DIRECTORATE
OF PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS
UNITED
|
Telephone: 255-22-2114512, 2116898 E-mail: ikulumawasiliano@yahoo.com Fax: 255-22-2113425
|
|
PRESIDENT’S OFFICE,
THE STATE HOUSE, P.O. BOX 9120, DAR ES SALAAM. Tanzania. |
PRESS
RELEASE
The
Government has reassured the international community that Tanzania will never
do anything to hurt or take any decision that may irresponsibly destroy the
Serengeti National Park such as building a tarmac road through the Park.
However,
the Government has reiterated its commitment to meet its responsibilities of
supporting development efforts of poorer communities living around the park
including building a tarmac road on the northern tip of the park to ease the
severe transport challenges facing those communities.
“The
Serengeti is a jewel of our nation as well as for the international community.
We want to give you our assurances that we cannot be irresponsible by
destroying the Serengeti. We will do
nothing to hurt the Serengeti and we would like the international community to
know this,” President Jakaya Mrisho
Kikwete told Mr. John McIntire, World Bank Country
Director today, Wednesday, February 9, 2011 during a courtesy call on the
President at the State House in Dar es Salaam.
The
Dar es Salaam-based Mr. McIntire also represents the
Bank in Uganda and Burundi.
Armed
with an illustration of a map of northern Tanzania, President Kikwete told Mr. McIntire: “There has been so much
unnecessary confusion about this issue. Let me give you my assurances that we
will keep the Serengeti intact. We will not build a tarmac road through the
Serengeti National Park. We will only build a road around the park to ease very
serious transport challenges facing the poorer communities around the park.”
Under
the plan, the Government wants to decongest traffic inside the park that
currently crosses the Serengeti daily on a 220-kilometer road which passes
right through the park. Instead, a planned road will only cross the Serengeti
for only 54 kilometers which will remain unpaved.
In
recent months, a global network of environmental activists and conservators has
mounted a completely misinformed campaign claiming that the Government of
Tanzania intends to destroy the Serengeti by building tarmac road through the
park, which will seriously hurt the famous migration of wildlife.
“No
tarmac road will be built through the Serengeti. As you know well, Tanzania is
the most conservator country in the world. This has been our policy and
position since our independence and you can have my assurances that this
position will remain unchanged,” said President Kikwete
adding:
“While
we will continue protecting our Serengeti seriously, we will also make sure
that, as Government, we meet our responsibilities to our people. These people
living in the northern side of the park were removed from inside the park
itself as part of our conservation efforts. It takes about eight hours of very
rough travel to reach their area from Mto wa Mbu
town, and it is only 170 kilometers stretch. They have no road. They have no
water. They have no power. We will be doing huge injustice if we do not move to
correct these imbalances. If they perceive that we don’t care about them, they
will easily become enemies of the park and that will harder to deal with.”
He
said: “We will continue with our serious efforts of conservation, but we cannot
deny these people living on the northern side of the Serengeti border a road.
There is neither justification nor explanation for not building this important
road.”
The
President thank Mr. McIntire for his suggestion that the World Bank would be
willing to fund processes leading to building a tarmac road on the southern
side of Serengeti National Park but insisted that the road to the south would
not solve transport challenges of communities living on the northern side of
the park.
Ends.
Issued
by:
Directorate
of Presidential Communications,
State
House.
Dar
es Salaam.
9th
February, 2011