THE PRIME MINISTER, Dr. Mwigulu Nchemba has ordered the dismissal and prosecution of the former Chief Executive Officer of the Tanzania Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Agency (TEMESA) and the agency’s management over embezzlement of more than 2.5 billion shillings.
The Prime Minister has instructed the Minister of Works, Mr. Abdallah Ulega, to conduct an investigation into all the ferry crossings to identify the sources of damage because there are reports that the ferry crossings are being deliberately damaged so that the perpetrators can make money through repairs.
He said the decision is based on the findings of a special commission formed to investigate allegations of misuse of public funds in the agency.
“The relevant agencies should take action against the perpetrators, these acts of disrespect for public funds, lack of compassion for Tanzanians must come to an end.”
The Prime Minister issued the order on December 24, 2025 while speaking to Dar es Salaam leaders and Kigamboni residents during a visit to inspect the service delivery at the Magogoni ferry, Kigamboni in Dar es Salaam.
He said the abuses committed were similar to those executives sharing ferries and stealing fares provided by citizens, which are matters that anger the President, Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan and he has instructed them to stop them so that citizens continue to receive quality and reliable services.
Also, the Prime Minister has instructed the Minister of Works, Mr. Abdallah Ulega to liaise with the Ministry of Finance to ensure that funds for the construction of ferries are released on time so that the renovation exercise can be completed and the ferries can provide services.
The government has three ferries in the Kivukoni/Kigamboni area and currently only one is operational.
TEMESA Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Moses Mabamba said the Government owns three ferries for Kivukoni and Kigamboni where currently only one MV is providing service.
Work while the MV. Magogoni ferry is under maintenance in Mombasa since 2023.
He said the maintenance which costs about 7.5 billion shillings has reached 70 percent while the other MV. Kigamboni ferry is under maintenance at the Songoro Marine company, Kigamboni.
“…Before the damage to the ferries we had the ability to collect 20 million shillings per day but currently we collect 3.61 million to four million shillings”, said
The Director of Public Relations and Communications of Bakhresa Group, which has entered into a partnership with the Government to provide ferry services, Mr. Hussein Sufian said they started providing services at the beginning of this year after the Government ferries experienced a malfunction and they started with four ferries and now they have eight ferries, each with a capacity of carrying 200 people.
He said they were previously transporting 20,000 people a day and now they are transporting 50,000 to 100,000 people, due to the large number of passengers they intend to add another ferry to meet the demand.
The ferries take five to 10 minutes depending on the sea conditions.
