Mayoral palace issue looms in Njiro land dispute
Council denies to have sold nine government
plots to individuals
By Arusha Times Reporters
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Municipal Mayor, Paul Lotta Laizer |
The Mayoral Palace issue has sprung up from an
ongoing controversy in which the Arusha Municipal Council is being accused of
selling to local business people some plots belonging to the Government.
Located in Themi area, the portion of land with nine surveyed plots ranging from
plot number; 188 to plot number196 of Section: JJ-Olorien, are said to be
Government property, belonging to the State owned media institution, Tanzania
Broadcasting Service (TBS).
This is the same location where the two TBS organs, namely, the Radio Tanzania (RTD)
and Televisheni ya Taifa (TVT) have put up their local broadcasting station, for
the Northern Zone.
Municipal Mayor, Paul Lotta Laizer recently called a press conference to address
the matter. While admitting that the plots were indeed sold to individual
buyers, the Mayor pointed out that the council had nothing to do with the
transaction.
According to Lotta Laizer, the council had authority over only one piece of
land, the plot 196 which had been "Reserved for the construction of the Arusha
Mayoral Palace!" Apparently, this happens to be the same piece of land on which,
the RTD-TVT Sub stations are located.
"The buyers have legal title deeds for plots 188 to 195, but plot 196 is still
under the Arusha Municipal Council and RTD are our tenants." Claimed the Mayor,
adding that the council acquired the land in 1956 together with the buildings
therein, which are currently being used by the State owned media organs.
In March1985 the Municipal Director office received an official letter from the
Prime Minister's office in Dar-es-salaam, directing that the plot being used by
RTD should be considered to be the property of the State Radio Station effective
from the initial date of RTD's tenancy.
The letter with reference number, HU/M.70/43/170 was signed by the then
Principal Secretary, W .Mwabulambo. However by then the area was not yet
surveyed which means plots therein were placed under the Radio Tanzania
ownership.
Six years later, the area was surveyed and by September 1991 the official
drawing number 25237 was produced, indicating a division of nine plots, 188-196
that were approved by the Ministry of Land in 1992.
In 1987 eight out of the nine plots were sold off to local business people.
According to the Mayor the sale was approved by the Regional Commissioner's
Office.
He named the parties who bought the plots as; Namnyak Nalesika, Samuel
Shamsashen, Jane Fanuel, Rehema Ubare, Ntengwa Mbaga, GOL and Naaznen
Investment- which acquired two plots.
According to the Mayor, the buyers went to the council to seek building permits
and since they held genuine title deeds, they had the rights to develop the
plots. However due to complaints from RTD-TVT representatives, and the 2003
order of the Prime minister's office to the Regional Commissioner, the council
was compelled to stop the plots development.
The remaining plot number 196 with title deed 14325 is still left under RTD now
operating as an auspice of the National broadcasting outfit -TBS. The council
claims the rights over the plot but the Mayor said that if the Government want
RTD to have the plot then let it be so.
Asked about the Mayoral palace, the mayor said his council is not about to be
involved in a tug-of-war with the Government, thus the Mayor's residence project
will have to be shelved for now.
Arusha lacks an official Mayor's residence, compelling holders of the office to
either live in their own houses or rent flats in town. Mayor Laizer lives at his
farm in Baraa ward, located in the outskirts of the municipality.
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