The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
30 June 2008
editorial
Reports that police in Kilimanjaro Region have seized 4,248 tonnes of food as they were about to be smuggled into Kenya serve to show the lengths to which unscrupulous traders are prepared to go to flout the Government's ban on food exports.
In addition to the food, police have also impounded 30 trucks that were being used to transport the cargo and made several arrests, according to the regional police chief Ramadhani Baruti.
The seizures are good news, but cannot be cause for celebration as we don't know how much food has found its way out of the country since Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives minister Stephen Wassira announce a halt to food exports two months ago to stave off price rises caused by diminished supply.
We hope that police in other border areas are as vigilant as their colleagues in Kilimanjaro Region because this is the only way that traders seeking to smuggle food out of the country can be prevented from profiteering at the expense of Tanzanians who are reeling under the burden of high food prices.
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