Tanzanian gov’t to demolish 300 houses constructed in reserve areas

DAR ES SALAAM, Aug. 31 — The government of Tanzania said on
Tuesday it will soon start demolishing about 300 houses constructed in
government reserve located at Toangoma in the commercial capital Dar es
Salaam’s district of Temeke.

“Owners of the 300 houses were given a seven-day notice to vacate the
houses to pave way for the demolition,” said Nassibu Mbaga, the Temeke
Municipal Director. “We notified the owners of the houses last week to
vacate and the notice expired on August 28,” Mbaga told a news conference
in the commercial capital.He added that the owners of the houses lined up
for demolition requested the government for a dialogue before it could
carry out the demolition. Mbaga said the demolition was supposed to start
on August 28 but since the owners have requested for a dialogue with the
government, the government has formed a team which will talk to the house
owners on Wednesday. “We are going to hold talks with them but the houses
will be demolished because they are located in the greenbelt. This is a
reserve area where we can only plant trees for environmental protection,”
said the official. Since President John Magufuli came into power, tens of
hundreds of houses located along road reserves have been demolished. – XINHUA