TOUR operators in the region have hit out at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) over poor state of roads inside the Crater.
The authority came under heavy criticism for poor workmanship on the roads leading to the World Heritage site, putting Africa’s Eden at the mercy of the rains experienced in some parts of the country.
The irate operators blamed the authority for failing to keep the roads inside the crater in good condition, despite the former paying 681, 450/-($295) as crater fee for every vehicle descending into the world´s largest unbroken collapsed caldera.
“For instance, the road leading to Empakaai crater from the viewpoint has become impassable, thus inconveniencing tourists who spend fortunes to come and marvel at the attractions found in Ngorongoro,” lamented Mr Emmanuel Mollel, who is the chairperson of the Tanzania Tour Guides Association (TTGA).
He was speaking at a joint meeting that featured tour operators and the NCAA’s management, held here yesterday. The TTGA chairperson singled out the Elerai forest route which leads to Ngoitoktok Spring picnic site, which is found inside crater, rendering it difficult for tourist to access the Hippo site.
Mr Khalifa Msangi, a local tour operator based in Arusha, shared similar sentiment, blaming the NCAA for complacency in maintaining the infrastructure inside the destination which fills up the latter’s coffers.
The grievances by the tour operators come a few days after a video clip of Safari vehicles stuck in the mud while traversing the crater, went viral.
The widely shared footage also shows some vehicles being towed by tractors, as some of the guides plead with the NCAA to have the roads repaired.
“You cannot achieve the elusive two million tourists target if you are unable to develop tourism-friendly infrastructure,” observed Mr Msangi.
A chairperson of Tanzania Local Tour Operators (TLTO), Mr Samuel Diah challenged the authority to be issuing round the clock update on the state of roads leading to the crater to avoid inconveniencing their clients.
On his part, a representative of Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO) Mr Sirili Akko took issue with the state of toilets inside the crater.
According to Mr Akko, the state of the toilets left out much to be desired, calling on the authority to have the problem fixed immediately.
“Unfortunately the water in the toilets is pumped from the Ngoitoktok hippo pond…we need to have a bare minimum code of conduct,” added Mr Akko.
Responding to the concerns raised by the tour operators, NCAA Deputy Conservator Mr Asangye Bangu informed the tour operating firms that the authority was compelled to part ways with the contractor tasked with the maintenance of major roads leading to the crater over shoddy work.
“After serving him numerous reminder letters, we were left with no choice other than terminating his contract,” he explained.
