Government defends itself in the Ngorongoro saga

The African Commission for Human and People’s Rights (AFCHPR) concluded its investigation into last year’s evictions in Ngorongoro at the weekend, with government officials dismissing the commission’s primary concerns.

“The government strongly objects to the information shared with the pastoralists,” the team, comprised of officials from various ministries, stated unequivocally.

The state officials who accompanied AFCHPR commissioners to Ngorongoro, Loliondo and Msomera said they did not agree with some of the latter’s findings.

Some of the information shared contained “misinformation and fabrications” concerning the government’s efforts to balance conservation and human rights.

The government’s team comprised senior officials from several ministries, including Natural Resources and Tourism, Lands, and Legal Affairs, among others.

They expressed their dismay on Saturday evening, shortly after the human rights body released its fact-finding report to journalists.

Reading the report to journalists at the Ngorongoro Tourism Tower, the Commission criticised the government for the “hasty” relocations.

There were no “adequate consultations” before the evictions were undertaken, said one of the commissioners, Dr Litha Musyimi-Ogana when reading the report.

She was referring to the relocations of people from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) and a conservation site in Loliondo, which began last year.

Dr Musyimi-Ogana, who is in charge of the AFCHPR Indigenous Communities docket, said the pastoralists that they reached out to were not happy with the move.

“There was a lack of adequate consultations at Loliondo. In Ngorongoro most want to move out because of limited social services,” she said.

Immediately after reading the preliminary findings, the government officials said they did not agree with the tone of the report and the factual errors.

“The laws of Tanzania prohibit the grazing of livestock in reserved lands such as national parks, game reserves, and wetland reserves,” the government team insisted.

The constitution and other relevant land legislation also state that customary land is not recognised under Tanzanian law.

Likewise, Tanzania does not subscribe to the concept of Indigenous People “as there are no dominant or suppressed groups”.

One of the government’s team leaders, Prof Hamisi Malebo said relocations from the NCA were necessitated by the increasing human-wildlife conflicts and socio-economic and development challenges.

These had led to human deaths and injuries from wild animals, shrinking wildlife grazing land, a lack of safe water sources, and poor sanitation.

Prof Malebo, who is the executive secretary of Unesco National Commission said the inhabitants of the NCA are at liberty to relocate to districts of their choice.

It is in such areas that they will be able to pursue economic activities “which are not permitted in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area due to its reserve status.”

He said that 503 families, totaling 3,010 people, and 15,321 heads of cattle have already moved to Msomera village in the Handeni District.

On Loliondo, he said the government reached “an amicable decision” to allocate 2,500 square kilometres of the reserve to the residents, leaving 1,500 square kilometres as a wildlife corridor.

“There is no one to evict in the reserved 1,500 square kilometres as it has never been inhabited,” he stated, adding that the government has no plans to evict people in the remaining 2,500 square kilometres.

Prof Malebo rubbished claims that the pastoralists who are yet to move out of the NCA were under the hammer, saying, “The government treats them equally, and they continue to enjoy their constitutional rights like any other citizens despite declining to relocate to Msomera.”

The government’s team, which accompanied the Human Rights Commission, however, acknowledged challenges facing the long-term inhabitants of Msomera who feel segregated.

“There are already government directives for the long-term inhabitants of Msomera to be allocated land in the same.

“The allocation of funds depends on the government’s budget and when issued, some criteria should be met,” he pointed out.

The director of human rights in the ministry of Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Ms Ngassori Sarakikya told The Citizen that they were aware of the concerns raised by the ACHPR commissioners and that the government would work on the anomalies if any.