Call for Tanzania to use foreign investors in the industrial, manufacturing sectors

DAR ES SALAAM: Businessmen and Women in Tanzania have advised the government that foreign investors should be directed towards the industrial and manufacturing sectors rather than retail trade, which deprives local traders of economic opportunities.

The leadership of the Kariakoo International Market raised that after seeing many foreign traders engaging in petty business contrary to the regulations.

Kariakoo Market’s Traders Secretary, Renatus Mlelwa, said: “ The major challenge is the way foreign traders are disrupting the operations of local businesses. We urge the government to establish a clear framework involving BRELA, Immigration, and the Employment Services Agency to clearly distinguish between a trader and an investor,” Mlelwa noted.

The traders reiterated the importance of swift government action to safeguard the interests of Tanzanians and to foster national economic growth through a fair and balanced competitive environment.

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As earlier raised by the Kariakoo Traders Association’s Chairman, Severin Mushi, traders have called on the government to take decisive action to protect local traders from the growing competition posed by foreign investors engaging in small-scale businesses in the area.

Speaking today, May 22, in Dar es Salaam, Mushi emphasized the need for the government to strengthen law enforcement, enhance tax education, and create a more favorable environment for local entrepreneurs to promote economic development in the country.

“Currently, local traders are urging the government to intervene, as some foreign investors are entering the country under the guise of investment, but are instead engaging in ordinary retail trade like street vendors,” he said.