Tanzania has made significant progress in strengthening its systems to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and the financing of weapons of mass destruction, Finance Minister Ambassador Khamis Mussa Omar has said.
Ambassador Omar said the progress had been demonstrated through the country's successful completion of a mutual evaluation by the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG), although he acknowledged that some areas still require further reforms.
Speaking in Kigali during the 26th ESAAMLG Council of Ministers meeting, the minister said the government was implementing measures to address gaps identified during the assessment and strengthen the country's financial system.
“We have laws and a national committee to address these issues. The achievements are significant, but there are still 15 areas that we are working on, including amendments to 12 laws identified as requiring improvement in both Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar,” Ambassador Omar said.
The reforms are aimed at strengthening Tanzania's ability to prevent illicit funds from entering the formal financial system while improving the country's capacity to detect and disrupt financing linked to terrorism and other serious financial crimes.
Ambassador Omar said four laws on the Mainland had already been passed by Parliament during its ongoing session.
In Zanzibar, he said, the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar was expected to table bills seeking to amend three other laws, part of efforts to complete the reforms identified through the evaluation process.
The minister credited the progress to cooperation among several government institutions, including the Ministry of Finance, financial-sector regulators, the Ministry of Constitutional and Legal Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs and other agencies working through the National Anti-Money Laundering Committee.
The reforms come as Tanzania seeks to strengthen the credibility and resilience of its financial sector and ensure that economic growth is supported by sound financial governance.
Effective anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing systems are also important in protecting financial institutions from abuse, strengthening investor confidence and safeguarding legitimate businesses from illicit financial flows.
The Kigali meeting brought together finance, justice and home affairs ministers, permanent secretaries, financial-sector regulators and senior officials from ESAAMLG member states.
The regional grouping is working to strengthen cooperation among member countries in detecting, preventing and disrupting money laundering, terrorism financing and the financing of weapons of mass destruction.
Tanzania's delegation included Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs Dr Juma Homera, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Constitutional and Legal Affairs Dr Seif Abdallah Shekalaghe, Zanzibar Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Planning Aboud Hassan Mwinyi and Financial Intelligence Unit Commissioner Majaba Magana.
Others were Bank of Tanzania Deputy Governor Sauda Msemo, who also chairs the National Anti-Money Laundering Committee of Experts, alongside heads of institutions, financial-sector specialists, regulators and development partners.
Ambassador Omar said Tanzania would continue implementing the outstanding reforms as it seeks to close the gaps identified in the mutual evaluation and further strengthen the country's financial governance framework.