NGORONGORO HERDERS AGAINST EVICTION FROM THEIR LAND

Ngorongoro pastoralists have appealed against a recent order to evict some families from the conservation area.

They said they were ready for dialogue with the government over the controversial order but were against victimization. 

"We are ready to cooperate with the government to end the impasse. But we should not be treated this way", pleaded Metui Ole Shaudo.

He said as a world heritage site, Ngorongoro should not only benefit the tourism industry but the local people as well.

Mr. Shaudo,a respected community leader (Laigwanan) in the area, said the Maasai people respected the law but were against victimization.

He and other representatives of the nomadic herders made their position on the crisis when speaking to journalists in Arusha early this week.

James Moringe, a councillor of Laoitole ward which is within the 8,929 square kilometres Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), said common sense should prevail.

"Where do we expect these poor herders to go?. This issue needs further discussion with the government authorities", he said.

He recalled that frictions pitting the livestock keepers and the conservation authorities started many years ago.

He pointed a finger at the government for not being clear on how to balance the conservation interests and the welfare of the indigenous people there.

"There was a time when the Ngorongoro residents were allowed to cultivate small farms.This was later revoked", he said.

Last week the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) ordered 45 families to vacate the site and 150 others to pull down their modern  houses.

A notice signed by Dr.Christopher Timbuka on behalf of the Conservation Commissioner General Freddy Manongi gave May 12th as a deadline.

The 45 families were alleged to live in the conservation area illegally while those whose buildings are to be demolished built them against the NCAA regulations.

One of the modern homes earmarked for demolition was the one belonging to the area MP and deputy minister for Investments William Ole Nasha.

When reached by Arush-based reporters last weekend, the Natural Resources and Tourism minister Damas Ndumbaro defended the move.

He said eviction was part of implementation of a directive by President Samia Suluhu Hassan on how to tackle challenges facing the world famous conservation site.

In her address to the nation after swearing in senior government officials recently President Hassan warned NCA can lose its international conservation status due to increased human activities.

Recent statistics indicate that NCA has about 100,000 permanent residents and hundreds of thousands of livestock owned by the same.

Wildlife experts fear the swelling human and livestock population would threaten the  fragile ecology of the area which is also a  Unesco heritage site.

Dr. Ndumbaro said he would consult with the area MP and leaders of 25 villages and eleven wards in the NCA to discuss the issue.

When contacted Mr. Ole Nasha admitted that the eviction notice had its flaws because some of those handed over the eviction letters were born there.