Govt to reopen closed foreign currency shops based in Arusha
October 18, 2021
Marc Nkwame
Arusha
News
The Guardian
Govt to reopen closed foreign currency shops based in Arusha
- 92.1 billion/- stimulus package expected to revive the country’s tourism industry
ARUSHA-BASED bureaux de change which the government ordered closed in 2018 over irregularities will soon resume business, as the country gears up to unlock the tourism industry.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan made a pronouncement to this effect here yesterday.
She said in an address at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium that the Finance and Planning ministry and the Bank of Tanzania are in the final stages of going through a draft of new regulations to govern the establishment of forex shops.
“We will soon issue new operating licences for Arusha-based bureaux-de-change, which are important components in the country’s tourism industry,” she said, meanwhile stressing the need for the outlets’ owners and operators to ensure that they comply with all standing guidelines.
November 2018 saw the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) order foreign exchange shops here closed following suspicions of involvement in money laundering and associated illegal transactions.
The move was part of a countrywide crackdown against masterminds of syndicates behind money laundering and unlicensed foreign exchange transactions.
For three years now, most of these transactions have been undertaken by local commercial banks, which many people see as a serious challenge, chiefly in that banks seldom operate beyond normal working hours or on weekends and public holidays.
The president meanwhile stated that the government will put in place a 92.1bn/- stimulus package primarily to revive the country’s tourism industry, which has slumped owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Considering its abundance of national parks, Tanzania can play an important role in providing breathing space for the majority of the global population which has been locked inside walls for over two years now owing to the pandemic to come and enjoy the country’s unspoiled environment,” she stated.
Tanzania has been receiving 1.5 million tourists per year, but the number hit rock-bottom when the global travel industry was disrupted by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Opening Arusha district hospital, President Samia meanwhile instructed the Regional Administration and Local Governments wing of the President’s Office to provide 2bn/- before November 30, this year as the government’s contribution for the ongoing hospital project.
She presented a cheque for 1.39bn/- to 152 vulnerable groups in Arusha City Council, while praising the council for having extended 2.5bn/- towards the construction of the hospital.
She said apart from the money presented, the government will provide medical equipment and supplies including drugs to enable the hospital to continue serving the people as expected.
Earlier, Arusha City Council director Dr John Pima thanked the government for completing the hospital’s construction.
With regard to loans to vulnerable groups, he said the council has dished out a total of 3.83bn/- from its internal sources in the last six months.
He commended the beneficiaries, most of them, for having repaid more than 86 per cent of the money they had received.
Ummy Mwalimu, Minister of State in the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Governments), promise to pay up the 2bn/- by November 30 as directed by the president.
Inspecting water projects costing 520bn/- in Arumeru District, President Samia said: “I have come here to inspect development projects, but also to listen to challenges facing the people of Arusha. I have received your complaints and will find solutions to them.”
Justine Rujomba, Arusha regional director of water and environmental cleanliness, said some water wells were found to an acceptably high fluorine content and will have to diluted with water to make it safer for use.
Speaking on the 520bn/- projects, he said they have drilled 56 wells to supplement water supply and all areas within the project area will have access to clean and safe water.
He said the project has three main parts, namely, distribution, sanitation in Arusha City and the drilling of 18 hot water wells in Hai District.
“All these wells will produce more than 80 million litres of water, while 12 wells drilled at Mbuguni are expected to produce 40 million litres,” said Rujomba.
“We have also completed the digging of 18 dams for sewage collection and disposal, and 4,000 local residents are already benefiting from the project,” he added.
Water minister Jumaa Aweso admitted that some parts of Arusha Region have for long faced an acute shortage of water, but the ongoing projects would minimise the gravity of the problem substantially.