Tourism and Natural Resources Minister Lazaro Nyalandu.
Mr Nyalandu said the ban was in bad taste and did
not augur well for business and diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“For Kenya to enforce the ban that was earlier lifted because Tanzania has
asked for more time (for talks) is an act that lacks wisdom and sense
diplomacy,” he said on his twitter handle last evening.
It was
the first time that the minister openly commented on the growing rift following
last Friday’s decision to lock out Tanzanian vans from the JKIA in Nairobi
where they pick and drop tourists. The ban was announced by Kenyan minister for
East Africa Co-operation and Tourism Phyllis Kandie who
blamed Tanzania for failing to convene talks on the matter as earlier planned.
Her
move has sparked off an uproar on social media which forced her to also take
into the same platform to explain her decision. Ms Kandie said the ban was temporary and meant
to allow for talks between the two countries on the way forward. “The
government gives priority to Kenyans; we have enforced the 1985 bilateral
agreement. Talks are on to have a solution, KE & TZ are on the same team,”
she twitted.
For his
part, Mr Nyalandu says
he held talks with Ms Kandie on
January 16, after which the ban was lifted the following day. He notes that the
agreement was that ministerial experts from Kenya and Tanzania meet within
three weeks to iron out any differences.
Mr Nyalandu said Tanzania, however, asked for more
time following a request from the ministries of EA Community and that of
Transport.
Mr
Samuel Sitta who
had been in charge of the EAC docket was recently moved to the Transport docket
in a Cabinet reshuffle. He swapped places with Dr HarrisonMwakyembe. Mr Sitta last week, while referring to the
standoff, said Tanzania should approach the negotiations with caution.
Kigoma North
MP Zitto Kabwe was
among those who led in the attack on Ms Kandie, asking her to withdraw the ban because
it was against the spirit of EAC integration.
“I
plead that Kenyan government lift the ban or direct it to parks only in the
spirit of EAC,” tweeted Mr Kabwe. The opposition MP said reasons given
for the ban were misleading as the airport was not among the areas designated
for restriction in the 1985 agreement. Ms Kandie, however, said the agreement covered
both national parks, game reserves and airports.
in Arusha,
players in the tourism and business sectors said the ban was a wake-up call to
make its tourism sector more competitive, including having a working national
airline.
The
measures should include expanding and modernising the Kilimanjaro International
Airport (Kia) and other airports so that they can attract more airlines and
direct flights from abroad, according to Mr Walter Maeda, a prominent hotelier.
“The
problem is that KIA does not have the capacity to handle thousands of
travellers… Nairobi can”, he told The Citizen yesterday when reached on phone
to comment on the crisis.
The
hotelier noted that instead of the government constructing airports all over
the country, more resources should be directed to expand and modernise Kia and
JuliusNyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Salaam.
He
warned that the current stand-off was a clear indication that next time the
vans would have to drop tourists at Namanga border
town.
Mr
Andrew Luzze, the executive director of the East
African Business Council (EABC), an apex body of private sector associations in
the region based in Arusha also
faulted the ban.
But a
travel consultant based in Arusha, Mr Elisha Mayalla,
said the Kenyans were simply implementing the 1985 bilateral agreement with
Tanzania made shortly after the re-opening of the common borders.
The
executive secretary of the Tourism Confederation of Tanzania (TCT) Richard Rugimbana also exonerated Kenya, saying the
neighbouring country was acting in accordance with the 1985 agreement.
He said
to the best of his knowledge, airports were not designated as drop-off points
for the tourists under the agreement, stressing: “We should go back to find out
what the document says before taking any move.”
He
called on officials from the two countries to meet and review the bilateral
agreement so that they arrive at an amicable solution.
He said
despite the introduction of direct flights to Tanzania from some major tourism
source countries, JKIA continues to receive a significant number of visitors
from abroad heading to Tanzania.
However,
he warned that the Kenyan move can be part of the pressure being made, mainly
through the EAC, to force Tanzania to open up all her borders for tourists from
Kenya, including the Bologonja border
post on the Serengeti/Maasai Mara border. The post was closed in
the late 1970s.
On
Saturday, the Natural Resources and Tourism permanent secretary Dr Adelhelm Meru met with representatives of tour
operators in Arusha as
the ban on the Tanzanian shuttles to access JKIA started to bite.
Source:
The Citizen
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