Editorial

EDITORIAL

Clear parking hours are welcome but some questions remain…

Arusha City Council’s clarification last week of parking fee collection hours addresses a longstanding source of motorists’ frustration. The rules are now clear: fees may be collected from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm on weekdays, until 1:00 pm on Saturdays and not at all on Sundays or public holidays. This is a welcome step.

The clarification should reduce disputes between motorists and parking attendants and make enforcement more consistent. However motorists also need to know where parking fees apply.

The regulations refer to designated parking areas. The council should therefore publish a list of the streets and spaces, where parking fees apply, clearly mark parking bays and install in signs where possible. Motorists should not be expected to pay simply because they have stopped somewhere in the city. Nor should they have to guess whether a space attracts a fee before leaving their vehicle.

Charging for parking where there are no marked bays or other clear indications of an authorised parking area would be difficult to justify. Clear designation would also improve financial accountability: it would help establish how many chargeable spaces exist, what revenue might reasonably be expected and whether collections match the use of those spaces.

The public should also be able to see how much parking revenue is collected, what it costs to administer the system and how much any surplus is spent. Parking fees are public revenue and should openly be accounted for.

The council’s clarification is a good start. Clear information on parking locations, proper marking, transparent billing and public reporting should be built on the system and strengthen confidence on it.

Latest posts

court

TEACHER LOSES CASE ON TECHNICAL GROUNDS

BY KUSEKWA KUSEKWA Former Teacher and Security Guard with Jaerim Primary School, owned by the Registered Trustees of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church of Tanzania, Baraka Chinganga, has lost the labour dispute in which he had sought to challenge the termination of his employment. That followed a decision of the High Court, Arusha Sub-Registry,…

Read More

ARUSHA GEARS UP FOR EALA GAMES

BY THE ARUSHA NEWS REPORTER Preparations are in the final stages for the 16th East African Community (EAC) Inter-Parliamentary Games, scheduled to take place in Arusha from December 4-15, 2026. According to a press release issued by EALA Senior Public Relations Officer, Nicodemus Ajak Bior, the Bureau of Speakers of EAC national legislatures approved the…

Read More

UTUMISHI CROWNED NETBALL CHAMPIONS

FROM THE ARUSHA NEWS REPORTER IN MOSHI Utumishi Sports Club narrowly defeated Ikulu 28-27 in a thrilling final to be crowned netball champions of this year’s Inter-Ministry and Regional Sports Competition (SHIMISETA) at the Co-operative College (Ushirika). The Games were officially closed on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. The event, which began on September 23, had…

Read More

POLICE TO ACT TOUGH ON ‘BODABODA’

FROM THE ARUSHA NEWS CORRESPONDENT IN DAR ES SALAAM The police has launched nationwide crackdown on violation of road traffic laws by motorcycle and tricycle taxi riders popularly known as “bodaboda” and “bajaj” respectively, against the backdrop of accidents that claimed 287 lives, roughly one person every day, last year. Traffic Police Commander, William Mkonda,…

Read More

ONOVO SCOOPS 5 MEDALS IN ARUSHA SWIMMING GALA

BY THE ARUSHA NEWS REPORTER Zimbabwean swimmer Nikkie Onovo won three gold and two silver medals during the two-day Arusha International Masters Swimming Championship last week. Her victories included the women’s 100-metre freestyle and 50-metre butterfly. She also secured silver medals in the 100-metre backstroke and 100-metre individual medley. The championship was held at the…

Read More

SHIMIWI GAMES TO CLOSE ON THURSDAY

FROM THE ARUSHA NEWS REPORTER IN MOSHI The three-week SHIMIWI 2026 Games in Moshi will draw to a close on Thursday, 7 October, 2026. The bonanza, which began on 23 September, had attracted over 2000 public servants representing ministries, departments, government agencies and regional administrative offices. The nine sports featured are football, netball, athletics, tug…

Read More