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March
10, 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
Greetings from Tanzania! Michael had a busy day in
Sumbawanga the other day
getting our car registered. What he had to go through what
seems rather
normal to us now, but thought you all might enjoy hearing what
is involved
living in a country like Tanzania and why patience is a good
thing to
possess!!
First he went to the TRA (Tax Revenue Authority) building to
find out what
he needed to do. Just because you did something one way
last year, doesn't
mean it is the same! So he waits in line for a while at
TRA and they send
him first to the police station for a vehicle inspection.
He gets to the police station and goes to the vehicle inspector.
He fills
out all of the paperwork (they love paperwork here!) about the
vehicle and
indicates that it is in good condition. The car is only a
year old, so we
hope it is in good condition! The inspector signs the
documents indicating
the car is in good condition - but he never looked at the car!!!
Then
Michael has to go to another building at the police station to
pay 5000
shillings (or close to $5) to pay for the inspection.
From there he has to go back to TRA, wait in line again, and
then fill out
the necessary paperwork for the registration, after showing the
very valid
vehicle inspection. After waiting a while, they fill out
more paperwork.
The processing seems to be going smoothly so far, until suddenly
the person
behind the counter realizes that the size of the car's engine is
not listed
on the title! Starting this year the cost of the
registration is based on
the size of the engine - how in the world will they know what he
has to pay
without that being listed on the title. In fact, they
don't think he can
register the car without that. They now decide that he has
to go back to
the police station to have the engine inspected and fill out the
necessary
paperwork for a new title that lists the engine size. If
you know Michael,
you know he is good at talking his way out of things (or into
them, whatever
the case may be). Sure enough, he got them to agree that
he could tell them
the engine size this year and that next year he would have the
new title.
Getting something like a new title could take the better
part of a year in
this country!
So, now that this problem is taken care of, he has to go to the
bank to pay
to register the vehicle. Of course, he has to wait in line
at the bank,
too! Last year the registration cost $20, this year it was
$300! Prices
have gone up considerably in this country, but this is rather
extreme.
Because the size of the engine wasn't on the title, he offered
to pay the
same as last year (knowing the price had gone up), and got a
good laugh from
all the people behind the counter.
After waiting in line and paying for the registration at the
bank, he then
goes to a stationary store to make a copy of the bank receipt to
give to the
people at TRA. Thankfully the electricity was
working in town, or he would
have had to stop at this point in the process. Before he
can go back to
TRA, however, he needs to take a break and meet me at the market
to load the
50 pounds of flour and 25 pounds of sugar that I bought, along
with about 44
pounds of rice. Not something I can carry around in a
shopping bag!
Believe it or not, this amount only lasts a couple of weeks!
OK, so now, back to TRA and wait in line again. He gives
them proof of
insurance (which doesn't do much good here even if your car gets
wrecked)
and the copy of the bank receipt and they again fill out
paperwork. From
there it is off to another office where they will print the
registration.
All appears to be going well and he only has to wait an hour or
so and come
back and get the registration. So, three hours later
(after lunch with his
wife of fish and rice), he returns and alas, the registration
isn't ready!
Can he come back again? So he returns just before closing
one hour later
and finally gets the registration.
So, end of story. Never again should you mind the time
spent in the
Secretary of State's office trying to register your vehicle.
At least you
can take care of everything in one place!
Have a great day. You are special to us.
With love from Africa,
Mike and Lynn Caraway
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