1-1 Background of the Project In Dar es Salaam, the former capital as well as the center of commerce in Tanzania, the telecommunications system had not been upgraded for a long time and its facilities became old and outdated. In addition, as the number of users continued to increase, these problems were worsened such that crowded lines made it impossible to establish a phone connection, and connections were sometimes interrupted during conversation. These problems became increasingly serious, making it essential that the telecommunications network be completely overhauled. Accordingly, the Tanzanian government established the Telecommunications Restructuring Program (TRP) and requested aid from international institutions and bilateral donors including Japan. 1-2 Project Overview The project provided Grant Aid to acquire and install the equipment necessary to improve and develop the telephone exchange system and cable network in Dar es Salaam窶冱 central commercial district; (the Central II district whose telecommunications networkhad not been developed in the city improvement program). (1) Overall Goal
Profitability of the Tanzania Telecommunications Company Ltd. (TTCL) is improved, thereby enabling the expansion of the telecommunications infrastructure to low profit areas and then improving the country窶冱 telecommunication infrastructure. (2) Project Purpose
All registered users in the Central 2 district receive benefit fromhigh-quality and regular telecommunications services. (3) Outputs
1) Digital telephone switchboards (200,000 units) and main distributing frames areinstalled in Dar es Salaam窶冱 central II district
2) Primary cable (8km), switchboards (19) and secondary cable (31km) are laid in the district
3) Telephone handholes and manholes (59) are constructed in the district (4) Inputs Japanese Side: 1284 million yen Tanzania Side: Local Costs |
3-1 Summary of Evaluation Results (1) Impact
This project窶冱 introduction of digital switchboards made it possible to computerize management of customer information and telephone fees. According to a questionnaire given to customers during this evaluation study, customers expressed 80% satisfaction with the quality of TTCL窶冱 lines. The number of complaints TTCL receives has dropped below 1/10 of what it received before the new switchboards were installed. The number of mistakes made on bills has decreased since the system has been computerized, and more than 80% of the questionnaire respondents stated that the billing procedures had improved. The fee collection rate exceeded 80% in 1999, and the collection rate was highest in the Central district compared to other Dar es Salaam districts. (As it was not possible to obtain data on the Central 2 district from TTCL, the Central 1 district and Central 2 district are treated as one district 窶徼he Central district窶鴀). Total phone fee collected in Dar es Salaam was about 50 billion Tanzania shillings (about JPY7.4 billion) in 2001, accounting for 56% of the total phone fees collected in the country as a whole. Of the phone fees collected in Dar es Salaam, 59% (in 1999) were collected from the Central district. Accordingly, it is estimated that 30% of the revenue from TTCL窶冱 phone bills comes from the Central district. From 1999 to 2001, actual revenue from telephone fees increased more than 30%. With increasing sales in Dar es Salaam窶冱 Central district, TTCL reported in 1998, 10.5 billion Tanzania shillings (about JPY1.55 billion) in income before taxes for the first time. TTCL窶冱 financial condition has greatly improved.
Although the Tanzanian government holds shares in TTCL, it was privatized in 2002 and TTCL chose not to take on the responsibility of the project窶冱 overall goal of 窶彳xpanding the telecommunications infrastructure to include low profit areas窶鴀. Accordingly, various factors have changed since the cooperation was first implemented, and it is no longer possible to create the kind of impact initially intended. The Tanzanian government is reviewing possibilities for an organization that could take over TTCL窶冱 responsibilities for the public sector portion of telecommunications development, especially, for the expansion of the telecommunications infrastructure to less profitable areas. (2) Sustainability
After the cooperative effort was completed, the rate of completed calls (rate of availability on line till the end of a conversation) in Central 2 increased from around the 70% to the 90% range, and a high level of quality has been maintained at this point. About 99% of the connection lines are operable and the rate was very high.
The number of staff in charge of maintaining the new equipment (particularly the central switchboard and distribution board) was reduced from 10 to two. After it was privatized, TTCL went through major restructuring and downsized 窶徼he number of employees per phone line窶鴀 which is the criteria for measuring staff efficiency. Staff decreased from 57 people in 1992 to 21 in 2000. In addition to the company窶冱 reduction in staff, there are two other factors involved in the reducing the number of operation and management (O&M) employees. First, since most of the work is now done by computer instead of by hand, the amount of staff needed has fallen. Second, most O&M work consists of responding to the computer窶冱 reports of 窶彗bnormality窶鴀, so there is no need for advanced knowledge or experience. What this last factor implies however, is that the staff can only respond to basic error messages. After new equipment was donated, Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer provided technical guidance, and about 70% of the employees who received the technical training have remained at TTCL. TTCL acknowledges, however, that the ability to respond appropriately is not enough if serious problems should occur, such as repairing computer programs. Although it is possible to set up service contracts with the equipment manufacturers, TTCL窶冱 cost-cutting measures after privatization prevented them from doing so. Even if there were no serious problems at the time of this evaluation, it is an issue to be addressed in the future. These problems could be resolved by improving TTCL staff or by outsourcing services when significant problems develop, but it is not clear which of these choices TTCL is going to take fromthis evaluation.
Another major concern is vandalism, in which residents damage the facilities. In 1999 the rate of completed calls fell to the 70% range at one point in 1991, primarily due to lines being destroyed or stolen in incidents of vandalism. Now that phone lines can be resold, they have become a frequent target of theft. Although there has not been much impact in recent years, (considering Tanzania窶冱 economy has not improved much in general), appropriate security should be set up to protect this property in the future. 3-2 Factors that Promoted the Realization of Effects (1) Factors Concerning the Planning
N/A (2) Factors Concerning to the Implementation Process
The implementing institution (TTCL) shifted from the public sector to the private sector, dropping any responsibilities to contribute to the project窶冱 overall goal. 3-3 Factors that Impeded the Realization of Effects (1) Factors Concerning the Planning
N/A (2) Factors Concerning the Implementation Process
The project contributed greatly to improving the quality and infrastructure for telecommunications in Dar es Salaam窶冱 Central 2 district - the target region for the project. It also contributed to improving TTCL窶冱 financial strength. However, in 2000 TTCL was privatized, ending its status as a governmental administrative body in the telecommunications sector. Accordingly, contribution to the expansion of the telecommunications infrastructure to low profitability areas as initially planned should not be expected. 3-4 ConclusionN/A 3-5 RecommendationsTTCL should strengthen its crime-prevention system to prevent vandalism to maintain its phone line facilities. Also, TTCL should increase investment in research development and staff training to strengthen the in-house O&M of its equipment. 3-6 Lessons Learned N/A 3-7 Follow-Up Situation N/A |
