Posted  Friday, February 24  2012 at  00:00

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/World/-/688340/1333586/-/1222cba/-/

Worries. The business community say the blacklisting of the country by the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering will hinder business transactions.

The business community in Tanzania has asked the government to urgently organise a stakeholders’ meeting to look into the blacklisting of the country over claims of money laundering.

The business leaders are anxious to see a quick solution to the crisis, which has seen the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) blacklist the country for failing to meet international standards of doing business. They asserted that the international money-laundering watchdog’s action could have serious business consequences for the country.

Financial transactions to and from Tanzania would, for example, be subjected to more intense scrutiny.

Ghana, Thailand, Pakistan and Indonesia are also on the FATF list released on Tuesday. Mr Mtemi Naluyaga, the chief executive officer of the Tanzania Exporters Association (Tanexa), said the FATF move would have multiple and immediate impact on both importers and exporters of goods and services.

“This is because, as a nation, we have already lost the confidence our counterparts had on us,” he said. “Once they learn about this, it will further erode their trust in us. Our businesses are going to suffer as some of them may stop doing business with us because the country has failed to meet the international standards in financial management.”

Blacklisting would make it even harder for the government to woo more prospective foreign investors and business persons.

“In essence, this blacklisting means that it will now take longer to complete business transactions originating in or coming to Tanzania,” Mr Naluyaga said. “There will be a lot of questions asked in order to authenticate the clarity of the money used.”

The Tanexa CEO argued further that the development boils down to lack of integrity and transparency in decision-making in government, which stands accused of not being keen on checking money laundering. The move has also sent ripples across local boardrooms. Mr Ali Mufuruki, chairman of the InfoTech Investment Group, described the FATF ranking as a bad development and asked the government to explain how the country got to such a state.

Mr Abdukadir Mohamed, the Tanzania Air Services Limited director, said the blacklisting would affect such key economic sectors as tourism, mining and agriculture that are highly dependent on foreign exchange and international trade.

“This will make the export business hard,” he said. “It’s obvious that only a few greedy Tanzanians are involved in this game, but we’re all affected as the image of the country is tarnished.”