Tanzania: Tourism Won't Be Affected By Forex Shop Clampdown'

THE recent clampdown on forex shops in Arusha has not and will not have any effect on the tourism industry, the government assured yesterday.

Fielding questions from reporters shortly after winding up his familiarization tour of Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Mr. Constantine John Kanyasu, said the well-coordinated exercise that rocked the region on Monday had left the 2bn US dollar sector stable, adding that tourists continued to make the most of the myriad of attractions found in the country.

"The crackdown by the central bank hasn't affected the sector in any way as tourists and other players continue to enjoy services offered by the ministry," clarified the deputy minister.

The government's assurance comes amid growing fears that the crackdown and the ultimate closure of a number of Bureau de Change outlets will affect the sector which accounts for 25 per cent of foreign exchange earnings in Tanzania while also creating about 600,000 jobs.

There were fears that Arusha, which is revered as the country's tourism hotbed, was likely to face an economic downturn following the clampdown of the forex shops which enters its fourth day, today.

A spot-check by the 'Daily News' yesterday, established that a good number the outlets that deal in the exchange of foreign currencies still remained closed.

A section of Arusha residents who spoke to this paper said they could still access the service from some NMB bank branches and the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) branch in the region.

Speaking here on Tuesday, Central Bank governor, Prof Florence Luoga said the crackdown was aimed at unearthing and exposing unlicensed forex shops.

According to Prof Luoga, the exercise which also involved members of the Tanzania Peoples Defense Forces (TPDF) also sought to revoke licenses of forex shops that were alleged to be involved in money laundering.

Meanwhile, the deputy minister for natural resources and tourism urged tourism stakeholders and conservators to keep politics out of the conservation.

"If we continue to peddle politics in matters of conservation, we will end up with no parks," cautioned the deputy minister.

He further challenged TANAPA to expeditiously resolve the conflicts pitting the organization mandated with the regulation and the use of National Parks in the country with district councils and villages.

He, however, commended the parastatal organization for operating profitably, saying the government was reaping fortunes in the form of revenues from TANAPA.

In his rejoinder, TANAPA Conservation Commissioner, Allan Kijazi told the deputy minister that the organization had in this financial year allocated 2.5bn/- in land use planning and management as a way of addressing land related conflicts with 392 villages surrounding the 16 national parks it manages.

Dr. Kijazi noted that it was also using the 'good neighborliness’ as a way of resolving such disputes.

"Such conflicts have not only wasted much of our time and resources, but they have also affected our core business which is conservation," explained Dr. Kijazi.

According to the Conservation Commissioner, TANAPA will strive to foster its relationship with communities and villages that border its national parks.