Tanzanian government acts decisively to stem corruption at Dar port

The Tanzanian government has ordered an immediate ban on direct release of cargo at the Dar es Salaam port and called for thorough inspection of goods in order to maximise revenue collection, according to the African Business Monitor news service. This was announced in parliament after the Tanzanian minister of Finance, Dr William Mgimwa, discovered what he termed an “unholy syndicate of corruption and economic crime at the port” following an investigation. Mgimwa said the ministry was aware of tax evasion malpractice at the port, in which cargo agents collude with clearing and forwarding agents to clear wrongly declared goods in order to avoid tax. According to him, use of fake documents to declare the type of cargo was also rife at the port. “Government has investigated and identified offices whose emblems and stamps are illegally used to clear cargo at the port,” he said. As part of the investigations, the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) conducted check-ups on 498 containers at the port and it was established that 188 containers had different items onboard compared to what was declared on the declaration forms by the owners.