–TAZARA consultative meeting maps strategy

Management and representatives of workers at the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA)  have met in Dar es Salaam for a consultative meeting.

The consultative meeting is aimed at mapping out a collective approach in view of the looming transformational changes.

The workers were represented by the Tanzania Railway Workers Union (TRAWU) representing TAZARA workers in Tanzania and the Workers Union of TAZARA (WUTAZ) representing the workers in Zambia.

The two unions met the Executive Management Committee of TAZARA at an extra-ordinary consultative meeting to confer on various directives by the Council of Ministers and Board of Directors.

This was disclosed in a press statement released to ZANIS in Lusaka today by the Head of Public Relations in Tanzania, Conrad Simuchile.

Mr. Simuchile disclosed that both parties acknowledged and appreciated the efforts of the two governments in their attempts to revive TAZARA and agreed that the call for change was timely, appropriate and in order.

He said the parties also resolved that it was necessary for management and the workers’representatives to undertake a line tour in the two regions to explain and sensitize all employees on the directives of the Board of Directors.

Mr. Simuchile said management and the two unions agreed that there was need for a complete change of mindset of employees who may not be aware of the introduction of performance-based contracts in the company which was a paradigm shift and a wake-up call requiring everyone to sit up.

“It is no longer business as usual, everybody has to sit up. Everybody must know that they either perform to expectation of the performance contracts or get out,”said the Acting Managing Director, Damas Ndumbaro in the same statement.

The statement further quotes Dr. Ndumbaro saying that the company will undergo remarkable changes as it was the desire of the shareholders to transform it into a catalyst of development in the region as was originally envisioned by the founders of TAZARA.

“So far, the two regional general managers for Tanzania and Zambia have been made to sign performance-based contracts and all managers are also in the process of signing the contracts. Therefore, we expect a change in the working culture because henceforth everyone has to be result-oriented. Whoever does not perform should either leave voluntarily or be forced out,” said Dr. Ndumbaro.

Dr. Ndumbaro added that the two Governments were serious as can be evidenced by the injection of huge amounts of working capital into the operations of TAZARA.

“What we are witnessing in the history of TAZARA is a precedence as never before has there been so much attention given to the affairs of TAZARA, so we need to reciprocate. We need to play our part by delivering to the expectations of the shareholders and the public in general,” said Dr. Ndumbaro.

The Acting Managing Director also announced the formation of the TAZARA Master Workers’ Council, a new organ in the governance structure of TAZARA.

Dr. Ndumbaro informed the workers’representatives that the formation of the Master Workers’ Council had been approved and the organ was also endorsed by the Council of Ministers, the highest policy organ of TAZARA.