- 50 Somalis granted permits under dubious circumstances
- President orders suspension of senior official
PRESIDENT John Magufuli has directed the Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa, to suspend the Deputy Commissioner of Immigration, Grace Hokororo, over allegations of granting residence permits to 50 Somali nationals contrary to the laws.
The Premier, however, ordered the Home
Affairs Minister, Mr Mwigulu Nchemba to form a committee to investigate
the entire process of issuing residence permits in the country.
In a meeting with immigration
commissioners in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Mr Majaliwa said that it was
unacceptable to provide foreigners with residence permits without
conducting thorough investigations.
“We depend on Immigration Department to
oversee our borders and control the loopholes of people entering the
country without observing the required procedures, but the deputy
commissioner for her own interests has allowed the Somali nationals to
enter into the country contrary to the procedures,” he said.
The PM said that investigations must be
done to establish the reason behind the issuance of the permits to the
Somalis, who were not in the country but entered into Tanzania and were
granted the permits.
“This act cannot be tolerated.” He said
the government depends on Immigration Department to control illegal
immigrants in the country, that is why the President has ordered the
official to be suspended to allow investigations to establish the
motive.
“These Somalis who were given residence
permits were not living in the country, they just came and were granted
the permits, thus the President has directed the immigration official to
stay aside to pave the way for investigations,” he said.
Mr Majaliwa also directed the
Immigration Department to control the department which provide passports
for diplomats and ensure that those who concluded their tenure are not
provided with the documents.
“The documents are supposed to be
inspected at all borders and other areas in order to establish whether
the owners are still having the status of using them and if there will
be any doubt, you should hold them because there are people who are
misusing the travelling documents,” he said.
He further ordered for thorough
inspections to all people who have applied for passports and residence
permits if they have met legal requirements.
Early this year, Dar es Salaam Regional
Immigration Office embarked on a crackdown on foreigners without
residence or work permits. The department also vowed to take measures
against officials who issue foreigners with fake documents
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