BY GRACE MACHA IN ARUSHA
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) has inked a Sh. 97billion pact for construction of homes for families being resettled out of the conservation area.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the civil works expected to take six months was signed in Arusha early this week by the conservation agency and Suma JKT.
Construction of the 5,000 houses marks the second phase of implementation of resettlement of livestock herders from the 8,292 square km conservation area.
The exercise, which started in June last year, is intended to reduce human activities in the conservation area which is famous for natural attractions and tourism.
NCAA Conservation Commissioner Dr. Freddy Manongi said the new residences will be allocated for the livestock keeping families which have registered to move out of the area.
"Construction will start on October 1st (next Sunday) and will be completed in six months," he said after inking the deal in Arusha.
Dr. Manongi said since the resettlement started in June 2022, 19 groups of 565 families of 3,097 people have moved out of NCA.
The families in question moved voluntarily with their livestock totalling 15,500 being cattle, goats, sheep and others, he told journalists.
According to him, other groups of Ngorongoro residents comprising 1,524 families have registered to move out of the conservation area voluntarily.
"The government will continue to sensitize the herders on the need to move out of the conservation area without infringing on their basic rights", he said.
The MoU was signed by Dr. Manongi on behalf of NCAA and Col. Petro Ngata, Suma JKT CEO at the imposing Ngorongoro Conservation Tower in the heart of Arusha
A total of 551 families comprising 3,010 people and 15,321 have been resettled at Msomera village in Handeni district, Tanga region since last year.
However, Dr. Manongi clarified that the pastoralists being relocated from Ngorongoro will not be restricted to settle in areas earmarked by the government.
"They can choose where to relocate. They will be compensated just like those already resettled at Msomera village", he pointed out.
He affirmed although the government was not against people going to places of their choice, they are wary of creating new problems in other places not preferred by the authorities.
The 5,000 residential homes will be constructed at Msomera (Handeni) and Saunyi and Kitwai villages in Kilindi and Simanjiro districts respectively.
Dr. Manongi said the NCAA would support families relocating areas already earmarked by the government in order to avoid new problems.
"They are not restricted to move to Msomera, Saunyi and Kitwai but we are wary of creating some problems if they settle in other areas", he pointed out.
NCA is a protected area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Ngorongoro district, Arusha region and is named after the Ngorongoro crater, one of the attractive sites for the tourists.
The conservation area attained a multi-use land status in 1959 after it was hived off the vat Serengeti Game Reserve, a move which led to the creation of the Serengeti National Park and NCA.
In recent years, there has been a concern by the conservation experts on the increasing number of residents and their large herds of livestock and increased human activities in the area.
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