Authorities in Dodoma were holding CCCC facilities for allegedly failing to pay millions of shillings in overdue tax. But speaking to ‘Daily News’ following last week’s expose, CCCC country boss Mr Xiao Rong said, “…we’ve agreed to settle the balance in April.” He said the discussions on how to resolve differences were held between the firm and the Tanzania National Roads Agency, Tanroads, as well as the Dodoma mineral office.
“I had a meeting with Dodoma Mineral Officer, Mr Silimu Mtigile … and we’ve reached a consensus,” he said. The third world’s largest port construction and design company was awarded the contract through Tanroads to construct a 260km stretch along the Dodoma-Iringa road in 2013.
Under the deal, the Chinese were to fork out 235.7m/- in royalty fees upon completion of construction works, but officials now say that nearly two years since completion, the defiant firm had paid a paltry 23.1m/-. “We resolved that we’ll put on hold all its facilities until it clears the dept,” Mr Silimu Mtigile, the Dodoma Regional Mineral Officer, said. “All its facilities used during the construction works are still grounded,” he added.
The deputy minister for Minerals, Mr Dotto Biteko said it’s a legal requirement for all construction firms to pay royalty fees, hailing the decision enforced by the regional mineral office. He said the government was implementing a number of plans seeking to increase revenue collection from the mineral sector, in itself contributing to improving service delivery.
“… our president has come out strongly in support of local benefits accruing from natural resources … I therefore urge all firms and state authorities to ensure the requisite taxes or charges are duly paid,” he said, at his meeting with officers in Dodoma’s mineral office. CCCC officials could not be reached for comment yesterday. Construction of Iringa-Dodoma road forms part of the Great North Road that starts from Capetown in South Africa to Cairo in Egypt through Zambia-Tanzania and Kenya. Mr
Mtingile says, however, that his office would also consider taking similar measures against another Chinese state-owned hydropower engineering and construction company, Sinohydro Company. The firm was contracted to construct the 43.65km Dodoma urban -Mayamaya road, for which it would pay 240.8m/- but had since settled only 33.1m/- since May 2015.
He named another two firms as China Henan International Cooperation Group commonly known as CHICO, a Chinese state owned construction and engineering company and The China Railway Seventh Group, a subsidiary of the construction conglomerate, China Railway Group Limited.
CHICO was commissioned to construct the Mayamaya-Mela road and pay 1.2bn but had since paid a paltry 187.5m/-. CRSG is meanwhile building the Mela- Bonga road for which it is required to pay 254.9bn/- but had settled only 398m/- by November, last yea