Tanzania: Country to Relax Work Permit Rules
The Nation (Nairobi)
January 23, 2007
Posted to the web January 22, 2007
Tony Kago
Nairobi
Tanzania is ready to open its border to Kenyan workers, a top official of the East African Community said yesterday.
Ms Mary Makoffu, an economist in the EAC's social sector, said the two countries' immigration departments had harmonised the procedures on the issuance of work permits.
She told media executives and journalists attending a one-day briefing seminar on the EAC Political Federation at a Nairobi hotel that Tanzania had relaxed its strict immigration rules and taxes that have in the past discouraged the entry of Kenyan workers into that country.
Kenya has been pushing for the abolition of the work permit as the East African countries set in motion a process to integrate.
At a similar media seminar early this month, Information and Communications minister Mutahi Kagwe asked EAC member states to do away with work permits.
Abolition, he said, would go a long way towards promoting regional integration and also attract investors to East Africa. It would also limit migration of traders searching for better tariffs and tax regimes.
Was inevitable
Participants at the seminar said although the proposed federation was inevitable, there was still a lot of mistrust and suspicion among the member states' people.
Tanzania's membership of the Southern Africa Development Cooperation trade bloc was also raised, with participants asking the country to abandon it so that all EAC countries can chart their next move as a bloc.
Kenya, Uganda and the recently admitted EAC members Rwanda and Burundi are members of Comesa.