Tanzania central bank tells hotels to obtain foreign currency exchange license

Tanzania central bank tells hotels to obtain foreign currency exchange license

Dar es Salaam. The Governor of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), Mr Emmanuel Tutuba, has urged owners and operators of tourist hotels to acquire a licence for exchanging foreign currency in an attempt to curb the black market.

Last October, the central bank issued new foreign exchange regulations that allowed hotels to engage in currency exchange businesses to increase the availability of the service.

However, as of March this year, only one hotel had applied for the licence, while others are allegedly exchanging or pegging the services in foreign currency.

Mr Tutuba, who met hotel owners and operators receiving tourists on Thursday, March 14, 2024, said the licence would enable the central bank to obtain crucial statistics and information to strengthen the financial sector.

“In October last year, we made amendments to the Foreign Exchange Bureaus Regulations, creating an official window to allow hotels ranging from three to five stars to start providing foreign exchange bureau services,” said Mr Tutuba.

According to him, only one hotel has applied for the licence so far, highlighting that the remaining hotels continue to charge customers in foreign currency without proper authorisation, leading to an unregulated market.

“The amendment of the regulations was based on our research, which found that the foreign exchange bureaus that were operational had not yet reached hotels, yet some hotels were receiving foreign currency illegally,” he said.

The meeting was attended by owners of 27 hotels to discuss the amendment of the regulations.

“As supervisors of the financial sector, this step will be an opportunity for us to obtain direct statistics because hotels will be responsible for setting up a reporting system that will help us improve the business environment in the country,” Mr Tutuba elaborated.

The Finance and Administration Manager of Onomo Hotel in Dar es Salaam, Mr Gosberth Kamugisha, said that the changes in foreign currency exchange regulations present an opportunity for increased revenue.

“That window will also contribute to strengthening the country’s economy,” he said.

Businesspeople have recently voiced concern about what they say is a booming black market caused by the dollar crisis in Tanzania.

The country has been grappling with a shortage of dollars since last year, largely attributed to external factors such as the impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic, the war between Russia and Ukraine, the US Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates, and climate change.

These crises disrupted supply chains, leading to higher commodity prices in the world market and increased demand for dollars.

The black market foreign exchange transactions are now said to be commonplace in Tanzania, with financial institutions being accused of taking advantage of the crisis to sell dollars at higher prices than those officially quoted by the banks.

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Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak
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Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak

Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak

Tanzania today declared the end of Marburg virus disease outbreak after recording no new cases over 42 days since the death of the last confirmed case on 28 January 2025.

The outbreak, in which two confirmed and eight probable cases were recorded (all deceased), was the second the country has experienced. Both this outbreak, which was declared on 20 January 2025, and the one in 2023 occurred in the north-eastern Kagera region.

In response to the latest outbreak, Tanzania’s health authorities set up coordination and response systems, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, at the national and regional levels and reinforced control measures to swiftly detect cases, enhance clinical care, infection prevention as well as strengthen collaboration with communities to raise awareness and help curb further spread of the virus.

Growing expertise in public health emergency response in the African region has been crucial in mounting effective outbreak control measures. Drawing on experience from the response to the 2023 Marburg virus disease outbreak, WHO worked closely with Tanzanian health authorities to rapidly scale up key measures such as disease surveillance and trained more than 1000 frontline health workers in contact tracing, clinical care and public health risk communication. The Organization also delivered over five tonnes of essential medical supplies and equipment.

“The dedication of frontline health workers and the efforts of the national authorities and our partners have paid off,” said Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses, WHO Representative in Tanzania. “While the outbreak has been declared over, we remain vigilant to respond swiftly if any cases are detected and are supporting ongoing efforts to provide psychosocial care to families affected by the outbreak.”

Building on the momentum during the acute phase of the outbreak response, measures have been put in place to reinforce the capacity of local health facilities to respond to potential future outbreaks. WHO and partners are procuring additional laboratory supplies and other equipment for disease detection and surveillance and other critical services.

Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes haemorrhagic fever. It belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly. Patients present with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. They may develop severe haemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.

In the African region, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.

Source: allafrica.com

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