Kazimzumbwi residents ordered to vacate forest reserves to allow forest sustainability.
By The guardian reporter, 20th December 2014
Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism,Lazaro Nyalandu.
Fatma Kimario, Kisarawe district commissioner issued the ultimatum in a meeting with the local residents at Magulue on Friday where she gave violators a repeated warning over the non-sanctioned activities in a forest reserve belonging to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.
She said the rainforest that stretches tens of kilometers into the Eastern zone of Dar Es Salaam is of special significance in protecting water sources and resisting the prevailing climate change.
There has been a serious tug-of-war that involved court battles between the Kisarawe residents and the government authorities over appropriation of the forest since 2011.
While the residents claim that the forest is an ancestral heritage the government says it is a public heritage falling under the government laws of natural resources preservation.
Though the residents have repeatedly ended up losers in court battles, they had been so reluctant to vacate the area that by Thursday about 300 residents were still holding the non-sanctioned plots in the area. Jackson Rwehumbiza, a resident of Kisarawe is just one of the 300 people who have vowed not to vacate come what may.
“We can not just leave the place as if we were chickens… these plots belonged to our ancestors,” he said adding, “they demolished our houses in 2011, and when they went to the responsible Ministry we were told we were eligible to live here.”
He said they will file complaints before the Prime Minister’s Office to demand a better place if they would be evacuated.
But Kimario insisted legal actions be taken immediately if her orders would be defied.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN