“I ask Tanzanians to understand that our country, including the tourism sector, will be built by ourselves,” MR LAZARO NYALANDU, TOURISM MINISTER
By Patty Magubira,The Citizen Reporter
Arusha. The government yesterday pleaded with Tanzanians, tour operators, and tourists, in particular, to remain calm as it seeks negotiations with Kenya on the fate of Tanzanian tourist vehicles to access Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Natural Resources and Tourism minister Lazaro Nyalandu’s call comes shortly after a ministerial meeting slated for Arusha yesterday was indefinitely postponed following Kenya pushing for a different agenda instead of the one on the cards.
“I ask Tanzanians to understand that our country, including the tourism sector, will be built by ourselves,” Mr Nyalandu said yesterday when addressing hundreds of Arusha sculptors whose shops were gutted by fire early this year.
Kenya banned Tanzania registered shuttles plying between Arusha and Nairobi from accessing JKIA citing implementing an agreement entered between the two neighbouring countries in 1985.
But during meetings of experts on Wednesday, which was preceded by another for permanent secretaries, Kenya insisted on overhauling the entire 1985 Bilateral Agreement instead.
“The agreement clearly indicates how these two countries will cooperate in the tourism trade including allowing tourist vehicles from Kenya to enter designated cities only and those from Tanzania to access all Kenyan towns,” Mr Nyalandu said.
The agreement had never been amended since, yet Kenya imposed the ban on Tanzanians vehicles to access the JKIA, prompting Mr Nyalandu to consult his Kenyan counterpart Phyliss Kandie in mid-January when they agreed to lift the ban for three weeks to give room for negotiations.
In February, however, tour vans from Tanzania were again denied access to JKIA, apparently setting the stage for the current round of diplomatic and trade disputes between the two states.
CREDIT: THE CITIZEN
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