TANZANIA: Tanga Airport To Be Expanded

Government is to expand Tanga Airport runway and other facilities to handle traffic in 24 hours.

The airport operates only during the daylight since there were no lights and its runaway has a length of 1.6 kilometres.

Tanga Region Assistant Administrative Secretary (Planning), Ms Anne Lyimo, said yesterday that to begin with, the airport will be installed with lights to enable 24 hours operations.

Tanga airport is going to be installed with traffic lights to enable airplanes to land and take off all the time,Ms Anne said.

According to Tanzania Airport Authority (TAA), the airport has been earmarked with 107bn/- fund for the extension of existing runway and other facilities.

TAA report showed that the airport runway will be expanded from the current 1.6km to 2.5km to enable huge aircraft - the like of Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus 350 - to land.

At the moment, due to shorter runway, bigger airplanes landing at the port are those with less than 50 passengers - the like of ATR 42 and Bombardier Dash 8.

Data from regional office showed that the airport, currently handles 11,000 passengers and some 6,000 kilogrommes of cargo per year.

The airport has scheduled flights to Arusha, Dar es Salaam and the Zanzibar Archipelago islands of Unguja and Pemba.

The three airlines are main frequenters of the airport like As Salaam Air, Auric Air and Coastal Aviation.

The As Salaam is a Zanzibar based airline that operates with a fleet of two aircraft, while Auric Air is Mwanza based airline with 14 equipment and Coastal Aviation flies a fleet of 30 aircraft and flights to 42 destinations spanning across Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda.

Meanwhile, Ms Anne said the region authorities assure investors of stable power to enable them invest in Tanga.

She said they have worked out power supply stability ahead of Hoima-Tanga oil pipeline project in a bid to satisfy the entire investment.

The region has welcomed investors to invest in agriculture, livestock, fishing, industries and infrastructure development - namely airport, harbour, railway, tourism and hospitality industry.



Tourism Observer

TANZANIA: Operation On Illegal Use Of Guns In Game Reserves Comming

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ernest Mangu.

OWNERS of firearms living near wildlife reserves have developed a partnership with poachers by lending the latter guns to illegally kill animals, investigations by the police force have revealed.

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ernest Mangu told reporters in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday that to fight the alliance between gun owners and poachers, police will launch an operation to collect guns from all legal owners for further inspection on their use.

He warned that people who will be guilty of lending their weapons to poachers, those weapons would be confiscated for breach of agreement on their use. “The situation in which owners of guns living near game reserves lend their weapons to other illegal owners significantly contributes to poaching,” the police chief said.

On Tuesday, Natural Resources and Tourism Minister, Jumanne Maghembe unveiled a plan to establish a special task force to fight crimes related to environmental degradation and killing of wildlife.

According to Mr Mangu, in order to curb poaching, the police forces proposes that people who go for hunting will not be allowed to carry their own guns, instead the guns would be made available for them once they reach the intended hunting grounds.

The new task force to be established would comprise officers from different departments in the ministry, including the Tanzania Wildlife Authority (TAWA), Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa), Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) and Tanzania Forest Service Agency (TSF), according to Maghembe.

It would work closely with the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services (TISS), criminal justice system, Tanzania Ports Authority, Tanzania Airport Authority, Tanzania Revenue Authority, local and international conservation organizations and other stakeholders

TANZANIA: Wildlife Wreckers On Firing Line

THE government is in the final stages of establishing a special task force to fight environment degradation and wildlife crimes, especially poaching, now on the increase in the country.

Moreover, rangers and wardens from the national park intelligence units managed in the recent operation to apprehend suspected killers of the British helicopter pilot, Roger Gower, in Maswa Game Reserve will be tried in martial courts.

The Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Professor Jumanne Maghembe, said the special task force would comprise officers from different departments in his ministry, including the Tanzania Wildlife Authority (TAWA), Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) and Tanzania Forest Service Agency (TSF).

He did not, however, say when the special taskforce will start operating, but stressed this will be different from other operations such as ‘Tokomeza.’

Prof Maghembe said the task force will work closely with the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services (TISS), criminal justice system, Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), Tanzania Airport Authority (TAA), Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), local and international conservation organizations and other stakeholders.

“The task force will be responsible with coordinating efforts and resources as well as follow up on taskforce groups established in eight zones, targeting individuals and networks that control illegal trade in elephants tusks, timber and logs”, the minister explained.

According to Prof Maghembe, the government is changing the working system for game wardens from civilian to paramilitary system and bringing back forest rangers who will be trained in handling weapons to curb illegal harvesting of trees for timber and logs in the country’s forests.

On Monday, Simiyu Regional Police Commander Lazaro Mambosasa said nine other people have been arrested in connection with the recent killing of the British pilot, including the person believed to have fired the fatal shot at the helicopter, Dotto Pangali (41). The suspects were caught with three elephant tusks and 29 guns following a massive manhunt by the police.

According to the Simiyu PRC, Pangali admitted taking part in the crime and that he is the one who shot down the helicopter using a rifle with registration number 7209460 CAR NA 63229 owned by Mange Balum, who is also in custody.

Others arrested include Shija Mjika (38), Masasi Mandogo (48), Njile Gonga (28), Iddi Mashaka (49), Mwigulu Kanga (40), Mapolu Njige (50), Dotto Huya (45) and Mange Balum (47).

The minister expressed gratitude to all those who contributed to the success of the operation, including the security forces, officers from his ministry and Home Affairs Ministry, Friedkin Conservation Fund officials Mr Dan Friedkin and Mr Pratik Patel and other stakeholders.

Gower was fatally shot by poachers while piloting a helicopter during a coordinated effort with the country’s wildlife authorities to track down and arrest active elephant killers at the Maswa Game Reserve in Simiyu Region.

Following the heinous crime, President John Magufuli ordered the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism to ensure that the perpetrators of the crime are caught in the shortest time possible and prosecuted.