IPPmedia
Thursday, March 14, 2013
The immigration department has said it has only 3,000 officers and
needs 5,000 more to effectively play its role of controlling and
monitoring movements of people into and from Tanzania and boosting
national security.
The department’s acting spokesperson, Tatu Burhan,
said, in an exclusive interview with The Guardian in Dar es Salaam
yesterday that the optimum number for now is 8,000 officers.
She explained that the department is also short of
modern working tools, including motor vehicles, “but the shortage of
personnel and other resources such as equipment has not prevented us
from performing our duties to satisfaction at the country’s 54 legal
entry points”.
“For sure we don’t have enough human resources that
would help us easily administer all these entry points but the few we
have, have done a tremendous job and deserve commendation for work well
done,” she said.
According to her, the department is keen to see
that no illegal immigrants make their way into the country, “but those
who adhere to the laws are welcome”.
She said illegal immigrants as well as human
trafficking cannot be checked by the government alone as there are
various movements right from the immigrants’ countries of origin
involved.
Nevertheless, she pointed out that her department
has always collaborated with countries bordering Tanzania, as well as
the immigrants’ countries of origin when looking for solutions.
Burhan said most immigrants discovered during operations have always been from Ethiopia, Somalia and Bangladesh.
Moreover, she asked the public to cooperate with the department by giving it tips on any person living in the country illegally.
When reached for comment, the shadow minister for
Home Affairs, Vicent Nyerere (Musoma Urban MP, Chadema) said the
government should use this opportunity (of vacancies in the department)
to offer jobs to the country’s unemployed youths.
He said the growth of the country should be seen by the people through improved services, including their own security.
According to him, boundaries of any country are
supposed to be protected at any cost. In the circumstances, there is no
need for the government to hesitate to allocate enough funds for the
department, he said.
Nyerere further proposed that the Immigration
Department should be mandated to use the money it collects through non
tax revenue items for its operations instead of submitting it to the
Treasury.
“The Immigration Department should be allowed to
use the money it collects for the improvement of its services…this would
help to do away with the current unnecessary delays experienced when it
applies for funds from the Treasury, “ he said.
For his part, Kasulu Urban MP Moses Machali blamed
the department officials in Kigoma Region for their poor cooperation
with the lawmakers.
“When it comes to anything that deals with national
security, we need to come together regardless of our political
ideologies…. Surprisingly the Immigration Department in Kigoma Region
has been neglecting us… and this makes it difficult for them to execute
their duties,” he lamented.