Dar es Salaam. Traders at the famous Kariakoo market in the city are anxiously waiting for authorities to implement the recommendations of a ministerial committee that investigated the extent of foreign traders’ presence at the busy market—a phenomenon local traders have taken issue with.
These include a recommendation for immigration and law enforcement authorities to conduct regular checks on foreign entrants, ensuring their activities comply with their visa conditions.
In February, acting on President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s directive, Trade and Industry Minister Selemani Jafo formed a fifteen-member committee to investigate widespread and long-standing complaints from local Kariakoo traders about the presence of foreign traders engaging in commercial activities reserved for locals.
The committee’s nearly two-month investigation into 75 foreign-owned stores at Kariakoo confirmed these claims, finding that foreign traders were engaged in both retail and wholesale trade—activities legally reserved for locals. The probe also revealed that these stores employed 152 workers, 148 of whom were involved in retail trading.
The investigation, whose report has not been made public, revealed that foreign traders sell their products at lower prices, undermining local competitors. It also found that foreigners displace local traders by offering higher rents—payments that locals cannot match.
The Chanzo encountered similar complaints from local traders at Kariakoo market, who were particularly critical of Chinese traders—reportedly constituting 90 per cent of foreign merchants there. The market also reportedly hosts traders from Somalia, Nigeria, Pakistan, India, Britain, and Congo.
“There’s no fair competition,” Jackson Ezekiel, a mobile accessories trader with seven years’ experience in Kariakoo, told The Chanzo. “Foreign traders enter the market with substantial capital or receive goods on credit—what we call mali kauli. But with our limited resources, we can’t possibly compete on equal footing.”
“Business depends on healthy circulation,” explained Hendry Kanje, spokesperson for Kariakoo’s traders. “When foreign traders undercut prices so severely, they break the economic cycle. We’re forced to wait until they’ve liquidated their inventory before we can move our own goods.”
Exaggerated?
While these concerns are valid, some argue the issue may be exaggerated beyond its actual significance. This is the view held by Furaha Joseph Mwangakala, Head of the Industry, Trade, and Investment Department at Dar es Salaam City Council.
During a recent interview, Mr Mwangakala hesitated to characterise the issue as significant, maintaining that such a description would be an overstatement.
“Considering Dar es Salaam’s entire business landscape, we have 42,096 registered enterprises,” he said.
“Of these, only 250 are foreign-owned and properly licensed through our system. The current debate exaggerates the scale of this issue. The actual problem emerges when foreigners operate in sectors legally reserved for local traders.”
Nevertheless, Mwangakala suspects that foreign traders may be controlling numerous businesses registered under Tanzanian names.
However, many people maintain the argument that the situation might need urgent intervention, especially due to predatory business behavior used in acquisition of properties including land, businesses and real estates.
“I can say very loudly and clearly that we don’t have many days before we face serious problems between local businesspeople and the Chinese. These people seem to be completely unbound by any laws, they do whatever they want and however they feel like, from small businesses to large projects,” wrote opposition politician Godbless Lema on his X page.
Lema was commenting amidst heavy debate that was continuing on social media and on local radios, with some arguing that places like Mikocheni are being transformed rapidly. The discussion was heightened when a clip was circulated online of a customer who tried to access Guang Dong Hotel and was told by a security guard that the hotel is reserved for clients who are Chinese.
Guang Dong Hotel later issued a statement highlighting that the discriminatory remarks were from external security guards and it is not the hotel policy; that the hotel is open to everyone.
Way forward
The ministerial committee proposed several measures to address the issue of foreign dominance in local trade at Kariakoo. However, none of these recommendations directly corresponded to the traders’ primary demand: the complete removal of foreigners from both retail and wholesale operations.
“We’re not advocating for foreigners to leave [Tanzania] completely,” Kanje, the spokesperson, clarified. “But they shouldn’t participate in direct buying and selling—that’s our domain, where we have the skills and capacity.
“Instead, they should focus on sectors like infrastructure development for large-scale projects, or industries requiring specialised expertise and technology that we currently lack.”
Speaking on March 17 after receiving the committee’s report, Mr Jafo ordered a special operation aimed not at removing foreign traders from Kariakoo, but at eliminating counterfeit goods and the traders involved in their sale.
“We cannot afford to wait any longer; Tanzanians deserve to be protected from low-quality products that undermine our economy,” Mr Jafo directed. “This operation is crucial for the future of our country. We will act now to stop these harmful practices and protect our businesses and consumers.”
But is it realistic for authorities to expel foreign traders from Kariakoo as local merchants demand? Muhidin Shangwe, a University of Dar es Salaam political science lecturer specialising in Tanzania-China relations, believes it’s not feasible.
“There will be consequences if the government takes drastic measures, such as expelling the Chinese,” said the scholar without hesitation.
“There are Tanzanians in China engaged in business, especially in the city of Guangzhou,” he adds. “So, any action taken by the Tanzanian government should consider the presence of Tanzanians doing business there. The Chinese government might reciprocate with similar measures.”
Additionally, the university don echoed Mr Mwangakala’s fears that the issue might be exaggerated, emphasising the need to research the issue closely and arrive at a certain conclusion.
“This idea that there are many Chinese in Kariakoo, have you done a study? How many are many?” he asks. “If you see ten Chinese, someone might assume Kariakoo is full of them. So, there is a need for research to determine their actual numbers.”
Lukelo Francis is an Associate Editor at The Chanzo based in Dar es Salaam. He can be reached at haulelukelo@thechanzo.com.
