Minerals Supply African Ltd (MSA) has slammed Dar es Salaam port and Tanzanian police over failure to explain how the company’s minerals were stolen from the port three months ago.

A container with 24 tonnes of Coltan destined to a customer in China was stolen at the port in March this year. 

Coltan is a precious mineral used in various electronic devices including smart phones.

Fabrice Kayihura, the deputy Chief Executive Officer MSA, said they had exported coltan worth $1 million(Rwf670m) but on arrival, the buyer found sacks of cement.

He added that the Tanzanian police and the port’s authority promised to investigate the case and make a report immediately, but nothing has been done to that effect.

However, Dar port’s authority and Bollore Africa Logistics, the transporting company, have since denied any involvement in the theft, leaving the local company wondering how the minerals could have been switched. 

MSA criticised the port’s decision not to allow cargo tracking devices on the cargo trucks that transport the containers from the warehouse to the port.

"We had agreed that a container leaving the transporter’s warehouse to the port should have a tracking device, but we later came to know that the port’s authority had refused,” said MSA officials.

One of the officials said the transport company provides security to the cargo, including tracking devices and armed escorts up to their warehouse in Dares- salaam.

"When they refused, we did not have any other option but we are sure it was never robbed on the way because it had a tracking device,” Kayihura said.

He noted that the ports authority and Tanzanian police had failed to communicate the outcome of the investigations, adding that they would consider using Mombasa Port where security is guaranteed.   

"There has been no communication from the port’s authority and police, that’s why we doubt their innocence in this case. Three months have passed but they have not released even preliminary findings,” an irate Kayihura noted.

In 2012, eight containers worth $8 (Rwf5.3 billion) from various Rwandan mineral traders also got lost at the same port in a similar manner.

 However, Kayihura revealed that  the transport company had since proposed the use of sensors that gives out signals whenever cargo is interrupted.  

Hannington Namara, the Chief Executive Officer of Private Sector Federation (PSF), observed that he was aware of the cargo theft but added that the federation was waiting for the final report from the port’s authority.

"We have been told the port’s authority is investigating the case,” he said in an interview

He said a Rwandan delegation had travelled to Tanzania to discuss with the ports authority over protection of Rwandan cargo. 

Efforts to reach Francis Mwaipaja, the acting Tanzanian High Commissioner for a comment were futile as his known cell phone was off.

Rwanda’s mining sector operates over 548 mining sites with tin ore, wolframite ore and coltan ore. The government targets $409 million in mining exports by 2017.

Over 40 per cent of Rwanda’s imports and exports pass through Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania.   However, traders have of recent complained about the central Corridor trade barriers that include highway robbery, corruption as well as bureaucracies at the port.