiff competition from the seaports of Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa. The port has a reputation for long delays and corruption (Wood, 2004) which add to port user costs in terms of monetary and time cost. The situation is worsened by the underdeveloped and costly hinterland transport system.…”

“…Road is therefore the dominant mode of transport in Tanzania (Wood, 2004), also to haul goods from the seaports to the hinterland. A recent briefing report on the performance of the seaport of Dar es Salaam shows that, in 2009, 90% of the cargo from port was cleared by road.…”

International Homogenization or the Persistence of National Practices?

“…The rise of neo-liberalism in the 1980s led to a challenging of the previous consensus that great geographical inequalities were economically inefficient or socially regressive (Peck and Tickell, 1992: 355;Wood, 2004). This led to the scaling back of policies favouring "uncompetitive" industries and regions, leading to gross disparities in performance between sectors and locales (ibid.).…”