Tanzania: Samia Lifts Petty Traders’ Hopes As Mega Markets Project Pencilled for Jangwani, Karume

PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has breathed a fresh lease of life into petty traders, reaffirming her government’s commitment to re-organise them and build modern markets, so that they can operate in a safe and orderly manner.

Construction of a new market in Jangwani, as well as the reconstruction of Karikaoo and Karume markets, are among the projects, which will allow traders to sell 24 hours a day.

President Samia disclosed at State House yesterday during a meeting with Dar es Salaam Petty Traders Association leaders and regional leaders. “We are determined to build modern markets with government funds and acquiring soft loans from donors,” President Samia said.

“I have already approved funding for the construction of the Kariakoo main market, which will be completed in 18 months, and I have also directed Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner, Amos Makala, to enter a procurement stage and begin identifying for a contractor to build a market in the Jangwani area,” she added. The government will focus on the Karume market once the development.

“The project will undoubtedly put Tanzania on the global map because some of the gas will be used for local industries, while a huge chunk will be for export, thus guaranteeing the government hefty revenues,” explained the minister.

According to Mr Makamba, the project seeks to feed gas from offshore blocks 1, 2 and 4 to a processing facility in Lindi, will greatly improve other services in the oil and gas sector while assuring the government of local content.

These blocks house about 35 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, split about evenly between the two operators’ assets. Detailing on how the government ended up with the UK based legal firm as transaction Jangwani market project is completed, said the Head of State, noting the aim is to ensure that there is a modern market in the city centre with all services to allow business to be conducted for 24 hours a day.

She added that those markets will not be the last to be established in Dar es Salaam, as the government will continue to explore for open spaces suited for market building, particularly in other districts of the region, so that everyone may benefit from better services no matter where they are.

President Samia said that she wanted to speak to the representatives of the traders, to see if they agree with the government on the just-completed exercise of relocating them.

The exercise involved transferring traders from areas deemed unfit by authorities and relocating them to government designated sites deemed suitable for traders’ activity.

The meeting was also held in the aftermath of fire outbreaks that burnt traders’ establishments in the Kariakoo and Karume markets on July 10, 2021, and January 16, 2022, respectively, whose true sources are still unclear as authorities investigate.

The Head of State also issued some directives to regional authorities to ensure that petty traders operate smoothly and contribute to national development, the most important of which was directing the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA) to build roads in areas where commuter city buses are unable to reach.

The association expressed concern about the relocation exercise, claiming that some were moved to hard-to-reach places with no water, electricity, or proper sanitation amenities. The group requested an audience with President Samia on October 20, 2021, to discuss their reservations over the relocation process. President Samia was yesterday presented with six requests by petty traders popularly known as ‘Machinga’, who believe that if effectively addressed, they will go a long way toward putting an end to many of the traders’ concerns.

According to her, the government’s goal was to ensure that petty traders graduate from that stage and join a higher group, so that they can start paying taxes; as a result, the government will address all of their challenges, including those who were unable to find areas to work.

She stated that because the government has designated petty traders as a special group, they must obtain IDs, but that the procedure is on hold until the Population and Housing Census is conducted in August 2022.

“Aside from the census, we’re waiting to complete projects, where we have decided to develop markets right now, such as Kariakoo, Jangwani, and Karume.”

We will not be in a hurry to issue the IDs, let us wait for a few things to be finished and please give us time to complete the tasks,” President Samia stated.

Concerning the 5bn/- Covid- 19 relief package, she promised to meet with the Regional Administration, and Local Government docket to determine how it will be allocated, with the remainder going to petty traders’ Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs).

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