It has been learnt from a local news report that Tanzanian government has been charged to pay huge amount for keeping 298 tonnes of Tuna fish, seized from MV Tawariq1, at a privately owned cold storage facility in Dar es salaam. Cold storage industry sources place the daily cold storage charges at about $80 per tonne, which means the total charge the government may have to pay up to this day is approximately $596,000, equivalent to 786,720,000/-.
It is mentioned in the report that Tanzanian police have asked the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam to issue a permit for the disposal of 298 tonnes of Tuna fish confiscated from Tawariq 1, a foreign fishing vessel which was allegedly found fishing illegally in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), arguing that it was better to keep money instead of fish.
The immediate sale of these fish would save the government a huge sum of money by disposing of the fish. Speaking in Dar es Salaam recently, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Said Mwema, told that while investigations to establish the owner of the vessel were in progress, police had applied to the court for a permit to have the exhibit disposed of as soon as possible.
Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Robert Manumba, commented that the police worry was that since the fish in question was a perishable product, there was a chance that the fish could go bad. Efforts to get audience with the Ministry of Livestock Development and Fisheries for clarification of issues related to this permit ended in vain in the course of the entire past week. Minister John Magufuli never answered our calls. Delivery of an SMS with one of our questions was confirmed, but there was no reply.
From a business perspective, the fish storage is an increasing business liability for the government.
