Kadogosa fires TANROADS manager for poor supervision of Tanzania-Zambia border road

TUNDUMA: THE Minister for Works, Masanja Kadogosa has removed the acting TANROADS regional manager for Songwe, Engineer Fredrick Mande, over poor supervision of a 1,675-metre road project at the Tanzania-Zambia border, giving the contractor two weeks to complete the outstanding works.

Mr Mande has been directed to return to TANROADS headquarters following delays in the construction of the Forodha-OSBP-Tunduma road, despite the government releasing a substantial portion of the project funds.

The decision followed Mr Kadogosa’s night inspection of the project on October 15, 2026, in response to Vice-President Deogratius Ndejembi’s earlier concerns over the slow pace of construction.

The minister said he will return to the site within seven days to assess progress and establish whether the contractor had accelerated the work as directed.

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The project has a contract value of 6.8bn/- , of which the contractor had received 4.4bn/-, representing more than 60 per cent of the total amount. However, the construction progress had failed to match the payments made, according to information presented during the Vice-President’s earlier visit.

Mr Kadogosa also directed all TANROADS regional managers to ensure strict supervision, transparency and accountability in the implementation of road projects across the country.

He stressed the need for clear separation of responsibilities among the project supervisor, contractor and government representative to strengthen oversight and ensure that construction meets the required standards and timelines.

During his earlier visit, Mr Ndejembi said government funding for infrastructure projects was intended to improve people’s lives, making it the responsibility of public officials and contractors to ensure that projects were completed on time and delivered their intended benefits.

He expressed concern that the slow progress on the Tunduma project did not reflect the amount of money already paid to the contractor, calling for greater accountability in the use of public funds.