Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE government has ordered for the arrest of five police officers stationed at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) over involvement in criminal acts, including human trafficking.
Speaking at JNIA on Saturday, Minister for Home Affairs, Mr George Simbachawene said the government learnt of the presence of a syndicate consisting of police and immigration officers who involve themselves in criminal activities at the airport, including facilitating acts related to human trafficking and engaging in corruption.
The minister issued the order a day after another four police officers in the city were expelled for breach of code of conduct, involvement in thievery and corruption.
The minister visited the JNIA on Saturday as part of his three-day tour of inspecting activities of the police force in the city.
Speaking to journalists after touring the airport, Mr Simbachawene pointed out that the five law enforcers formed their network for trafficking of Tanzanian youths for domestic work in Arab countries through the airport.
The minister further noted that the officers were forcing foreign travellers to give them bribes by implicating them in criminal offences.
He said plans were underway to install a system at the airport that will ensure every traveller is inspected, contrary to the current situation where a police officer decides who to inspect.
Meanwhile, Air Tanzania Company Ltd (ATCL) has introduced two flights per week to the Geita Airport; the trips will be on Saturdays and Mondays.
After January 18 this year, the ATCL flights will run its trips three times a week, including Monday, Thursday and Saturday, starting from Dar es Salaam to Geita through Mwanza
Geita is among fertile regions which are rich in crops such as cotton, maize, rice, cassava, potatoes, sunflower and ground nuts which are expected to boost people’s incomes after improvement of infrastructure.
Besides, the region has been blessed with minerals, which includes the largest mine, Geita Gold mine and other small miners.
Introducing the new route will add the value chain, particularly in the areas of minerals, agriculture and tourism for the region to continue to grow at a fast rate.
The region is also home to national parks, including Burigi and Rubondo, therefore more tourist will use the airline and boost other economic activities.
The government is continuing with implementing the CCM manifesto of 2020-2025 by improving transport infrastructure to ensure all areas in the country are easily reached.
Such improvement is focused to ensure people are benefiting from the available value chains found in their areas.
In improving air transport in the country, the country has already procured 11 planes, including five Dash 8 Q-400 which can accommodate between 76 and 78 passengers in short routes, four Airbus A220-300s and two Boeing 787 Dreamliner with a capacity of 262 passengers.
He observed that out of the 11 aircrafts, the country has already received eight planes which have begun their routes in various destinations within and outside the country.
Eng Chamriho pointed out that two passenger planes, Airbus 220-300s are expected to arrive between August and October this year, while another plane, Dash 8 Q-400 will arrive early February.
In ensuring people access air transport at close proximity, ATCL provides services in 11 destinations, including Geita, Bukoba, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Kilimanjaro, Songwe, Mpanda, Mwanza, Tabora, Kigoma and Zanzibar.
The government has also embarked on revamping airports infrastructure in Iringa, Songea and Arusha, whose improvement will be completed soon, making up a total of 15 routes which the airline will be making countrywide.
