TANZANIA: Tanga Urithi On Conserving Old Buildings

Deputy Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports Ms Anastazia Wambura has hailed a non governmental organisation known as Tanga Urithi, for taking conservative measures on old buildings which have been in existence for more than a century in Tanga city, as the way of developing heritage tourism.

She also said that conservation of such heritages would attract more tourists in the region, as a result enabling the local authorities earn much money from the tourism sector.

She made the statement yesterday at the Tanga Urithi heritage centre, during her one day tour to learn about the development of sectors in her ministry, together with learning the challenges they face and find the way in collaboration with the stakeholders to tackle them.

She said the efforts being done to conserve such old Germany buildings which have unique architect style which could not be found or established by today's architectures was a tantamount to preserving a worth treasure, for the region and the nation at large.

She said currently there have emerged some countries seeking to invest in the sector, thus the way that the NGO has shown would vividly attract even the prospective local and foreign investors to put their hands in developing the sector in the region in a collaborative approach. She urged Tanga Urithi management team to send to her office the written plans and strategies so that the government through her ministry, would find the way of connecting them with other international organisations, which are interested to support such projects in different countries.

"That is what we want to see...you have already shown the way for starting the project ...it is now very easy for the government and other stake holders to give you support ...keep it on, I real appreciate your efforts and we want Tanzanians to be innovative and dare to do things boldly" she stated.

Earlier speaking, the Secretary of Tanga Urithi, Mr Raymond Mhando, said his organisation has been dealing with the programmes of heritage conservation, disseminating conservation information and education to the community and different stake holders as well as developing heritage tourism in the region.

He further said that in collaboration with some stake holders, the NGO had managed to rehabilitate four famous old buildings in Tanga city which are the Old Tanga secondary school (The first secondary school in Tanganyika by then), Usambara primary court, Jamat Islamiya building and old regional commissioner's block.

He said the Urithi's goal was to see that all old buildings in the city centre are well conserved so that the visitors from outside the region would enjoy its bountifulness and attraction as the way of attracting local and foreign investors taking into account that Tanga region is rich on that including Amboni caves.