• Appointment of TAZARA Board of Directors follows Cabinet’s approval during its 9th sitting on 3rd May 2022.
• TAZARA has experienced a number of operational challenges in the recent past.
• Challenges are being exacerbated by the closure of the Chambeshi Railway Bridge.

Minister of Transport and Logistics says repair works on the Chambeshi Railway Bridge have reached an advanced stage and are expected to be completed by July this year.
Speaking when he unveiled the new Tanzania Zambia Railways Authority (TAZARA) Board of Directors, Frank Tayali said government recently released US$1.9 million for the repair works and the contractor is currently on site.
Mr. Tayali noted that TAZARA has experienced a number of operational challenges in the recent past, which are being exacerbated by the closure of the Chambeshi Railway Bridge.
He said the closure of the Bridge has led to lack of funds for working capital for TAZARA, resulting in reduced earnings which would help with salaries for its employees.
“President Hakainde Hichilema takes keen interest in the Chambeshi Bridge and has since directed me to undertake a visit to the Bridge for him to appreciate first-hand what is happening there,” Mr. Tayali said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tayali said the appointment of the TAZARA Board of Directors follows Cabinet’s approval during its 9th sitting on 3rd May 2022, in accordance with Part IV Section 11 of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority Act No. 10 of 1995.
He stated that the three approved Members of the Board namely, Fredrick Mwalusaka, Permanent Secretary, in the Ministry of Transport and Logistics, Musokotwane Sichizuwe who is Assistant Director in the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, as well as Irene Mwamba, Senior Manager at PWC-UK from the Zambian side, will join the other three Members from Tanzania as members of the TAZARA Board of Directors.
“The Board members for TAZARA were carefully selected in order for them to utilize their expertise to help the institution operate more efficiently. I have no doubt that you will execute your duties to the best of your abilities,” he stated.
TAZARA is a 1, 860 kilometre bi-national railway jointly owned by Tanzania and Zambia on a 50-50 shareholding basis and was built as a turn-key project, with financial support from the People’s Republic of China between 1970 and 1975.
It connects land-linked Zambia to the sea-port of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania and further provides road and railway inter-connectivity to other parts of Southern Africa, making it a vital rail link in the logistical chain.