📰 EAC Warns Tanzania Over Business Ban on Non-Citizens, Including Kenyans
Arusha, Tanzania – The East African Community (EAC) Secretariat has issued a stern warning to Tanzania following its recent directive barring non-citizens, including Kenyans, from participating in 15 key business sectors within its borders.
According to the EAC, Tanzania’s move is a clear violation of the regional bloc’s integration principles, which promote the free movement of labor, goods, and services among member states.
> “Such restrictions contradict the spirit of the East African Common Market Protocol,” stated an official from the EAC Secretariat.
The controversial directive, issued by Tanzanian authorities, blocks foreigners from engaging in multiple sectors such as:
Retail and wholesale trade
Transport services
Beauty salons and barber shops
Food vending
Domestic services, among others
While Tanzania says the restrictions aim to protect local businesses, the EAC warns that they undermine economic integration and unity across the region.
🇰🇪 Kenya Reacts
The directive has triggered widespread concern in Kenya, with traders, business groups, and politicians urging the government to intervene diplomatically.
> “We cannot talk of regional cooperation while one member state is openly discriminating against others,” remarked a Kenyan MP.
Many Kenyan entrepreneurs, especially those in border towns and urban centers in Tanzania, are now uncertain about their future operations.
The East African Community, which includes Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, was founded on principles of regional cooperation, economic integration, and free movement.
Experts fear that Tanzania’s unilateral action may:
Trigger retaliatory measures by other member states
Slow down cross-border trade
Undermine investor confidence in the region
The EAC Secretariat has called for an urgent dialogue with Tanzania to resolve the issue diplomatically and uphold treaty commitments.
