Ministry vows to protect historical structures

MAUREEN ODUNGA

THE Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, has said his ministry will strive to intensify protection of all ancient historical structures to preserve the country’s heritage and tourism.

Dr Mwakyembe made the pledge at the exhibition dubbed as the Roads to Independence: the African Liberation Heritage in Dar es Salaam, yesterday. “Since 2011, when the country was granted a programme to preserve heritage…we have not managed to move in the required speed.

We have a higher obligation to protect our heritage for future generation,” said Dr Mwakyembe. He further pledged to make use of his time to ensure that the programme does not come to a standstill.

The Minister observed that besides the current known heritage sites, there are 200 areas which have been identified and requires preservation.

“Tanzania has entered into partnership with South Africa in the preservation and promotion of the two countries’ sites…In the coming year, we anticipate to convene a meeting with other African countries to come up with a strategic plan in the area,” observed the Minister.

He extended recognition to The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for their endless support.

According to the Head of the European Union Delegation, Ambassador Roeland Van de Geer, Tanzania has a rich heritage of liberation movement towards achieving various countries’ independence.

He pointed out that the great efforts done by Tanzania to house the liberation movement of countries such as Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and South Africa are acknowledgeable.

“There has been strong support for liberation movement programmes by Europe, hence today, there is a strong support of the cultural preservation and memory of the rich heritage of the movements… we are pleased with the support.”

He said that the EU is pleased to recognize the many other aspects of cultural heritage in Tanzania, such as Olduvai Gorge Museum and another project in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

“EU is pleased to see that the project that they have been supporting has become fruitful at the time of the global commemoration of the world day of audio-visual heritage…we are looking forward to see that the collected testimonies on the country’s history are stored and not lost forever.

The Director General of the National Museum, Prof Audax Mabula, said the exhibition was aimed at showcasing and liberating the African heritage.

Prof Mabula pointed out that the material, culture and archives were being displayed for the first time in history taking into consideration that Tanzania was a focal point in liberation struggle for African nations.