This blog has been too silent. I’m
very sad and tired, and in Loliondo, and Ngorongoro district as a whole, people
have been busy discussing Covid-19, or “politics” (possible candidates, and I’m
not innocent in this regard, even if my main interest is in who will best
defend the land), while the biggest threat ever looms over everyone’s head –
the insane Multiple Land Use Model report of last year. This threat has again been
spoken about, and there’s a new attempt to, from the inside, stop
planned atrocities.
In
this blog post:
The genocidal report
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Some slow and
timid reaction
MOU about the Pastoral Council
Open letter to the president
Press statement
Visit to Kigwangalla and feedback
meeting
The genocidal report
On
22nd September 2019, what can’t be described in any other way than
as a plan to kill pastoralism and Maasai culture and life in the whole of
Ngorongoro district was presented at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority
(NCAA) headquarters. Attending were the Ngorongoro Chief Conservator, Freddy
Manongi, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Hamisi Kigwangalla,
the Ngorongoro MP William Olenasha, NCAA staff, the District Chairman, the
District Executive Director, the district CCM leadership, and members of the
Pastoral Council that represent the indigenous residents in the NCAA. A couple
of days later Manongi was boasting about this plan in the press - where it was also presented as marking the
occasion of World Tourism Day and of 60 years of the Ngorongoro Conservation
Area Authority – and some leaders, especially in Loliondo, claimed that only
then did they hear about it.
The
report - The Multiple Land Use Model of Ngorongoro Conservation Area: Achievements
and Lessons Learnt, Challenges and Options for the Future – was finalized
after a joint monitoring mission from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and International
Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) once again visited Ngorongoro in March
2019, and in their report reminded that they wanted the Multiple Land Use Model
review completed to see the results and offer advice, while again complaining
about the visual impact of settlements with “modern” houses, and so on.
Recommendations and concerns from the UNESCO have in the past repeatedly led to
a worsened human rights situation.
The
proposal of the MLUM report is to divide Ngorongoro into zones, with an
extensive “core conservation zone” that’s to be a no-go zone for livestock and
herders, and this includes the Ngorongoro Highland Forest with the three
craters Ngorongoro, Olmoti and Empakai where grazing these past few years has
already been banned, not through law, but through order - which is what can
happen to those living under the yoke of the NCAA, while having weak (or worse)
leaders. This has led to a loss of 90% of grazing and water for Nainokanoka,
Ngorongoro, Misigiyo wards, and a 100% loss of natural salt licks for livestock
in these wards. The proposal is to do the same with Oldupai Gorge, Laitoli
footprints, and the Lake Ndutu and Lake Masek basin. Further, the proposal is
to annex to the NCAA the 1,500 km2 osero in Loliondo - important dry season
grazing, the loss of which would have disastrous knock-on effects, but that for
years have been lobbied for by OBC that organizes hunting for Sheikh Mohammed
of Dubai, and successfully resisted by the Maasai - and turn most of it into a
no-go-zone, but allowing hunting, and to do the same with the Lake Natron area.
The reason for including Loliondo and Lake Natron is in the report explained as
an estimated 30% loss of tourism revenue when the upgrading of the Mto-wa-Mbu -
Loliondo road has been finished and tourists will use that route to Serengeti. Though
any move to annex the 1,500 km2 osero would be contempt of court, since there’s
an ongoing case in the East African Court of Justice, where the Tanzanian government
finds itself sued for its violent attempts at alienating this land.
The
proposed resettlement areas are small and already populated, and the areas in
Ngoile and Olbalbal are semi-deserts lacking water or grazing. People are to be
removed from the wards of Nainokanoka, Nayobi, Ngorongoro, and Misigyo, while
the wards with “human settlement zones” will have their grazing and water areas
turned into no-go-zones, like Endulen where 80 % of grazing and water is found
in Ndutu.
