Crackdown on foreigners in petty business starts

A major crackdown on foreigners doing small businesses across Kariakoo in downtown Dar es Salaam has started according to the Minister for Industries, Trade and Marketing minister Cyril Chami has announced. He told a news conference in the city recently that some foreigners had complied with the ultimatum given by the government last month and “cleared problems with their residence in Tanzania” but others had defied or ignored the notice. The government, Industries, Trade and Marketing deputy minister Lazaro Nyalandu, issued a 30-day grace period for foreigners engaged in small business in the areas cited to put their immigration documents in order as a way of legalising their stay.

Industries, Trade and Marketing minister, Cyril Chami.


Minister Chami explained that a government’s task force working on the matter had established that Kariakoo abounds in foreign nationals, some breaking the law by engaging in business when they should not and some living in the country illegally. “On the strength of these facts, the government plans to embark on an extensive operation against foreigners running businesses contrary to the country’s laws, rules and regulations,” The Tanzanian media have for long run reports on the suspicious movements of foreigners illegally living, employed or doing business in the country, many said to be have originated from Kenya, India, Pakistan, and the Far East and some engaged in the sale of anything from boiled peanuts to synthetic flowers. The minister appealed to the public to assist the government in the implementation of the planned crackdown “by furnishing us with vital clues and information on foreigners operating in contravention of the country’s laws and regulations”.