The government of China has expressed readiness to finance reconstruction of the struggling Tanzania and Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) if the firm is to be managed jointly as originally envisaged.

Speaking to The Citizen in an exclusive interview in Dar es Salaam, the Chinese ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Lu Youqing, said Tazara is not only a symbol of friendship between his country and Tanzania and Zambia, but it's also an important economic infrastructure that should not be allowed to disintegrate.

He said China was ready to provide financial and technical support, but on condition that the two countries come up with a comprehensive rehabilitation and management proposal that would see the railway effectively run jointly by Tanzania and Zambia, and not separately as was recently decided.

“Today we are in a much better position to support Tazara; in 1965 when we agreed to finance its construction, our per capita GDP was just $100 but now it is $6,000,” he said.

The 1,860km long railway from Dar es Salaam to the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia was built from 1970 to 1975 with financial and technical support from the People’s Republic of China and has since been managed jointly by Tanzania and Zambia.

However, due to dwindling business and management woes, the partner governments reportedly agreed that each country would take care of its side of the railway network. The minister for Transport, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, announced in Dar es Salam that Tanzania would oversee the operations between Dar es Salaam and Tunduma while Zambia would administer operations between Tunduma and Kapiri-Mposhi, a strategy aimed at improving Tazara performance within the next three months.

Regional managers for both sides would be in charge of the new system and their performance would be evaluated at the end of this period, he said.

The Zambian government promptly responded by distancing itself from Dr Mwakyembe’s statement and insisted that the partner governments had not reached such an agreement and if anything, that was Tanzania’s desire, not Zambia’s. Zambian minister for Transport, Works, Supply and Communications Yamfwa Mukanga, was quoted by Lusaka newspapers as saying the reported pronouncement by Tanzania was not what was discussed at a recent Tazara Council of Ministers meeting in Lusaka.

READ: Zambia government 'unaware' of proposal to split Tazara

Mr Mukanga, however, said if that was what Tanzania wanted, the Zambian part of the railway was also ready to operate as an independent entity.

“We did not discuss that... but we spoke about a mapping a strategy on how we will enhance the operations of Tazara and the introduction of call centres,’’ he was quoted as saying.

The contradicting statements came shortly after the two countries agreed to provide the railways authority with $80 million (Sh128 billion) in the next 12 months.

At a meeting held in Lusaka, the Tazara Council of Ministers, which is the firm’s highest policy organ, resolved to make the funds available following months of low productivity and operational disruptions.

A statement issued at the end of the meeting said that poor performance of Tazara was a result of frequent breakdowns, accidents, unstable labour atmosphere and lack of working capital to pay salaries and procure fuels and lubricants for the trains.

READ: Tanzania, Zambia sign $80 million Tazara rescue pact