Parliamentary team appeals for sufficient DART Agency funding

 

 A Parliamentary Committee on Administration and Local Government has expressed dissatisfaction over the amount of money given to the Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit (DART) Agency.

 

According to the Committee’s chairperson Jasson Rweikiza the money cannot guarantee the agency to carry out its duties according to laid out plans.

 

 He was talking to journalists after committee members toured the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) infrastructure and received a DART Agency report.  “We have realised that you don’t get the amount of money being endorsed by the House, a situation which hampers you from rolling out your development projects as required,” Rweikiza said.  

 

Giving an example, he said during the 2015/16 financial year, Parliament endorsed 4,971,941,550/- but the agency got 464,275,868.02/- by the end of second quarter which was equivalent to 9.3 per cent.

 

He noted that since the project seeks to improve the city’s transport system and citizens’ lives, the committee will make sure that DART Agency gets all budgeted money on time.

 

The agency’s acting chief executive, Eng Ronald Lwakatare, told the committee members that limited budget was hampering them from implementing some projects to forge ahead.

 

“We are short of 400m/- for constructing demarcations in main terminals that will prevent people entering the buses without paying,” he said.

 

He noted that the project was about to commence and what was being worked out was setting up a special fair system.  “Customers will pay fair using a special card that they will swipe…this is what experts are working on,” he noted. He said that drivers would soon start test-driving along BRT lanes.

 

The service will be run by UDA-RT Company and supervised by DART Agency.

 According to Eng Lwakatare, citizens will be offered training on the new card system and the whole project.

 

He appealed to Parliamentarians and the government to make sure that the project got all the required human and financial resources as well as working tools for the good of the public and the nation at large.

 

A member of the committee and a Member of Parliament, Mwanne Mchemba, said they will try to make sure that the project starts and gets what they need for the benefit of citizens.

 

“The project is complete by 98 per cent…there is no reason why it shouldn’t start,” she said.

 

 Dar es Salaam bus rapid transit is a bus rapid transit system currently under construction in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Construction began in April 2012. The German construction company Strabag International GmbH has been awarded to realise the €134 million project. 

 

The first phase of the project will have a length of 21 kilometres on three trunk routes with a total of 29 stations. 10 feeder routes will provide connection to residential areas. A total of 148 buses with a capacity of 40 passengers each will be deployed.

 

On 24 April 2015 the Dar Rapid Transit Agency (DART) signed a contract with UDA-RT for the provision of Interim services of the Dar es salaam Rapid Transit system. UDA-RT is a special purpose company formed by UDA and the two Daladala Associations Dar es Salaam Commuter Bus Owners Association (DARCOBOA) and UWADAR for the provision of interim services. 

 

The interim services are to provide training to future operators and build up local capacity. The Interim services are set to provide approximately 130,000 long distance commuters service between Kimara and Kivukoni, and Mbezi and Kivukoni. 

 

The private dala-dalas will still be operational on these routes and the interim services plans to replace 250 buses. DART still holds the mandate to control operations and UDA-RT is the service provider that will merge with DART in the future.

 

 The proposed start of service in January 2016 was delayed amid protests over higher fares than expect.

 

 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN