Two prominent Tanzania businessmen, Yusuph Manji and Simon Kisena are wrangling over the ownership of Tsh17 billion ($12 million) piece of land belonging to a Dar es Salaam public city commuter bus company, Usafiri Dar es Salaam (UDA).

Politicians and local authority officials have since been sucked into the fight.

Manji and Kisena are fighting over the UDA depot at Kurasini, which the City Council had granted, through a lease agreement, to Mr Kisena’s company, Simon Group Ltd. But Mr Manji, through his company Quality Group Ltd, wants the lease revoked, arguing that the right procedures were not followed in awarding the lease. Simon Group owns 51 per cent of UDA.

But the fight for the land is beeing seen as an initial foothold in the battle for the control of the bus firm, which was partly privatised last year with the awarding of 51 per cent to Simon Group Ltd — a move which was faced with major opposition from parliamentarians.

UDA was established in 1974, and has been in the limelight since July last year with other bidders issuing numerous demands for an investigation into the privatisation deal.

According to recent media reports, analysts are speculating that most investors eyeing UDA are only interested in acquiring the company and turning its headquarters land (in Kurasini) into an inland container depot, as the premises is just metres from the Dar es Salaam port, making it ideal for a container yard.

Mr Manji has written to the country’s Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, as well as the Public Organisations Accounts Committee, arguing that the government needs to review the awarding of the contract to privatise UDA, in which Simon Group won.

The purported letter from Yusuph Manji seen by The EastAfrican further says that during the awarding of the contract to Simon Group Ltd, Mr Manji had also put in his bid for the bus firm, whose assets are over $20 million. 

Now parliamentarians have joined the fray to support Mr Manji. Three Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) MPs from Dar es Salaam region, Zuberi Mtemvu (Temeke), Musa Azan Zungu (Ilala) and Iddi Mohamed Azzan (Kinondoni) are now pressuring the City Council and the government through Treasury to have Simon Group’s contract quashed and given to Quality Group Ltd.

The three MPs are opposing the privatisation of UDA, arguing that correct procedures were not followed and that Quality Group should have been given the contract.

The EastAfrican has been informed that on February 24, the Tanzania Parliament Office wrote a letter to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs requesting a report on the sale of the 51 per cent shares of UDA to Simon Group Ltd during the privatisation process.

Investigation showed that Simon Group Ltd paid $532,500 for purchase of 15 units of city commuter buses from Tata Africa Holdings (T) Ltd for the operations of the bus firm in Dar es Salaam. But Mr Manji told The EastAfrican that Quality Group has written a letter to the chairmen of Finance and Economic Affairs of parliament Dr Abdallah Kigoda and Zitto Kabwe of Public Corporation Accounts respectively seeking investigation of the privatisation of UDA.