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Ilala applies brakes to guest house craze
2007-09-02 10:23:34
By Staff Repoter
A by-law is in the offing to discourage registration and construction of new guest houses in Ilala municipality because it is alarmed by the many unlicensed such houses which are also suspected of being home to bandits and prostitution.
The municipal`s Information Officer, Tabu Shaibu, told this newspaper recently that registered guest houses pay a tax of 20% of their income to the municipality but because of the presence of unregistered ones, the tax revenue melts into thin air.
Tabu said: ``The municipality has decided to work on this bylaw because there has been an increase in unregistered guest houses. We are gaining nothing from them.``
She added: ``Some of these guest houses are nothing but brothels. Even pupils and students are hidden to perform the oldest trade when they are supposed to be attending school.``
She has appealed to the public to assist the municipality of only 110 registered guest houses to identify the unregistered ones and those under construction so that measures are taken to arrest the situation.
``One of the ways to recognize unregistered guest houses is the absence of a billboard,`` she added.
She mentioned Buguruni, Pugu, Vingunguti, and Tabata as leading in operating unregistered guest houses but local authorities were not responsive in checking the situation although she could not say what steps would be taken against them.
Many clandestine one-to-ten roomed guest houses are close to bar counters where it is easy to make quick passes.
They charge manageable rates of as low as 1,000/- unlike authentic ones which charge between 10,000/- and 15,000/- per day.
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