Tanzania January 2005 |
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| Immigration under fire, (Ippmedia, 2005-01-06):-The days are numbered for corrupt elements in the Immigration Department as the government steps in to clear the mess and restore professional ethics. In a keynote address to the department’s annual conference in Tanga yesterday, Home Affairs Minister Omar Ramadhani Mapuri vowed the government would flush out irresponsible officials and restore public confidence. Mapuri was also concerned about the influx of illegal immigrants likely to cash in on the new East Africa Customs Union protocol, saying the Immigration had an extra job to control the borders. However, immigrants from Uganda and Kenya coming as investors or traders should be assisted to observe procedures before being issued with residence permits, the minister directed. “The Immigration Department must monitor cross-border movements because foreigners are likely to camouflage in the recently concluded trade agreement," cautioned Mapuri. But that did not give officials freedom to intimidate those prepared to observe regulations, the minister warned. “East Africa is geared towards political federation. The co-operation process should not be frustrated,” he said. On those nabbed as illegal immigrants, the minister urged for stiff punishment, saying they should be deported immediately. With regard to printing of new Tanzania passports, the minister said it was a costly exercise but all the groundwork had been completed. “A printing unit has been set up at Kijichi on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam. Other facilities such as radio calls, vehicles and other logistics are in place,” explained Mapuri. Earlier, Director of Immigration Kinemo Kihomano outlined on the items of the agenda, mentioning the performance of the department, the problem of illegal aliens and issuance of passports among others. The Guardian recently exposed a scam on illegal aliens, most of them from neighbouring countries, the Horn of Africa and Asia. If it wasn’t for the help of some corrupt immigration officials, the aliens would find it hard to cross the border and acquire Tanzanian citizenship. In some cases birth certificates were forged and used in securing passports. ‘’You’ll be surprised to meet some holders of Tanzanian passports in foreign countries, whose origin is not in this country,” a source had told The Guardian. | |
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp |