Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE government has managed to reduce poaching incidences in the country by 90 per cent, with the number of elephants increasing, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr Damas Ndumbaro has said.
Tabling 571.6bn/- budget estimates for 2021/2022 financial year, Dr Ndumbaro said apart from reducing poaching, the government managed to beef up security on tourism resources, including illegal business on government trophies.
He said his ministry had also recorded achievements in curbing illegal harvesting of forest products, illegal invasion of areas reserved for agriculture, livestock China include the construction of a state of the art library at the University of Dar es Salaam, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation as well as issuance of 35bn/- aid for financing development projects.
“President Samia also acknowledged the support from Chinese government on different construction infrastructure projects, improvement on social services delivery, investment and trade relations as well as increasing national and individual income,” read part of the statement.
TZ, China cherish rapport Chinese president assured Ms Samia of continued support on bringing development. – Xi Jinping and residence. “The 2020 census shows that the number of elephants in the ecology system of Serengeti increased from 6,087 in 2014 to about 7,061 in 2020,’’ he said, adding that the success in reducing illegal poaching was attributed to intensification of frequent patrols which nabbed about 5,609 criminals.
He also added that the government had managed to crack the whip on 95 networks of poachers as well as preventing about 302 incidents that were intercepted before occurring.
Dr Ndumbaro said that the government had put up communication towers using radio calls at key areas of Oldeani, Losirwa and Empakai crater. In boosting tourism in the country, during the 2021/2022, the government plans to construct a five star modern hotel at Terminal 3 of the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Salaam.
He said his ministry would implement the project in collaboration with the Tanzania Airport Authority. “We also plan to put up another hotel in the Magamba area, just about 7 kilometers from Mpanda Airport,’’ said Dr Ndumbaro.
The minister further said the government has started reviewing the Tourism Act No 29 of 2008, whereas the Bill for the legislation was tabled in the House for the first reading in February 2021. He added that in the same note, the government had made an assessment and review of guidelines and tourism policy as well as putting up strategies for implementation of the policy.
In meeting the target to increase the number of tourists to five million by 2025, as provided for in the 2020- 2025 CCM Manifesto, the ministry had accomplished preparations for launching a special project for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events (MICE) tourism. The project, the minister said, would see the government constructing a modern international conference centre with the capacity to serve several meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions at once.
In the 2021/2022 fiscal year, Dr Ndumbaro said that the government plans to implement eight key development projects within the ministry, among them Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (REGROW), which seeks to strengthen the management of protected areas and promote nature-based tourism in Southern Tanzania.
Others are the project for capacity building in national parks, game reserves and a special unit dealing with illegal poaching, the project for the fight against poaching and protection of government trophies, the project for tree planting and capacity building project for institutions of forest training and bee keeping.
Other priorities are pegged on a special project on empowering the value chain on bee keeping project (BEVAC) and the project for Forestry and Value Chains Development Programme
