Loliondo officials in Dar to weigh in on Game Reserve eviction allegation

Ward councilors and villagers from Loliondo village in Ngorongoro District are in Dar es Salaam to press the government to halt its decision to cut 1,500 square kilometres from the former Loliondo Game Controlled Area.

Addressing the media yesterday in Dar es Salaam, the ruling CCM’s Chairman for Ngorongoro District, Ibrahim Sakai said the land belongs to the residents of Loliondo and not investors.

Sakai who is also a ward councilor for Dinyinyi said the government has to work wisely on the matter to ensure that it does not cause any more conflicts because the pastoralists are not willing to vacate the area.

“The government is planning to take 1,500 square kilometres of land from the villagers and give it to a Dubai-based investor - Ortello Business Corporation (OBC),”he said.

He said the move will leave just 2,500 square kilometres under the local residents while the 1,500 square kilometres are to be strictly set aside for conservation purposes meant to preserve water catchment areas as well as the wildlife corridors striding the adjacent Serengeti National Park.

He explained that Loliondo villagers are good at conserving the environment because they hardly conduct farming activities, there are no big heads of cattle, no permanent buildings or excessive burning of forests.

For her part, special seats councilors for Ngorongoro District, Tina Timan said due to such displacement of pastoralists, almost 75 percent of Ngorongoro territory will be reallocated exclusively for wildlife tourism management leaving out the pastoralists without necessary resources like land, pasture and water.

She said the situation is chiefly caused by the lack of clarity about the legal status of the land and the relative powers and responsibilities of the central government and village authorities regarding the management of accessibility to the land for purposes of conservation related investments.

“A key example is OBC in 1992, it was granted the land without people’s consultation and the district council signed on behalf of the villages something that is a violation of constitutional rights. The situation is further complicated by the multiplicity of policy, legal and institutional mandates surrounding the Loliondo Game Controlled Area,” she said.

Onesmo Olengurumwa from Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC) who is also a resident of Loliondo called upon the government to solve the dispute in a right manner as per the constitution of Tanzania.

He said most victims of land grabbing and mass evictions which involve inhumane treatments are the Maasai pastoralists in Loliondo. For years there have been conflicts in Loliondo surrounding the use of land and natural resources.

“I call upon the government through the ministry of Land and Human Settlement, Non Governmental Organisations, Civil Society Organisations and other stakeholders to actively participate in helping the citizens of Loliondo and ensure that they get their rights,” he said.

Recently the government discredited as false and misleading claims by foreign media that it has plans to evict over 40,000 Masaai from the Loliondo Game Reserve in Manyara Region and sell the area to a royal family from the United Arab Emirates.

Minister for Tourism and Natural Resources, Lazaro Nyalandu said the allegations raised by various foreign media are simply unfounded.

“It is not true, we do not have such plans, I would like to assure the Maasai people living in the area to carry on with their mundane activities peacefully,” he reassured the public and the Masaai of Loliondo in particular.