Border officials shock Kagasheki
It takes 15 to 20 minutes for one foreigner to be cleared
Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Khamis Kagasheki
and his Deputy Lazaro Nyalandu. (File photo)
By Staff Reporter
September 22 - 28, 2012
The Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Ambassador Khamis Kagasheki made a surprise visit at Namanga last weekend where he discovered bizarre happenings at the Kenya-Tanzania border crossing point in the North.
Mr Kagasheki, apparently, had been receiving many complaints from tourists entering Tanzania via Namanga who out cried cumbersome processes, delays and dubious practices by immigration and customs officers at the Tanzanian side of the border.
The Minister witnessed for himself that it takes between 15 and 20 minutes for a single foreigner to be cleared at the border where in most cases all the desks are usually empty with just one window open.
"I do not understand how all clearing officers vacated their positions leaving just one person to handle the travelers and visitors," wondered Mr Kagasheki who got even more infuriated upon being told that sometimes the entire immigration section would be rendered empty, forcing people to wait for the slow officers to come back and attend them.
Compared with the highly effective performance of Kenyan officials on the other side of Namanga, the Minister pointed out that the Immigration officers on the Tanzanian side were tarnishing the name of the country and as a result the tourism industry here continues to suffer.
VISA payments for foreigners at Namanga was being done through very long processes of forcing foreigners to trek long distances to the nearby bank to settle the payments and where they normally have to queue. Once they get the payment receipts they are again compelled to walk back same distances to the immigration offices where they have to line up again for their passports to be stamped.
On the Kenyan side of the border, the bank has a window next to the clearing desks which means Visa payments and passport stamping are done under one roof.
The safety at the border, where a number of loitering youths and other suspicious characters keep rising is also raising concern among travelers using the Namanga point of entry, while the not-so-polite language of Immigration and Customs officers in Tanzania reportedly continue to take toll on the local tourism industry.
Source: The Arusha Times
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