Uganda’s Director at the East African Business Council (EABC), Oscar Kamukama, has expressed concern over the Tanzanian government’s decision to bar non-citizens including fellow EAC citizens from participating in a range of small and medium-sized enterprises, describing the move as a step backward for the region’s integration agenda and warning that such restrictions risk undermining the spirit and commitments of East African cooperation.
Speaking from Kampala, Kamukama said that while every sovereign state has the right to regulate its economy, Tanzania’s directive appears to contradict the obligations enshrined in the East African Community (EAC) Common Market Protocol, which guarantees the free movement of goods, services, people and capital across Partner States.
“As East Africans, we have committed ourselves to building a unified economic bloc that thrives on cross-border collaboration and shared prosperity. Policies that hinder participation by fellow East Africans create uncertainty and weaken the very fabric of our regional integration agenda” Kamukama asserted.
He called for urgent constructive dialogue among EAC members to harmonize national policies with regional commitments, urging policymakers to uphold the principles of inclusivity and non-discrimination if the region’s integration agenda is to succeed.
“We cannot afford to let the EAC devolve into a fragmented bloc where rules are optional and commitments are conditional,” Kamukama added.
Kamukama remarks come in response to a sweeping order issued by the Government of Tanzania on 28th July 2025, barring non-Tanzania citizens from participating in fifteen categories of business.
The directive, published under the Business Licensing (Prohibition of Business Activities for Non-Citizens) Order, 2025, was made pursuant to Section 14A (2) of Tanzania’s Business Licensing Act (Cap. 101).
The Order, signed by Minister for Industry and Trade Selemani Saidi Jafo, explicitly prohibits non-citizens from engaging in various sectors, including wholesale and retail trade (excluding supermarkets and specialty outlets), mobile money transfers, phone and electronics repair, salon services (unless hotel-based), parcel delivery, tour guiding, real estate brokerage, and the operation of small and micro industries.
Tanzanian government directed licensing authorities to neither issue nor renew business licences for non-citizens intending to operate in these sectors.
Violators, upon conviction, face a minimum fine of 10 million Tanzanian shillings [Ugx equivalent 14 million], up to six months in prison, and revocation of residence permits. Tanzanian nationals who assist non-citizens to bypass the ban also face fines and imprisonment.
A transitional clause permits non-citizens who already hold valid licences to continue operations only until those licences expire, after which renewal will be denied.
“Tanzania, paradoxically one of the larger and more strategically placed economies in the region with direct access to the Indian Ocean should be leading efforts to foster integration. The progress we’ve made as a region has been hard-earned. We must be careful not to reverse it through policies that alienate our own citizens. If Partner States selectively implement EAC protocols, the very credibility of the regional project is at stake. Integration only works when all EAC sides feel seen, respected, and protected” he said.
The EABC, as the voice of the private sector in East Africa, is expected to engage Tanzanian authorities and regional institutions in the coming weeks to seek clarity and potential review of the directive.
For now, the business community across the region is watching closely, hoping that the path forward will favour open markets over isolation, and dialogue over divergence.
