TANZANIA: TANZANIA has registered tremendous success in the conservation and tourism sectors in the past three years under the leadership of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Indeed, the country’s Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA) has excelled with a remarkable increase in tourist arrivals, income and a reduction in poaching.
There has been a noteworthy improvement in tourism services and an increase in income from hunting block fees. President Samia’s efforts to revive the tourism industry have significantly elevated TAWA’s performance.
As a result, seven smart investment contracts in tourism blocks have been signed, with the government set to receive a total of 312.25 million US dollars (about 796.2bn/-) over a 20-year period.
According to TAWA Conservation Commissioner Mabula Nyanda, seven agreements were signed in January 2024. Through these deals, the government will receive revenues equal to an annual equivalent of 15.5 million US dollars (about 39.5bn/-).
“The government completed the investment procedures for signing smart investment contracts in Ikorongo, Grumeti, Maswa Mbono, Maswa Kimani, Maswa North, Mkungunero and Selous LL1 Blocks,” he stated.
Commissioner Nyanda revealed this while presenting the TAWA performance report to editors from various media houses in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
The 58th meeting, organised by the Office of Treasurer Registrar (OTR), aimed to highlight achievements registered in the three years of President Samia’s leadership.
He added that the president’s initiatives also led to a rise in the number of hunting blocks with investors, increasing from 59 to 68.
Also, Commissioner Nyanda reported that since the Special Wildlife Investment Concession Areas (SWICA) agreements were signed on January 3 this year, a total of 2,773,000 US dollars (about 7.01bn/-) have been collected.
Further elaborating on the decline in poaching, he stated that there has been a significant drop in elephant killings, with three jumbo carcasses recorded by February this year, compared to six recorded in 2021/22.
“These achievements are a result of improved protection brought about by more tools, staff morale, internet access via telecommunications, quick response patrols, technology use, and the installation of signal detectors to track the movements of wildlife to guarantee the animals’ safety,” he clarified.
Regarding the decrease in border conflicts between the Reserve and the populace, he stated that TAWA, working with the populace, has settled border conflicts in seven of the eight Reserve Forests (the Swagaswaga, Mkungunero, Wamimbiki, Igombe, Liparamba, Mpanga Kipengere and Selous game reserves) where a total of 1,681 yardsticks have been installed around the reserve’s boundaries.
“In the process of resolving the disputes, 103,544.48 acres of reserve land were also taken out and given to the public for use in commercial endeavours,” he said.
“In the meantime, the government is working through TAWA to finish compensating 145 households in the Mkungunero Game Reserve,” he added.
In line with that, he said that due to the increase in incidents of conflicts and destructive wildlife between 2021 and 2024, TAWA has made a total of 58,818 patrols per day to deal with 8,001 incidents that occurred in 73 districts in the country.
According to him, between 2021 and 2024, TAWA has contributed to community projects worth 193.3m/-, including the construction of a fish market in the small town of Ifakara and Kilombero, worth 66 million, the construction of a classroom, a teacher’s office, and the purchase of desks in a Kaliua primary school, Tabora are worth 50m/-, among others.
Regarding the rise in tourists, he stated that both hunters and photo tourists have been going strong.
Photo tourists visited attractions at a rate of 37,684 in 2020–2021; that figure rose to 166,964 in 2022–2023; and up to 116,529 until February this year.
Similarly, there was an increase in hunters from 355 in 2020/21 to 787 in 2022/23 and 481 by February this year.
“There is a rise in the number of foreign tourism ships vacationing at the Kilwa ruins from 4 ships carrying 400 tourists in 2020–2021 to 8 ships carrying 925 tourists this year,” he stressed.
Furthermore, he added that the enabling infrastructure for tourism in the areas under the Authority’s management has been enhanced thanks to funding allocated for the Tanzania Social Economic Response and Recovery Plan (TCRP) and the Development Plan for the National Welfare.
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