Mwanhuzi is an emerging town and the headquarters of Meatu district. The town’s wider roads are dotted with cyclists and pedestrians during the day, rests under the shade thorny bushes.
A lion captures the attention of tourists in Ngorongoro National Park.
You can count the number of private cars on the roads and the main
bus stand is deserted throughout the day and gradually comes to life in
the evening when buses return from Shinyanga.
Meatu district is part of Shinyanga region and in the 1980s it was declared a desert by the late President Julius Nyerere. A project aimed at restoring the bush and woodlands using indigenous techniques in natural resources management called Ngitili was launched.
The back to green project was named HASH (Hifadhi Ardhi Shinyanga). Ngitili is a Kisukuma word meaning enclosure slowly restored Shinyanga’s vegetation. HASH was initiated by the government through the Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources.
The desertification at that time was largely caused by overgrazing, destruction of forests to wipe out tsetse flies and increased demand for fuel wood prompted desertification in the 60s and 70s. Under HASH, villagers were taught through recorded dramas, newsletters and workshops on how to manage soil conservation, forest restoration and livelihood security.
Basically there are two main ways of accessing Mwanhuzi, either through Shinyanga town at the cost of 6,000/- by bus, a three to four hour drive on a rough road. Alternatively, one can hire a self drive car from Arusha via Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Maswa conservation and Makao Wildlife Management Authority -a six to seven hour drive.
I was part of a group of lawyers and journalists on a mission to assess the situation of farmers and pastoralists forcefully evicted last November to pave way for the establishment of a Wildlife Management Area formed by eight villages in Meatu.
Wildlife Management Area are sections of community land and residents have usage rights over the wildlife resources. It is a concept introduced by government to reduce the loss of wildlife populations at the same time ensure that residents benefit from the conservation. We left Boma Road in Arusha at 1pm for Mwanhuzi in a new Land Cruiser and it took us seven hours with a half hour stop at Karatu town for lunch.
Despite the speeding it was a memorable trip passing through a number of landmarks along the way. A couple of landmarks along the way are the Monduli Military Academy and Makuyuni township lying on low land where heavy downpour last November swept away homes and claimed lives.
At 3:00pm we checked in at the gates of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and left the tarmac road from Arusha to Karatu behind. A debate is ensued in the car as we drove along the rough road in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Some of the passengers were in support of a tarmac for the road to link Arusha to the Lake Zone while others were against it. Those for the tarmac said that it would attract more tourists as well as make movement of people and goods between the Northern and Lake Zones so much easier.
The anti- tarmac supporters argued that the improved road would lead to the shift of wild animals to other places including our neighboring country as the animals would flee the increased traffic. Probably disturbed by the dust and rattle of the windows the number of supporters for the tarmac road exceeded the ones of the anti tarmac road.
“There are rumours going around that our neighbours are campaigning against the construction of the tarmac road so that they take advantage of more tourists shunning the poor roads in Tanzania,” one of the passengers said.
The debate came to a halt as we crossed over Ngorongoro Conservation Area’s rear gates when the driver instructed passengers to shut the windows to avoid tsetse flies as we approached the land protected buffer zone.
The bite of a Tsetse fly is painful and can cause sleeping sickness which if not treated promptly is fatal. Tsetse fly bites affect the central nervous system causing confusion, sleepiness and personality change. At 7:00pm, our car approached.
By MONICA LUWONDO, Tanzania Daily News
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