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Issue 00407 |
Feb 1 - 24, 2006 |
issn 0856 - 9135 |
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Front Page 1 |
| TBL, villagers locked in dispute over barley farm
By Staff Reporter A controversy between residents of Soit-Sambu village in Ngorongoro and the Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) is brewing, with each of the two parties claiming to be legal owners of the 10,000- acre barley estate located in the District. The tension is reported to be on the increase, as over 15,000 villagers are bracing for a fierce confrontation against TBL's plans to sell the disputed acres of land, that were previously earmarked for barley production. The Soit Sambu village executive officer (VEO) Saimon Mbusia, who was speaking on behalf of the villagers, accused TBL for having 'dubiously' acquired the 10,000 acres farm in the first place, allegations that were however dismissed as baseless by the company's North East Regional Director, David Mgwasa. The controversy came into light after the TBL featured an advertisement on this paper's issue of January 21, 2006, inviting a potential investors or developers to purchase the 10,000 acres of Loliondo farm. The move, according to Mbusia, angered the villagers to the extent of calling for the government intervention to stop TBL's plans of selling the farm. This they said is the only concrete step towards averting a amjor dispute. "We were surprised to learn that the land is on sale. The farm is a home of two Primary schools, a dispensary and a catchment for a number of local water sources," maintained Mbusia, who traveled to Arusha town, to convey villagers' concerns. He claimed the two schools, with 600 pupils, were constructed in the disputed land since 1990 while water wells were erected on the land by the government since 1954. The villagers want immediate intervention, warning that they were not ready to leave the area. The VEO added "whoever is going to buy the land, as advertised by the TBL, would have bought a row". "There are a lot of questions without answers. Most of us are asking how, when and who gave TBL our land that we inherited from our ancestors?" queried the VEO. According to Mbusia, there was no where that his village government legally endorsed TBL as owners of the land. He explained that of the villages' 16,000 population about 15,000 people live within the controversial farm and depend on it for their daily life. The TBL's Northern Zone's director has insisted that his company has all legal rights to own the farm, adding that the ministry (Lands) responsible appropriately issued a title deed to TBL in 1990. The disputed farm is situated in Ngorongoro District, about 400 kilometers from Arusha town, via the crater route and 300 kilometers through the Monduli-Lake Natron route. The farm is located in the south-west slopes of Sukenya Hills, some 22 km by road to the west of Loliondo Town. According to the TBL's advert, the firm has the right of occupancy for 99 years, and the farm comprises 10,000 acres. There is a labor camp and boreholes, for water supply. The farm is suitable for barley cultivation or eco-tourism undertakings. Three years ago, TBL relocated 122 families that have lived as squatters at the firm's barley farms at Nduimet, West Kilimanjaro in Hai District, for the past 50 years so as to pave way for the firm to make use of its farm. The families with a total population of 450 are now settled at a new village of their own at Siha West Ward, named Mwangaza.
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Updated:
January 07, 2006 . |
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Webmaster: WDJMallya |
