Summary
· Mchengerwa takes over as minister in the docket, which is a hot position for ministers and permanent secretaries
Arusha/Dar es Salaam. Tourism stakeholders have speculated on possible reasons
for the frequent changes of ministers responsible for Natural Resources and
Tourism after the docket was affected by the latest reshuffle.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan on
Tuesday made a mini cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday in which the minister for
Natural Resources and Tourism, Ms Pindi Chana swapped places with Mr Mohamed
Mchengerwa from the ministry of Culture, Arts and Sports.
Mr Mchengerwa takes over as minister
in the docket, which is a hot position for ministers and permanent secretaries.
President Hassan also appointed Dr
Hassan Abbas as permanent secretary to the docket.
The docket has been under 25
different ministers in different periods since independence but most of them
stayed in the docket for between one and three years, while Zakhia Meghji
remains on the record for leading it for eight consecutive years (from 1997 to
2005).
Dr Chana was appointed to the docket
last April to replace Dr Damas Ndumbaro who had been there since 2020.
Speaking during the swearing-in
ceremony at Dar es Salaam State House yesterday, Vice President Dr Philip
Mpango said tourism was one of the tempting dockets due to its economic
potential.
“The ministry’s history has
something to learn,” Dr Mpango said, explaining that the docket has seen one of
the most frequent changes of ministers.
“The tourism ministry is quite
alluring. Please resist giving in to these temptations,” he said.
Dr Mpango urged the new Minister to
be careful with the sector, which has a significant contribution to the economy
and job creation.
Currently, tourism is the second
largest foreign exchange earner after generating $2.56 billion in 2022,
according to the Bank of Tanzania. The leading export is gold, which generated
$2.8 billion in the same period.
Some industry stakeholders have
mentioned the following: the distribution of hunting blocks; land conflicts
between the reserves and surrounding communities; misunderstandings between
government officials; and the frequent reemergence of poaching as some of the
possible reasons that make the tourism docket a hot seat for top officials.
Other reasons include the potential
of the industry to contribute to the national and international economy, hence
raising conflict of interest with other nations.
“There is a lot of money in the
hunting block distribution, and if an official is not strict, they will
definitely be corrupted to make careless decisions, and ultimately they will
get fired,” said a hunting stakeholder, Mr Joseph Mahondo.
He said there have been unnecessary
conflicts between the wildlife authorities and the hunting block investors or
between the authorities and the surrounding communities, which are a result of
the decisions made by the industry officials. “Let me give an example of
sculptures that were banned from exports just to protect the interests of a few
people. The tourists complained,” he added.
Tanzania Association of Tour
Operators (Tato) executive secretary Sirili Akko said the country’s top
leadership normally has certain targets and expectations from tourism, which
contributes about 17 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 25 percent
of foreign exchange.
“As industry players, we welcome the
new minister and promise him all necessary cooperation. We also appreciate the
outgoing minister’s role in the sector,” he said.
The chairman of the Tanzania Tour
Guide Association (TTGA) Mr Emmanuel Mollel is not happy with the frequent
changes of the tourism ministers, saying the tendency has had an impact on the
industry’s stability.
“I think most of the ministers
appointed to manage tourism are very new to the industry and take time to learn
the industry operations. Unfortunately, they make mistakes along the way and
end up being removed before even starting the real work,” he said.
“Tourism is becoming like a training
college,” he added.
Other analysts think politics has a
significant role in influencing the frequent cabinet reshuffles.
Mr Deus Kibamba, a political
analyst, said there is a need to have an established system that will determine
the type of ministers needed, whether through presidential or parliamentary
appointment.
“I was not surprised to see the
changes in the ministry of natural resources and tourism because the selection
in this country depends on the wishes of the president,” he said.
“Currently we don’t have any
procedure; the results are confusing, and this is what leads ministers to be
fired or changed every time. Until now, I wonder why Minister Pindi Chana was
removed and sent to another ministry, and if she didn’t perform, why she was
relocated to another ministry,” he noted.
Reported by Mussa Juma, Gadiosa
Lamtey and Josephine Christopher
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