What traders see as major hindrance to business

Dar es Salaam. Kariakoo has a long history. After Kariakoo Market was built by the Germans, it started operating in 1923. Today, Kariakoo is Tanzania and east and central Africa’s most vibrant commercial hub. It is near the city centre and the Dar es Salaam Port, which was constructed first by the Germans in the late 1890s. The construction of the iconic Kariakoo Market, a three-storey structure spanning several streets that was unveiled in 1975 by Tanzania’s first President Julius Nyerere, changed the fortunes of Kariakoo.

Now the commercial hub has attracted not only traders and shoppers from every corner of the country and beyond, but it has also attracted various investors in the hospitality industry, banking and in light industries.

The vibrancy of Kariakoo - more than Sh10 billion change hands daily, according to some estimates - has also facilitated the mushrooming of street vendors and hawkers, who peddle their wares on almost every Kariakoo street.

Shopping in Kariakoo is an experience of its own. A sea of humanity is overwhelming. Many streets are virtually impassable by vehicles and even by pedestrians because they are fully packed by vendors, who sell their merchandise at cheap prices.

This has left shop owners and other legally registered traders in the area complaining about their inability to compete with vendors, who sell their products at throw away prices.

But for Kariakoo traders, vendors are only part of the problem. The unfriendly business environment in Kariakoo, would, even without the menace of vendors, make their businesses unprofitable.

They complain about numerous charges and fees, erratic power supply, which means they have to spend money on fuel to run standby generators daily, a poor sewerage system and lack of parking spaces.

Charges, according to shopkeepers, include exorbitant garbage collection fees and over-the-roof space rentals.

In light of this, traders appeal to the responsible authorities to improve the business environment in line with creating a good sewage system and parking.

Those, who spoke to The Citizen, say the situation is such that doing business in Kariakoo as a formal and registered trader is almost impossible. But it is the problem of vendors that tends to get under the skin of many traders, who spoke to The Citizen.

Mr Omela Omela, an electronics trader and a shop owner in Kariakoo, says multiple charges are a major hindrance to his business.

He pays Sh900,000 in rent for a stall, whose length and width stand at 3.5 metres and 2.5 metres respectively.

The monthly wage for his five shop assistants and electricity bills stand at Sh750,000 and Sh200,000 respectively. Garbage fees stand at Sh12, 000 per month.

“The presence of vendors almost everywhere on the streets and their merchandise, which they sell cheaper than we do are among the problems we are facing in our business,” Mr Omela notes.

He says if the government cannot deal with the problem of vendors and hawkers, it should, at least, reduce the high cost of doing business by ensuring reliable power supply, among other things.

“High operational costs do not match the profit we make as we are often forced to lower prices,” Mr Omela told The Citizen.

He says his daily profit stands at an average of Sh45,000, but it could be higher than that if he did not have to use his standby generator every day to test radios and TV sets before selling them to customers.

“For us, the fear of multiple charges is the beginning of wisdom. So, I appeal to the authorities for a more business-friendly tax regime so that we can improve our business performance,” he says.

Mr Jackson Lang’o, a mobile phone dealer in Kariakoo, also laments that exorbitant charges and fees impart negatively on his business.

“This is daylight robbery… we are being exploited and our businesses are suffering, thanks to the high and numerous charges that are hanging over our heads,” complains Mr Lang’o.

His sentiments reflect the general feeling am

SOURCE:THE CITIZEN