This is a summary of a speech by Eng. Musa Iyombe, Chairman of the Presidential Commission evaluating the voluntary relocation of Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) residents to designated areas like Msomera, Kitwai B, and Saunyi. While the government's decision to relocate residents to protect the NCA's ecology is deemed correct, the execution has faced significant challenges.
Current Status
Current Status
- The relocation pace is much slower than expected. Only 7.3% of households (1,678 out of 23,000) and 5.7% of livestock have relocated.
- A large budget (over 212 billion TZS) remains unspent, and 1,559 completed houses in Msomera are currently unoccupied.
- Continue Voluntary Relocation: The exercise is fundamentally necessary and should continue, utilizing the unspent funds and already completed infrastructure.
- Shift in Housing Strategy: The government should stop building houses for the migrating citizens. Instead, they should provide an agreed-upon financial package, allowing residents to build homes that align with their own customs and traditions.
- Legal and Regulatory Amendments: The current NCA Act should be amended to remove discriminatory clauses (such as only recognizing the Maasai tribe while ignoring others like the Datoga). Clear regulations for managing people, livestock, and tourism construction must be established.
- Independent Coordination Body: The current inter-ministerial coordination is inefficient. An independent Project Management Team should be created specifically to coordinate and oversee the relocation.
- Improved Community Engagement: The process heavily relied on "persuasion" rather than true "participation." A comprehensive engagement plan must be developed involving citizens, traditional leaders (Malaigwanani), and local politicians.
- Standardize Incentives: Changes in the compensation structure caused friction (e.g., shifting from giving a house/money per household to per boma/family head, which disadvantaged multi-household families). The government must review and standardize these guidelines to resolve complaints.
- Accurate Data Collection: The government needs to create an official, updated register of all people and livestock currently residing within the Ngorongoro division.
- Address Citizen Grievances: The commission identified three groups with valid complaints that need immediate resolution:
- Those remaining in NCA: The government must restore basic social services, return financial authority to the Pastoralist Council, and stop blocking community development funds.
- Those moved to Msomera: Resolve ongoing compensation and housing disputes.
- Native residents of destination areas: Resolve land disputes where original residents' land was surveyed and given to incoming migrants.
- Improved Living Standards: Those who moved to Msomera now have access to modern infrastructure, including roads, electricity, water, health centers, and schools.
- Economic Growth: Relocated residents are successfully engaging in new economic activities, particularly agriculture (harvesting maize, beans, cassava) and livestock trading at newly established markets.
- Infrastructure Expansion: Significant infrastructure has been successfully built in Kitwai B and Saunyi, though security committees are now needed to protect these unoccupied assets until residents move in