To
the RAI, Manongi further said that he expected a lot of noise from human rights
defenders, but that people would be educated about the benefits of conservation
for all, and mentioning the supposed destructiveness of the Maasai pastoralist
together with climate change as the reason for the plans. I’m still waiting for
that much needed noise, but which can’t really be expected if Maasai leaders
themselves don’t speak up. As usual, Manongi also boasted about the Ngorongoro
success story with its huge revenue from tourism, apparently without seeing any
link between climate change and this world order in which some consume both
fossil fuel and the lands of those with much smaller carbon footprints.
 |
| These are the people who feature with their names as responsible for the genocidal MLUM report. |
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
When
the Maasai were evicted from Serengeti in 1959 by the colonial government, as a
compromise deal, they were guaranteed the right to continue occupying
Ngorongoro Conservation Area as a multiple land-use area administered by the
government, in which natural resources would be conserved primarily for their
interest, but with due regard for wildlife. This promise was not kept, and
tourism revenue has turned into the paramount interest, while the human rights
situation has deteriorated, which was worsened by the designation as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site. In 1975, the Maasai living inside Ngorongoro Crater were
violently evicted, and the same year cultivation was prohibited in NCA. This
ban was lifted in 1992, but re-introduced in 2009 after threats from the
UNESCO. The people of NCA are living under the colonial-style rule of the
Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), are not allowed to grow crops or
build modern houses, have the past years been losing access to one grazing area
after the other, and are suffering from high levels of child malnutrition. They
have regularly through the years been shaken by rumours of eviction.
Some slow and timid reaction
Soon
after the news about the dangerous plan, many meetings were being held in NCA,
but leaders showed passivity, discouraging people and telling them to wait,
which led some to despair. Fearing state repression, some saw it as preferable
that international organizations should speak up, but this was only done by the
Oakland Institute. On 5th October 2019, the Pastoral Council, PC,
that’s viewed as corrupt and compromised, held a meeting in Karatu for leaders
and educated “elites”, but not allowing anyone from Loliondo to attend. Then,
on 7th October the PC issued a press statement against evictions,
but that otherwise was strangely weak and compromised, and misrepresenting
Loliondo. On 29th October district chairman Siloma read a statement
by the ward councillors of Ngorongoro district, and it was even weaker. There
was nothing more than a request that, to avoid conflict in the district, the
MLUM team must consult with the Ngorongoro councillors before making such a
proposal.
Already
at the presentation of the report on 22nd September 2019, there were
complaints that the view of the Ngorongoro residents weren’t represented in any
way in the report, and this prompted Kigwangalla – who otherwise was lecturing
people in his ignorant manner, defending the report - to order the Multiple
Land-Use Model team to within 21 days return to NCA, meet with residents of all
wards, and then inform him about their findings. This was done, three
“community representatives” were added to the MLUM team, the NCA wards were
again toured, and the villagers’ unsurprisingly vehement rejection of any
evictions could again be observed. Though the team did not collect the views of
people in the areas of Loliondo and Lake Natron that are wanted for annexation.
The new version of the report was finished on 30th or 31st
October 2019, and was supposed to be shared, which never happened. Apparently
the “community representatives” panicked when they were sidelined, and the
report, that was sent to Kigwangalla, was said to be just as bad as the old
one.
Around
21st November the chairman of the Pastoral Council, Edward Maura,
was touring Olbalbal ward together with NCA chief conservator Manongi, the main
promoter of the basically genocidal proposal, promising development projects.
Thereafter Manongi has been touring development projects funded by NCAA all
over the district. Apparently at a regional CCM meeting there were assurances
that there was no way that the ruling party would support the proposal for
evictions. Some suspected that the intention was to bring people to despair and
then present the president and other leaders as saviours when declaring that
the plan has been stopped, but there haven’t been any public statements of any
kind. Some planned to bypass the compromised PC and visit the president on
their own. I don’t know if this was done.
MOU about the Pastoral Council
Meanwhile,
a MOU has been signed between the Ngorongoro Pastoral Council (PC), the
District Council, and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), after
pressure by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and others, for funds
to bypass the PC to instead go to the District Council, and for PC employees to
be directly employed by the Ngorongoro Conservation Areas Authority. The reason
for this is the widespread mismanagement of funds and corruption among the PC
representatives, but at the same time it will increase the power of the person
who’s corrupting them and others, left, right, and centre – chief conservator
Manongi … Nobody knows why the PC members signed this MOU.
Open letter to the president
An
open letter has been written by some concerned people of NCA – Thadeus Clamian,
Joseph Oleshangay, Tubulu Nebasi, Denis Shangay, and Nengai Peter – to
President Magufuli – and strangely published in the misinformation and slander
paper, the Tanzanite, on 18th April, after having been sent to
another paper. The letter alerts the president about:
1.
