By BUSINESS REPORTER
TANZANIA has suspended the head of its ports authority and six other senior port officials over allegations of cargo theft and embezzlement of public funds, the transport ministry and local media said on Friday.
The government is struggling to crack down on corruption in ministries and state institutions, with the public losing patience at the slow pace of change.
Investors have long complained of graft as one of the main reasons for the high cost of doing business in east Africa's second-biggest economy.
Tanzania's main port, in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, which serves six landlocked countries, has often been dogged by allegations of inefficiency and corruption.It has been losing its market share of international cargo to other ports in the region like Kenya's Mombasa and Mozambique's Beira ports, the transport ministry says.
Transport Minister Harrison Mwakyembe has suspended the director-general of the state-run Tanzania Ports Authority, Ephraim Mgawe, and his two deputies while an investigation is carried out, the ministry said in a statement on its website.
The manager of the port's aviation fuel depot, the head of the port's oil jetty and the jetty's engineer were also suspended, it said.
Local media quoted Mwakyembe as saying that up 40 containers loaded with fabrics were reported stolen, and that port officials were under-declaring fuel quantities leaving the port.
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