THE government has blasted Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), activists and some media institutions for blowing conflicts in the Loliondo Game Controlled Area out of proportion to meet their interests. The Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Ms Shamsa Mwangunga (pictured), yesterday said that many of the people claiming to have been evicted from the area were the Maasai from Kenya who had entered the country illegally.
Ms Mwangunga told a news conference in Dar es Salaam, that allegations of abuse of human rights during the eviction exercise raised by various human right activists were manifestly exaggerated.
The minister added that it had to take immediate action to make sure the conservation area remained calm and safe for the Ortello Business Corporation (OBC) from United Arab Emirates (UAE) to conduct hunting activities as per agreed contract with the government authorities.
The minister’s clarification comes following allegations that the government tortured, abused human rights and has evicted a huge number of villagers of seven villages surrounding the conservation area in favour of OBC in July, this year.
“Loliondo is the conservation area with 4,500 square metres and the remaining part is small and allocated to residents. It is not true that all villagers were evicted, but we had to remove some of them who moved in from the neighbouring country,” she said.
The minister said villagers of Ololosokwon, Soitsambu, Oloipiri, Oloiripin-Manoni, Arash and Piyaya were not affected by the exercise and they were peacefully going on with their activities following the eviction of illegal immigrants.
She did not mention the actual number of evictees, but said initially, the exercise was aimed at conserving wildlife as well as ensuring security during tourist hunting activities which contributed heftly to the national economy.
Ms Mwangunga said the government has discovered that there were over 30 NGOs operating in Loliondo, mostly disrupting peace and causing conflicts among villagers.
“We are thoroughly investigating the legitimacy of those NGOs and we will hold them accountable when satisfied they are breaching peace,” he pointed out.
Feminists Activist Coalition (FemAct) said it recently visited the villages in Loliondo and discovered massive abuse of human and civil rights that included the torching of Maasai houses without providing alternative shelter to victims.
The minister rubbished the allegations adding the activists didn’t even bother to balance their story with her ministry for the sake of impartiality.
The Arusha Regional Commissioner, Isidori Leka Shirima, said the Regional Security Committee recently resolved to audit all NGOs in Ngorongoro District.
“From our list here there are 13 NGOs, including PINGOs, Matada, Kidupo, Ramat, OXFAM, Lado, PWC, Ngome, Accord, Help-for-the-Maasai, Pliset, Ujamaa, Laigwanan-union and Ngorongoro-NGONET,” said the RC.
He added that there are also 17 ward-based Community based organizations most of which were operating under the now defunct ERETO.
Daily News
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