Traders’ groups disown anonymous Kariakoo strike threat

Dar es Salaam. Leaders of traders’ associations will not support any strike by businesspeople that will take place today, the groups' national chairman said on Sunday.

Mr Khamis Livembe, who chairs the Tanzania Business Community, told The Citizen that there is no need for a strike because the government has promised to work on their demands.

Some of the demands will be taken up in the 2024/25 financial year, whose budget is expected to be passed by Parliament this week.

Much as some of their complaints have not been taken up by the government, Mr Livembe said, it is worth noting that the government has promised to work on them.

“This is why the official statement and position of the Tanzania Business Community is unrelated to the announcement circulating on social media,” he said in a telephone interview.

Last Friday, an unsigned flyer was circulated on social media, urging businesspeople in Kariakoo, Dar es Salaam, and other parts of the country to keep their shops closed indefinitely from today until all their grievances are addressed.

According to the flyer, traders want the Service and Government levies scrapped. They want the government to put all taxes within a single collection basket while the fines imposed on them whenever they go contrary to business norms must also be reduced to the level of traffic offences.

They also claim that issuance of receipts should not be considered to another tax because to them, they [receipts] are just like a new form of harassment. They want Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) to stop a tendency of seizing their goods and its (TRA’s) tendency to refuse to accept traders’ financial statements which have been prepared by registered accounting professionals.

Foreign nationals who conduct trading activities in Tanzania must be told to leave the country while value added tax must also be only collected from manufacturers and at air and sea ports instead of the current system where the taxman collects it even from shops. The collection of withholding tax, the traders argue, is another bone of contention.

But according to Mr Livembe, traders will have to continue with their businesses as there will be no strike.

“We have already stated that there will be no strike. If someone decides to strike, the association will not be involved,” he saidd.

Every challenge, he said, is resolved through negotiation.

“We have already talked to the government and we are still doing so. I am talking to you now, I am on my way to Dodoma to address the traders’ claims.”

Mr Livembe added that the announcement circulating on social media has caused panic among traders’ leaders in various regions who were working hard to reassure them that if someone decides to strike, the association will not be involved.

He explained further that the businesspeople had presented 12 proposals, but the government did not consider any of them when the budget was submitted.

But he hastened to say that the leaders had already met with the government, which had promised to address a few of the proposals due to the state of the economy.

“For the financial year that is ending, we submitted 21 proposals, and the government accepted only nine of them. We were told the remaining 12 would be included in the current 2024/25 budget, but unfortunately, none of them were incorporated. This has created challenges, but negotiations between us and the government have already taken place and some will be included in the budget debate that will conclude on Tuesday,” Mr Livembe added.

He said the government has informed traders that since Tanzania was struck with e El Niño rains and a cyclone during the past few months, there was an urgent need to have a significant infrastructure repair.

“As such, addressing all our proposals could negatively impact the tax collection system,” he said.

Works minister Innocent Bashungwa told Parliament on May 29 that Tanzania needs Sh986 billion to revamp roads and bridges damaged by the Hidaya tropical cyclone and El Niño rains.

The torrential El Niño rains that inundated the nation between September 2023 and April 2024, followed by the devastating Cyclone Hidaya on May 5, unleashed a barrage of strong winds, floods, and landslides across various regions.

Meanwhile, Dar es Salaam regional commissioner Albert Chalamila told reporters on Sunday that the strike alert was an arrangement of several individuals, calling on them to desist from taking part in.

“I call on the traders of this region not to engage in actions that may harm them and their businesses in the long run. We have been meeting with Kariakoo traders regularly to address their challenges. Some issues have started to be resolved, while others will take time because they are cross-cutting and require the enactment of new laws, for example, the removal of various service levies,” he said.

Mr Chalamila added that strikes are not a solution to the challenges and urged traders to follow President Samia’s philosophy of the 4Rs.

This happens as the Police Force has reassured traders and the public of heightened security measures following should the shops get closed.

“Those responsible for conspiring, organising and disseminating this unauthorised announcement are actively being sought,” police spokesperson David Misime said in Dodoma.

The Police Force urged affected parties to remain calm and continue with their activities as usual.