Ngorongoro relocation on track despite misinformation, says government

Dar es Salaam. The voluntary relocation of residents from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to Msomera village in Tanga's Handeni District is proceeding as planned, the government said, despite a few challenges.

The existence of certain civil societies and others who have been spreading false information about the procedure are some of the difficulties the process is experiencing.

During the first phase, 551 houses with 3,010 individuals and 25,521 cattle moved to Msomera, according to chief government spokesperson Mr Mobhare Matinyi at a press conference on Friday, January 5, 2024.

“The first group in the second phase, comprising 30 households of 224 people and 393 livestock, is expected to arrive in Msomera today (Friday),” he said.

“The voluntary relocation from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to Msomera will be progressive due to the registration of 500 citizens, including 400 whose properties have been evaluated for compensation,” he added.

He said another group of 25 households, comprising 172 people and 213 livestock, have opted to voluntarily shift to other destinations.

That, according to him, makes a total of 52 households of 292 people and 982 livestock that have opted for other destinations than Msomera.

“The voluntary shift will continue this January because construction of 350 houses was completed in the Msomera Area, reaching December 31, 2023. The government’s target is to construct 5,000 houses enough to accommodate 115,000 citizens who will volunteer to shift,” he said.

Misinformation

Mr Matinyi refuted claims that the government had reduced social services provided to citizens in the Ngorongoro Area, hinting that the truth was that investment in social services in the area has been reduced.

He said investment was mobilised at the Msomera, where it is anticipated to witness an increased population, blaming some civil society organisations and individuals for the misinformation.

According to him, the misinformation has also affected the implementation of development activities such as the provision of vaccines to children and livestock as well as the distribution of subsidised food to citizens.

“People behind the negative campaign have been telling citizens to avoid taking their livestock for vaccination because they will be given poisonous injections that will lead to the death of the animals. This is a campaign to evict them from the area. That was absolutely false, because those were normal livestock services,” he said.

He said maize was sold to Ngorongoro residents at subsidised prices, but dirty campaigns made the cereal poisonous.

Instead of disposing, he said the maize was taken to citizens who have shifted to Msomera, where they have been distributed with the food, noting that every household has been given a total of 12 sacks for 18 months of consumption.

Why the shift is voluntary

Mr Matinyi said the shift aims at enabling Ngorongoro citizens to participate in the country’s development process as the country implements both national and international development goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the United Nations.

“Tanzanians are all human beings who are struggling for their development. But Ngorongoro residents are denied this opportunity due to the presence of tough regulations because they reside in the conservation area,” he said.

He said, for instance, that they cannot get power connections from the Tanzania National Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) or water distribution from executed projects; instead, they get electricity from solar sources as well as water from bore wells.

Furthermore, he said the number of schools and health facilities was limited, and the construction of permanent houses and tarmac roads in the conservation area was also restricted.

“The government has found that it is enough for Ngorongoro citizens to live a poor life. That includes compromising their security due to the presence of wildlife attacking people and livestock, despite other dangers of disease transmission from wildlife to livestock and wildlife to human beings,” he said.

Secondly, Mr Matinyi said the government would like to preserve the Ngorongoro conservation area, which was among the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) recognised areas.

Incentives

He said Msomera Area has been given social services such as roads, water, electricity, communications, healthcare services, primary and secondary schools.

Furthermore, Mr Matinyi said the government was constructing livestock dips, grazing land, water dams for livestock, a modern auction centre and milk collection stations.

“A citizen voluntarily shifting to Msomera is given a modern three-bedroom house built on a two-and-a-half acre and a five-acre farm that are all accompanied by certificates of occupancy,” he said.

He said the government was also paying compensation for properties left or demolished in the Ngorongoro, such as settlements and graves of shifting family members.

According to him, President Samia Suluhu Hassan had directed that voluntary shifting citizens should be given an additional Sh10 million, which was an economic empowerment for them to smoothly start a new life in Msomera.