TAZAMA Pipelines, a joint venture between the Governments of the Republic of Zambia and the United Republic of Tanzania, has handed over its first ever dividend Cheque to Zambia, 50 years after the establishment of the company in 1968.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, a K6 million cheque, representing two-thirds portion of the dividend, was received by the Minister of Finance Margaret Mwanakatwe who is the shareholder in TAZAMA on behalf of the Republic of Zambia.
Tanzania will receive K3 million, proportional to its shareholding in TAZAMA.
“18 months ago, President EDGAR CHAGWA LUNGU and his Tanzanian counterpart PRESIDENT JOHN MAGUFULI both expressed concern about non-performing State-Owned-Enterprises. This was during President Lungu’s visit to Tanzania.”
Ms Mwanakatwe said the dividend declaration is a pleasing response to the concern raised by the two leaders as it demonstrated the positive impact that good governance practices can achieve on institutional performance.
“TAZAMA is a success story of friendship of the two Presidents and of hard work of the peoples of the two nations; it is a success story of corporation by neighbouring countries and presents a model of how peaceful relations between countries can culminate into positive developments,” stated Mrs. Mwanakatwe.
She added that “this event speaks positively of Government to Government business cooperation and negates the notion that Governments are unable to do business together and create wealth for their peoples.”
And Energy Minister MATHEWS NKHUWA has said Government’s aspiration for the Petroleum sector is to ensure an adequate reliable and affordable supply of petroleum products.
“To achieve this, it is imperative that all players in the sector are well aligned to this policy objective,” he said, adding that, “a number of reforms are being pursued to ensure that we have a vibrant petroleum sector and satisfy the demands of the country so that economic growth and development are propelled to greater heights.”
And TAZAMA Board of Directors Chairperson Brigadier General Emeldah Chola [Retired], who is also Zambia’s Ministry of Energy Permanent Secretary highlighted that TAZAMA recorded a profit before tax of K50.4 million in 2017, an increase of 104% from 2016.
She attributed the positive result to improved throughput and prudent cost management measures put in place by the Board and Management to improve the performance of the company, and added that: “TAZAMA has opportunities for improvement, diversification, and modernization of business operations.”
“This will be done through a number of projects that TAZAMA intends to embark on such as pipeline expansion, construction of a finished products pipeline, and installation of a fiber optic infrastructure,” she said.
