News Details

Serikali imekua ikitoa madai kuwa jamii ya wafugaji ni waharibifu. Kama jamii tumeona kila mahali ardhi ya vijiji vya wafugaji inaporwa, mifugo yao kukamatwa na kupigwa mnada na maboma yao kuchomwa moto. Sehemu kubwa ya hii vita ni sababu ardhi ya wafugaji zimekua ardhi zenye thamani kubwa sana hivyo, wananyanganywa kwa sababu ya maslahi ya kiuchumi. Wafugaji wamepigwa vita kwa kunyanganywa maeneo yao kwa ajili ya hifadhi ya wanyama pori, ukulima wa mashamba makubwa na kugeuzwa kwa maeneo yao kuwa maeneo ya kilimo cha chakula sababu ya ongezeko la watu. 

Vita dhidi ya wafugaji imeonekana kuanza tangu kipindi cha ukoloni ambapo wakoloni waliwatafutia maeneo wafugaji waliokuwa wakiishi Serengeti na maeneo ya pembezoni ili kuifanya Serengeti iwe hifadhi ya taifa.  Kwa sasa serikali inawahamisha watu kwa nguvu kwa kutumia jeshi, bila ubinadamu wala fidia. Pamoja na vyombo vya habari kuzuiwa kuripoti matukio yaliyotokea hivi karibuni Ngorongoro ambapo Serikali ilidai kuwa wafugai wanaharibu usalama wa hifadhi na kwa nguvu iliyotumika watu kadhaa walipoteza maisha na wengine kujeruhiwa.  

Pamoja na haya yote kutokea wananchi wanahoji juu ya uwepo wa wizara inayosimamia mifugo ambayo waziri wake kila akizungumza na umma anawasakama wafugaji. Lakini pia kitendo cha Serikali kuwahamisha wafugaji kutoka kwenye maeneo yao yenye majani na maji na kuwapeleka maeneo yasiyo na majani na maji kimetafsiriwa kuwa ujumbe kwao kuwa wasiwe wafugaji. Mifugo ni sehemu muhimu ya uchumi wetu ni lazima tufikirie upya sera zetu zinazohusu ufugaji na wafugaji. Tunahitaji sera mpya ya ardhi na ya ufugaji inayofahamu mahitaji ya wafugaji. 

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ENGLISH VERSION

The government has been making claims that the pastoralist community is destructive. As a society, we have witnessed several cases where pastoralists' land has been looted, their livestock seized and auctioned and their houses burned. A large part of this war emerges from the fact that pastoral land is very valuable and hence are confiscated because of economic interests. Pastoralists have been attacked by the confiscation of their lands by the government for conservation of wild animals, the establishment of estate farms and the conversion of their areas into areas for food cultivation due to the increase in population. 

The war against herdsmen seems to have started since the colonial period when the colonialists established Serengeti as a national park by reallocating those that lived within and nearby areas to other areas. The current government however uses force to reallocate people using the militia, without humanity nor compensation. The recent case being that of Ngorongoro where even with the media being prevented from reporting the events that happened on ground the use of force by the government resulted in death and injury casualties of several civilians. 

With all this happening, the people are questioning the presence of the Ministry in charge of livestocks whose Minister, whenever he addresses the public, is only seen to air insults to the pastoralists. The government's action of moving pastoralists from their areas with enough supply of grass and water and sending them to areas without enough grass and water has been interpreted as a message sent to pastoralists forbidding them not to be herders. Livestock keeping is an important part of our economy, we must rethink our policies concerning livestock keeping as well as pastoralists. We need a new land and livestock policy that is aware of the needs of pastoralists.

#ChangeTanzania  #MariaSpaces