Tanzanians urged to seize Chinese technological transfer opportunities

DAILY NEWS Reporter

COORDINATOR of Tanzania- Chinese non-state relations, Joseph Kahama

COORDINATOR of Tanzania- Chinese non-state relations, Joseph Kahama, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that Tanzanian building firms should resolve to work with their Chinese counterparts and forget about competing with the latter because competition is counterproductive.

Mr Kahama, the Secretary General of the Tanzania- Chinese Co-operation Association, told a function in the city that Chinese companies are well-established giants that have won world fame, adding that it makes very little sense for Tanzanian companies to compete with such firms.
“Chinese are leading construction companies worldwide. The imposing structures you see in the developed world are built under Chinese supervision. Therefore, there is no way Tanzanian companies can compete with Chinese firms and succeed. Let us take a new rational direction,” he said.
Tanzanian companies, he said, have a long way to go in the construction field, and implored Tanzanians to exploit technological transfer opportunities offered by Chinese companies.
He said if Tanzanians cooperated with the Chinese, they would learn how to conduct construction business successfully and build with productivity.
Tanzania hosts many Chinese construction companies, he said adding, that this state of affairs presented a beautiful opportunity for technological transfer from Chinese to Tanzanians.
He gave an example of the third biggest building giant in the world, the CCECC East Africa Limited, which has been in Tanzania since the 1960s. “Over 80 percent of big construction firms in the world are Chinese,” he said.
The Managing Director of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC East Africa Limited), Mr. Yigao Jiang, endorsed the idea.
Mr Yigao said their company will help Tanzanians in many fields including social ones. The company took part in building the TAZARA railway and Nasaco, Ushirika buildings in Dar es Salaam.
Mr. Yigao added that their company took part in building the new State House conference hall and that they are also the ones trusted with the construction of the Ubungo roadjunction interchange in Dar es Salaam.”
He said their company donated a total of 150 three-sitter desks to Chato and Ruangwa district schools worth 10m/-. It also donated blankets and food stuffs to Kagera earthquake victims worth 10m/-.