Dar es Salaam. Opposition ACT-Wazalendo party on Thursday called on the Zanzibari government to terminate its contract with the operator of the Malindi port in the semi-autonomous archipelago, the Zanzibar Multipurpose Terminal, noting that the company has “dismally failed” at improving services at the deep-sea port on the west coast of Zanzibar.
During a press conference at the party’s headquarters at Vuga, Unguja, ACT-Wazalendo deputy national chairperson (Zanzibar) Ismail Jussa said that services at the port have been slowing since the government replaced the Zanzibar Ports Corporation with the Zanzibar Multipurpose Terminal as the principal operator of the Malindi port.
According to Mr Jussa, failures at the port include reduced offloading capacity by vessels berthing at the port, port charges increasing from Sh450,000 per container to Sh1,370,000 after the investor’s arrival, and the deterioration of port workers’ welfare. Jussa claimed there has been no significant improvement at the port, contrary to the government’s earlier promises.
“This is a major scandal,” Jussa, who has been very critical of the Hussein Mwinyi Administration, told journalists. “We call on the government to terminate its contract with the Zanzibar Multipurpose Terminal, and hand back port operations to the Zanzibar Ports Corporation, while other processes to secure a serious investor who can improve services at the [Malindi] port are underway.”
“The government should also take urgent measures to ensure that all vessels currently berthed at the Malindi port offload, and traders secure their consignment as soon as possible,” he added. “This is important as people prepare to welcome the holy month of Ramadan.”
President Hussein Mwinyi officially commissioned the Zanzibar Multipurpose Terminal, a subsidiary of Africa Global Logistics, on October 18, 2023, to provide Zanzibar with “a competitive infrastructure” that would enable the country’s imports and exports to be carried out to “the highest levels of quality, safety and security, in accordance with international standards.”
The move to hand over port operations to the company was faulted by both ACT-Wazalendo, a party in the governing Government of National Unity, and ship owners, who complained about changes in procedures and costs immediately after the company started operations.
However, President Mwinyi defended the move, arguing that for many years the Malindi port had been inefficient, with cargo staying for weeks without being offloaded, and when offloaded, they continued to stay for a long time to await the customs process.
“The time has come now to involve the private sector to help make the port thrive,” he said in 2023. “It’s true we cannot expect miracles immediately; they have to set up their programmes and deploy new technology before we can start to reap the fruits.”
During his press conference Thursday, Jussa said the contracted investor has “dismally failed” to deliver on the expectations. He claimed that the same conclusion was reached during a working meeting between the government, Zanzibar Ports Corporation, and ship owners and agents on February 25, 2025, in Zanzibar.
During the meeting, which focused on the efficiency of the Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Maruhubi, also operated by the Zanzibar Multipurpose Terminal, it was admitted that there was a challenge of congestion and delays at the ports, with stakeholders agreeing on several actions to be taken to resolve the issue.
“For example, we agreed that we should increase operation time, specifically, document-processing time,” Zanzibar’s Minister of Construction, Communications and Transport, Dr Khalid Salum Mohamed, said in a recorded video. “We also agreed that the unloading of shipping containers should occur day and night throughout the week. We hope these measures will ease the current challenge and allow Zanzibaris to enjoy Ramadan.”
