EDITORIAL: Hats off to Ngorongoro, but it's no time to relax

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) in Tanzania’s northern tourism circuit is an expansive, 809,440-hectare area well-known for its rugged terrain of savannah woodlands/forests, archeological sites (including Oldupai Gorge, where remains of the earliest humans were found); picturesque volcanic craters, exotic wildlife, UN World Heritage Site status and more.

It shouldn’t, therefore, be surprising that Ngorongoro has surpassed numerous other tourist attractions in Tanzania, becoming the country’s premier single tourist destination, ahead of several other world-famous sites such as Serengeti National Park and Mount Kilimanjaro.

Ngorongoro currently accounts for over half of the 1.3 million annual visitors to Tanzania. This year, it is projected to host a record 750,000 visitors, generating a hefty Sh156.5 billion, well surpassing the Sh125 billion collected in the 2017/18 financial year.

Tourism deputy minister Japhet Hasunga said when addressing the Ngorongoro Investment Forum in Arusha on Tuesday that the number of tourists visiting NCA continues to surge, which is most heartening. He challenged the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) to establish mechanisms to support investments in, and the diversification of, Tanzanian tourism.

Fair enough…

Admittedly, Ngorongoro is doing splendidly in the tourist arrivals stakes. This is especially so considering that Tanzania has other tourist sites that are unmatched in both numbers and attraction power.

Mount Kilimanjaro – at 5,895 metres above sea-level – is often referred to as “Africa’s rooftop”. It is also the world’s highest free-standing mountain.

This is to say nothing of the likes of the Serengeti (spectacular annual wildebeest migration), Katavi, Selous, Ruaha, Tarangire, Zanzibar (slave trade monuments, pristine beaches) and Mahale Mountains (home to rare chimps).

The relevant authorities and other stakeholders must not to rest on their laurels, but should instead redouble efforts to elevate Tanzania to the world’s preferred tourist destination.

LUGOLA IS RIGHT ON CRIME

Home Affairs minister Kangi Lugola is well known for his controversial remarks and decisions since he was appointed to the docket earlier this month.

However, if there is one thing that Mr Lugola has spoken candidly and accurately about in recent weeks it is the level of violent crime across the country. He echoed the views of hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of Tanzanians when he said that it was unacceptable for businesses not to operate around the clock for fear of being robbed by gun-totting gangsters.

We have reached a point where some businesses that should essentially remain open until well into the night close as early as 4pm just because operators fear for their lives if they opt to remain open after dark. A case in point here is mobile money outlets, which have in recent years been relentlessly targeted by armed robbers who have no qualms about killing fellow human beings just to lay their hands on a few hundred thousand shillings.

This is not to mention the fact that people in some areas, particularly in major urban centres, find themselves at the mercy of vicious gangsters when night falls. Mr Lugola was right when he asked whether the Police Force had surrendered to criminals.