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Air Transport
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242. Because the distances between the various areas are so great and because other transport services are so inadequate the Corporation, like all other commercial enterprises in similar areas, bad to rely a good deal on air transport. An arrangement was made with the East African Airways Corporation for the charter of aircraft for the use of the Corporation. The charter aircraft were used for the regular transport of staff and urgent stores. In addition regular service aircraft were used. As a temporary measure a freight aircraft was chartered in March, 1948, to fly fresh fruit and vegetables from the Southern Highlands to those parts of the Southern Province where the shortage of fresh food was acute, and also to transport African labour between Dar-es-Salaam and Lindi.
243. During the year a contract was entered into with a British Charter Company to fly members of the staff of the Corporation and of the Con- tractors, and others, between Britain and East Africa. This contract resulted in a considerable economy to the Corporation.
Tele-Communications in Tanganyika
244. During the year Kongwa was connected by telephone with Dar-es- Salaam and also with Urambo. Services are restricted, and it is seldom possible to use the inter-territorial telephone more than twice a day. The service is poor, and subject to frequent breakdowns, which are aften reported as being due to the depredations of giraffe.
245. Offices in Kongwa and in Urambo are linked by local field telephone equipments. That in the Kongwa region has been augmented by some radio- telephone sets. Provision was made also for radio-telephone control of the oil pipeline in the Southern Province. There is no telephone communication with Nachingwea, Mkwaya or Mtwara.
246. Telegraph services within the Territory are irregular and slow. The contents of telegrams are frequently distorted owing the incapacity of non-European telegraph clerks to transcribe the messages accurately.
Postal Services
247. Postal services are also slow and irregular. At times it takes a week for a letter to travel from Kongwa to Dar-es-Salaam-a distance of 256 miles and despite the frequency of air services to Britain, which do the journey from Dar-es-Salaam to London in a day-and-a-half, letters to and from Kongwa and London have taken eleven to twelve days. The G.P.O. is assisting the Corporation by sorting all mail destined for Kongwa in London, and forwarding it in one bag. The East African Post Office is investigating the possibility of making greater use of air services to speed the delivery of mail.
The Base
PART V: SUPPLIES
248. The Supplies Department in East Africa is based on Dar-es-Salaam. It is responsible for the ordering from London and local purchase of supplies in East Africa, and their storage. This task is complicated by the slow and difficult methods of communication between various centres in East Africa and the long delay involved in securing goods from the United Kingdom.
249. It had proved impossible for the Managing Agency to establish order in the stores organisation by the time the Corporation took over from them. Consequently the Corporation did not receive a record of the stores it was taking over.
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