Mbeya – Authorities here have ordered new bajaji routes and parking arrangements to take effect on Sunday, November 15, with Regional Commissioner Jumanne Sagini warning against resistance, while promising repairs to alternative roads.
Receiving a committee report on November 11, Sagini gave councils three days to announce the arrangements and prepare designated stands. He said implementation would cover Mbeya City and the Mbalizi area of Mbeya District Council.
The decision follows a temporary agreement that ended four days of disruption in October, when drivers and vendors protested restrictions on the TANZAM highway and trading areas. Minister Riziki Shemdoe intervened on October 22, ordering a 14-day review involving operators, traders and government institutions.
“Starting Sunday, it should be implemented fully,” Sagini said, after asking participants when they wanted the arrangements to begin and then allowing time for public announcements.
He said the report sets conditions for using the highway, rather than excluding every bajaji journey. An operator carrying someone to hospital, for example, should be allowed through, although he rejected unrestricted movement in convoys along the main road.
“He cannot fly; he must pass through it to take the person to hospital,” Sagini said.
The condition and availability of alternative roads were central to the October dispute. Drivers argued that restricting highway access would make it difficult to reach passengers and neighbourhoods, while traders questioned whether customers could reach designated markets.
“Here in Mbeya, we have one main road, this one right here, and all of us depend on it,” driver Damas Erasto Mwakalinga told an earlier meeting during the protests.
Sagini acknowledged concerns about wet-weather access, saying operators had asked whether bajajis could use roads that become difficult even for cars when it rains. He directed the road agency TARURA to prioritise routes identified by the committee for maintenance and, where necessary, rehabilitation.
“What we need is for infrastructure not to be an obstacle for the youth,” he said.
However, he insisted potholes should not become a reason to reject the arrangements, saying most participants supported the decision and had been consulted. He did not announce a deadline for completing repairs before implementation begins.
READ MORE: Drivers’ Strike Disrupts Long-Distance Travel Across Tanzania
He also disputed the claim that Mbeya has only one usable road, saying roads built under urban government projects provided alternatives that did not exist in 2013.
Sagini defended the changes as a road-safety and transport-efficiency measure, arguing that the TANZAM highway serves regional freight traffic linked to the Port of Dar es Salaam, not only Mbeya residents. He said disorderly entry onto a road carrying heavy international vehicles increased risks.
While praising the committee’s consultations, Sagini warned that authorities were prepared to act against anyone who refused to comply with the stand arrangements.
“I would not want there to be friction, or for someone to turn up stubborn, thinking they can confront the government,” he said.
He asked members of his security committee to stand and turn towards participants, saying the instruments for dealing with defiance existed and were ready. Local authorities should report resistance requiring additional support, he said, so higher authorities could assist.
He also called for humane implementation and continued education of operators, saying fines should not cause panic.
READ MORE: Coercion Is Not Negotiation: Tanzania’s Drivers’ Strike and the High Cost of One-Sided Rule-Making
The warning follows arrests and prosecutions during the October protests. Police said some drivers were convicted of causing disorder, while others faced allegations of damaging buses and daladalas, the minibuses used for public transport.
Operators would separately have four months to introduce identification bands intended to distinguish operating areas and prevent encroachment between them. Police, LATRA and local authorities would guide implementation and registration, Sagini said.
He also proposed organising operators through savings and credit cooperatives and linking them with banks to finance larger vehicles, including buses. Possible access to mining plots and business advice were further opportunities he said authorities should explore.
