Tanzania minister: Foreigners come as investors, then become petty traders

People going about their business at the famous Kariakoo market in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

Tanzania says it imposed a ban on foreigners from doing certain businesses to stop a continual abuse of investment rules under which they had entered the country.

Trade and Industry Minister Selemani Jafo, speaking for the first time since announcing the ban three weeks ago, said Tanzania was not targeting a specific nationality but protecting locals from unfair competition in petty trade.