NCAA says more people relocate from Ngorongoro

Dar es Salaam. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) has said at least 6,395 residents of Ngorongoro have voluntarily relocated within the conservation area since the commencement of the exercise in June 2021.

NCAA Conservation Commissioner Richard Kiiza said that on February 19, 2024, a total of 82 households comprising 541 residents and 3,379 livestock relocated from Ngorongoro to Msomera Village in Handeni, Tanga.

He said following the relocation on February 19, the total number has reached 1,032 households, consisting of 6,395 people and 28,982 livestock.

“The interest of residents registering for voluntary relocation from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area has increased, and as time goes by, more residents are motivated to register for voluntary relocation, especially after witnessing the improved lives of their fellow residents who have already relocated. Their lives have significantly changed for the better,” he said.

Adding, “Many of the residents who relocated last year have built modern houses, cultivated enough crops for food and trade, own means of transportation, have access to quality water, electricity, schools, communication services, healthcare, postal services, grazing areas, and watering points. This has made them ambassadors for those who remain in Ngorongoro."

Kiiza further explained that residents who had not registered for relocation realised they were being misled by some individuals who do not live within the conservation area, without understanding the challenges faced by residents, such as facing attacks by wild animals and restrictions on certain economic activities due to conservation laws.

On his part, the District Commissioner of Ngorongoro, Colonel Wilson Sakulo, bidding farewell to the residents, stated that all fundamental rights of the relocating residents have been respected according to the law, and each household leaving is being provided with Sh10 million and additional compensation for the developmental projects they undertook while in Ngorongoro.

He assured the residents that apart from the benefits and services they will find in Msomera during their journey, the government also provides them with security and escort services, healthcare, roadside meals, transportation of their belongings and livestock, and upon arrival in Msomera, they will be given a three-bedroom house on a 2.5-acre plot, a 5-acre farm, and provided with maize for food for 18 months.