THE government has halted an exercise to inspect electronic fiscal device (EFD) receipts which was ongoing at the Kariakoo Market in the central business district in Dar es Salaam.

Prof Kitila Mkumbo, the Planning and Investment state minister in the President’s Office, announced this decision at a meeting with leaders of the Kariakoo Traders Association and regulatory agencies in the capital yesterday.

In the meeting called by Finance minister Dr Mwigulu Nchemba and also attended by the Industry and Trade minister Dr Ashatu Kijaji, he said that the EFDs work on good procedures in line with the initiative to install them.

Traders at the Kariakoo commercial hub commenced a strike with many closing their shops before reversing their decision after discussion with senior government officials, including Regional Commissioner Albert Chalamila.

He arrived at the area and appealed to the traders to refrain from strikes and instead sit down and rethink about it, after the traders issued a notice to stage a non-stop strike until the government ends unfriendly treatment from tax collectors.

The non-stop strike would have started yesterday at the Kariakoo area, then be followed up in Mbeya, Iringa, Ruvuma, Rukwa, Mwanza and Arusha major market centres, as well as other regional centres the following day.

In the meeting, the RC said demonstrations should not be considered as a collective issue but all sides sit and arrive at a consensus, urging that traders 

unite with the city administration to build Dar es Salaam.

Strikes are not a solution at all and we should not support such action as strikes will also affect innocent people, he said, while Martine Mbwana, chairman of the traders, said that their grievances relate to value added tax (VAT) returns.

“Our complaints are many, but the main one is about unfair tax estimations by the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA). The tax estimation creates loopholes for corruption and it also hurts business people,” he stated.

He urged fellow traders to remain calm and run their shops as the government was listening to their concerns, while a random survey conducted by this paper at the market found a number of shops in popular streets such as Congo, Swahili, Sikukuu and Tandamti core streets being closed with some traders standing in front of their shops to express their grievances.

Lucas Julius, a trader at the market, said that the traders have been patient on the matter for a long time and the government has been issuing promises which at the end it does not implement them.

Raheem Salum, another trader, said traders have been forced to close their shops to send their message to the authorities, underlining that TRA officials have been applying unfriendly measures when collecting returns, affecting their business development.

“We want our complaints to be addressed so that business activities resume as expected,” he said, lamenting about being faced with multiple taxes.

 Another trader, Fortunatus, said some of them opened their shops to listen to customers but also tell them the real situation, citing the fact that some customers come from upcountry and even outside the country.

Some legislators have demanded that the government provides concrete answers on the ongoing traders’ strike at the commercial complex, as the situation poses acute risks to the country’s economy.

Joseph Kasheku (Geita Rural) said during a regular question and answer session, stood up and sought for the Speaker’s guidance on halting parliamentary business to discuss the traders’ threats to strike so that the government takes immediate measures to address the matter.