The mismanagement of the PC funds and protection of the real criminals
2.
The Multiple Land Use Model threat based on biased and false evidence, and its
possible human rights violations consequences
3.
The NCAA pressure on private tourism investors not to employ Maasai residing in
Ngorongoro Conservation Area and for existing employees to be relocated outside
the NCAA. An act of blatant ethnic discrimination with the constant aim of
linking all tourism revenue to depopulation.
4.
Non-participatory policy and laws promulgation.
Press statement
In
March I started hearing about a letter “from the government” announcing that
the genocidal MLUM proposal is to be implemented, but I haven’t heard from
anyone who has actually seen this letter. Some say only the MP, PC chairman,
and the councillor of Endulen are in possession of it, while others say that
it’s been seen by many people. I can however not get in contact with any of
those people. I’m not sure if there was such a letter.
Then
the Pastoral Council, traditional leaders, and village and ward leaders from Ngorongoro
Conservation Area went to Arusha to hold a press conference on 14th
April. They called upon the president and the prime minister to intervene
against the abuse committed by the MLUM team, or committee, or commission,
together with chief conservator Manongi, that have proposed measures to remove over
15 villages and turn the Maasai into refugees in their own country. Their
recommendations were:
-To
dissolve the MLUM team as soon as possible, and if further evaluation is
needed, form a participatory committee, including the local residents from
start to finish.
-The
committee should be funded by the central government and not by the chief
conservator who uses money to impose his views.
-Information
from six ministers who have visited Ngorongoro should be taken into account,
together with recommendations submitted to Minister Kigwangalla by Ngorongoro
residents, as well as recommendations presented to CCM secretary-general Bashiru
Ally by traditional leaders late last year.
-To
throw away views and recommendations by the MNRT’s select committee, since they
went way too far catering to the wishes of conservationists, even including
areas that weren’t in the terms of reference, like Loliondo and Lake Natron.
To
ITV the chairman of the NCAA board, Kaswamila, said that the report has been
sent to the Ministry and is to be further discussed, and that no decisions have
been taken, while chief conservator Manongi said that every process was carried
out in a participatory way, that there isn’t anything new, and if they have
inquiries, they should direct them to the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Tourism.
Visit to Kigwangalla and feedback
meeting
On
23rd April Kigwangalla – maybe after having been frightened by the
open letter to the president - summoned a collection of leaders from Ngorongoro
to Dodoma, ranging from the dangerous, like the DC, DED, and Manongi, to the MP,
some councilllors and the more or less questionable “community representatives”
in the MLUM commission. The minister was informed that the commission was
extremely biased against the indigenous pastoralists. Could he really have
missed that? There were complaints of lack of transparency and that the
“community representatives” had been sidelined.
Kigwangalla’s decision was to give the pastoralists a chance to appoint
four new representatives, and that the Ngorongoro residents should compose
their own ideal proposal, submit it to the committee, and send him a copy. It
wasn’t clear if the report work will start afresh, or be amended.
On
26th April, a feedback meeting was held in Mokilal in Ngorongoro,
attended by various leaders from the 11 wards in NCA. At this meeting MP
Olenasha was booed, while former MP Telele – who used to speak up before he was
corrupted in 2013 … - was cheered, and
so was the more or less confirmed MP candidate Nagol, who unfortunately was too
afraid to continue as an expert witness against the government in the Loliondo
case in the East African Court of Justice … Many attendants wanted to cut all engagement
with the MLUM commission but finally the MP side managed to impose their view
that the offer of appointing four community representatives should be taken,
but that it this time should be accompanied by public pressure. Though there
was strong disagreement on who should be appointed and how. Sadly, some may
have switched loyalties after having received government letters of
appointment.
Other
demands by the community – represented by three spokespersons from each ward –
if the MLUM talks are to continue, was that Manongi must be dismissed as
Ngorongoro chief conservator, Kigwangalla must appoint other commission members
from the government side, not those from Runyoro’s team, and that there can’t
be annexation of areas outside NCA. Then the only thing that’s been heard is
that the not yet official appointment of MLUM representatives is very
“political” and that the MP and PC chairman have presented the MP’s own choice
directly to the NCAA and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.
So
apparently there will be another round of negotiation with those who very literally
want to wipe the Maasai - and the Barabaig - off the map of Ngorongoro, and off extensive
neighbouring areas.
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