Lukuvi’s orders on use of Coco Beach

 Dar es Salaam. Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlement Development William Lukuvi yesterday issued sweeping executive orders two days after he was sworn in, reiterating that Coco Beach in Oysterbay will remain a public place.

Addressing senior officials of the ministry yesterday after reporting on duty since he took the oath of office at the weekend, Mr Lukuvi directed ministry officials to meet Kinondoni Municipal Council officials and report back to him in one week over the matter.

“I want you to tell me implementition of the Oysterbay Beach development project that covers the whole seafront from the intersection of Kenyatta and Ali Hassan Mwinyi roads to Sea Cliff hotel would start,” said Mr Lukuvi.

However, he noted that the development project would not involve construction of high rise buildings, “As President Magufuli said the whole area is and will remain open and free to Tanzanians of all walks of life. From there we will know how to deal with those who have invaded the area,” he said.

When he met with members of the business community earlier this month, President Magufuli reportedly made reference to the area and was quoted as saying he was disturbed to see “a wealthy business person bribing officials to encroach public land for his own interest.”

The businessman behind the controversial leasing of the area is Mr Yusuf Manji who last week wrote President Magufuli asking him to institute an independent investigation under State House over the matter.

According to Mr Manji the sale of the area was initiated by Kinondoni Municipal Council way back in 2005 when they issued a tender which one of his companies won. He said the President was misinformed that the development would ultimately block the public from accessing the area.

However, with the minister’s reaction yesterday, the government seems determined not to see any major development which would involve permanent structures. In another development Mr Lukuvi has also directed his officials to go to Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) and collect information of all investors who were provided with huge chunks of land. “I want you to report to me on Monday with the names of all the investors, the size of land that they were allowed to occupy, the status of that land today and if they really utilised it as per their specified requests or they just mortgaged it,” Mr Lukuvi said. According to Lukuvi, who also served in the same ministry in the last months of former President Kikwete’s administration, said he was coming back a new person with new speed. He was also flanked by his deputy minister Angelina Mabula.

He said starting next week the ministry will launch strings of operations to bring back to government or to the people all big farms and plots whose ownership is marred with irregularities or were encroached.

The minister has also called a meeting with ministry’s heads of departments from across the country and directed them to come with their detailed financial statements since July this year indicating their incomes and expenditures for the last six months.

He also directed the Housing department to present to him on Monday on how the government can help common Tanzanians build good houses and also forming a regulatory authority for real estate business.

“We want Tanzanians to own standard houses, even if the government is to intervene and low the cost of construction materials,” he said adding “there’s this booming real estate business in the country, there’s no one paying attention to it. We are not regulating it, we don’t even know if the required taxes are being paid.”