Tanzania Bureau of Standards officers raid market in Dar es Salaam.
The Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) has launched a nationwide operation to rid the country of secondhand undergarments.
Last week, TBS officers raided Tandika Market in Dar es Salaam and confiscated underwear.
TBS inspector Mr Emmanuel Simon said the operation is aimed at ensuring secondhand underclothing is not used by Tanzanians over risks of contracting skin diseases.
“The campaign is in accordance with the Standards Act of 2009 that prevents the use of secondhand undergarments," he said.
A director of the Forum of Businesspeople, Mr Silver Siondo, disowned importers and traders of used underpants saying they were not members of the association.
“We have not registered them; we don’t know them. We help our members who are in trouble only,’’ said Mr Siondo told MCL Digital on Monday.
Tariffs
In 2016, Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda increased tariffs on imported used clothes with the aim of boosting their local textile industries and eventually phasing out second-hand apparel.
But Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda abandoned the joint position after threats by the US to review their Agoa status. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) grants the countries duty-free access to the US market.