Minister of Finance, Dr. Mwigulu Nchemba has said that from July 1, 2024, all local stakeholders, public institutions, businessmen, civil organizations, international organizations and all people in Tanzania who have the habit of setting prices on services or selling products in foreign currency, stop immediately and ensure the prices of those products and services are announced and paid in the Tanzanian Shilling.
Presenting the Central Government Budget for the Financial Year 2024/2025 in Parliament in Dodoma today June 13, 2024, Mwigulu has been quoted as saying “if you have foreign currency you have to change it through banks or legal currency exchange shops and then make payments using Tanzanian shillings, I direct the Central Bank along with other relevant agencies to continue to control this issue, to monitor closely to identify all those who continue to make those mistakes and take appropriate action in accordance with the law, we make every payment in foreign currency, and then when the shilling depreciates, we wonder where we went wrong"
“Tanzanians are promoting the problem of lack of dollars for some people to demand payment or make payment for goods and services provided locally using foreign currency, that is, dollarization, the Institute is in Tanzania and perhaps even the Government Institute sells services to a Tanzanian, it tells him to pay in dollars, Other institutions want a person to pay a fee in dollars, to pay rent in dollars, work permits, licenses and so on in dollars”
“We make Tanzanians struggle to find foreign currency to buy services provided in their country instead of making foreigners struggle to find the Tanzanian shilling when they want services in the country, this causes an increase in the unnecessary demand for foreign currency and deprives people of opportunities who need foreign currency to pay for essential goods and services from abroad, the act of selling domestic products or services using foreign currency is an offense according to section 26 of the Central Bank law of 2006 which specifies that the Tanzanian shilling is the only legal currency for domestic payments"
“In addition, I direct all Government institutions that charge various taxes, fees and charges in foreign currency to amend their regulations so that the fees are paid in shillings, even if a foreigner comes with foreign currency, it is better to change it into Tanzanian currency so that he can get services” Dr. Mwigulu said.
