Tanzania should stop bullying Kenya to get its way

It is a matter of deep regret that Tanzania resorts to blackmail every time it fails to get its way.

The latest spat leading to the reduction in Kenya Airways’ flight frequencies by 60 percent was, ostensibly, triggered by Kenyan authorities’ refusal to allow Tanzanian tour operators pick up and drop their guests at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in retaliation for Dar es Salaam’s stopping Kenyan tour operators from accessing its game parks contrary to a 1985 bilateral agreement.

However, a closer look reveals there is more to the dispute than meets the eye.

Incredible as it may seem, there are credible reports that Tanzania allowed the interests of an individual European budget airline operator to trump those of its own citizens who have business and personal reasons for travelling by air between the two countries and those of its neighbouring country some of whose nationals have invested heavily in Dar-es-Salaam’ economy. Talk of short-termism!

The only logical conclusion is that the Tanzanian government has, once again, sacrificed the interests of a nation at the altar of personal interests just as it did in the past when it pulled out of Comesa and joined SADC. Even though this may bring to mind the words of the country’s founding President Julius Nyerere that there are no permanent friends only permanent interests, the latest developments seem to turn his words on their head. Be that as it may.

The hope is that Kenya Airways’ resumption of normal flights following an agreement reached between Presidents Jakaya Kikwete and Uhuru Kenyatta in Windhoek, Namibia, will step up efforts to put the airline on such a sound financial footing that it does not depend on any one country or region for its profitability.

This may need getting back to the drawing board and rethinking its entire operations including putting the customer first in everything it does. Hopefully, this will include making local customers feel at home.

All state -backed

But for any strategy to bear the desired fruit, the airline’s management needs to be willing to scale up its engagement with the government on a host of issues. It should not be lost on the airline’s board, or the government, that Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways, Emirates and Qatar Airlines which stood to benefit greatly from the Nairobi-Dar-es-Salaam disagreement are all state -backed and enjoy massive subsidies. This is what gives the Gulf airlines the ability to make mince-meat of their competitors.

Their phenomenal success should serve as a wake-up call to governments who have been seduced into adopting a hands-off attitude to their national carriers. The writing on the wall is stark; get involved by marching the upstart airlines’ subsidies or lose your national carrier.

While the Kenyan government did the right thing when it partially privatised Kenya Airways two decades ago following years of mismanagement, the airline has styled up so much since then that it can be trusted with public money which it would repay with handsome dividends.

The airline has already proved this with the amount of dividends it has so far paid to Treasury for the shares it holds in the national carrier. The losses the airline has recorded over the past two years, or so, are an exception rather than the rule and should not be allowed to cloud its profitable past.

The good news for the government is that Kenya Airways does not need much help to go head to head against the best. A removal of taxes paid on jet fuel and reduction of corporation tax would go a long way. This may be coupled with assistance to buy new planes to ensure that the airline gets the best deal possible from suppliers who won’t treat the airlines the size of Kenya Airways less favourably than their larger competitors.

The Ministry of Tourism might also be encouraged to lead a more vigorous and unified marketing effort incorporating all the sectors’ stakeholders.

Last, but by no means least, the government must up its game in dealing with national security which has in recent years proved to be the single most important determinant of the number of tourists coming to Kenya.

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