ARUSHA: THE government has urged residents who want to be relocated from Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) to Msomera Village in Handeni District, Tanga Region to follow the right procedures to avoid inconveniences.
This was stated on Sunday by the Chief Government Spokesperson Mr Mobhare Matinyi, during a press briefing in Arusha.
He said there are reports that some people from NCA are travelling to Msomera to greet their relatives and upon seeing conducive environment they opt to stay put, leading to accommodation problems and other services.
“I would like to emphasise that all those who want to move to Msomera should follow the required procedures for moving there to avoid inconvenience. This opinion is based on information that some people from Ngorongoro went to Msomera to greet their relatives and after seeing the environment attractive, they decided to remain there and in the course creating housing and other services challenges,” said Mr Matinyi.
He said that the government’s plan is to build 5,000 houses that are expected to accommodate households that will move to Msomera and other allocated areas.
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In the same vein, he noted that a total of 263 houses in Msomera Village have been completed and ready to accommodate new families being relocated from NCA, adding that they will arrive in Msomera this week.
According to him, since the second phase started on August 24, 2023 to April 28, 2024, about 822 households with 5,354 people have migrated.
Out of this, some 745 households with 4,855 people have moved to Msomera and 77 households with 499 members have gone to other parts of the country and the number of livestock moved by people from pastoral community is 21,136.
“In the first phase of this exercise which started on June 16, 2022 to January 18, 2023, a total of 551 households with 3,010 people moved. Out of the number, 503 households with 2,692 people moved to Msomera and 48 households with 318 people choosing to go to other areas of the country in more than eight regions, The total number of livestock that migrated in this phase was 15,321,” he noted.
“So far, 1,500 houses are still under construction in order to attain the required number of 2,500 houses in Msomera,” Mr Matinyi said.
Again, he pointed out that 1,500 houses at Kitwai Village in Simanjiro District and the other 1,000 houses in Saunyi Village are yet to be constructed.
“All construction works of the houses is being done by the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) with full funding from the government,” he pointed out.
He said that the authorities in Ngorongoro have continued to strengthen conservation activities by strengthening the protection of wildlife resources and animal species, such as rhinoceros which are increasing becoming rare in the world.
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“Ngorongoro is a special place for black rhinos which flourishes in their natural habitat and the authority is doing a commendable job to protect the area. Likewise, the authority has continued to fight and control invasive plants and strengthen pastures for wildlife in various areas,” explained the government spokesperson.
He added that Ngorongoro continues to receive a big number of tourists, citing between July 2023 and April 2024, when it received 780,281 tourists just two months before the end of 2023/24 financial year.
“In terms of the collected revenue, it was 188.5bn/- surpassing the initial target of 155.4bn/-, which has overtaken that of the year 2022/23 that attracted 752,000 tourists. These are the fruits of Tanzania: The Royal Tour film spearheaded by President Samia Suluhu Hassan,” he said.
Additionally, he said that in order to achieve the target of voluntarily relocating families with full respect of human rights, the government and NCA conducted educative, awareness and registration exercise in collaboration with leaders and government officials in the area.
“All these are being done to make people aware about the importance of voluntary relocation and ensuring that the entire procedure unfolds smoothly,” he said.
He continued: “Relocation is done after settling compensation and other procedures required to get them transferred.
“We ensure that they get the befitting services all the way during their transfer to Msomera or any other place they choose to go…for those who select to go to other regions in the country, they are paid 15m/- per family other than 10m/-.”
Moreover, he narrated that for those relocating to Msomera; they are given two bags of maize after every three months per family for 18 months as they prepare to cultivate the land.
Also, primary and secondary schools are constructed, health centres, milk selling areas, modern auction places, water infrastructures, roads, electricity, postal services as well as proper security services.