News From Parliament

Illegal coastline structures face demolition

THE Deputy Minister in the Vice-President’s Office, Dr Terezya Huvisa.

THE government will demolish all homes and other landed structures that are located within the 60-metre distance off the Indian Ocean coastline from Tanga to Mtwara this fiscal year, it has been said.  

Owners and occupiers of such structures on the coastline should vacate the areas, they have been subsequently been warned. This was said in the National Assemby by the Deputy Minister in the Vice-President’s Office, Dr Terezya Huvisa, who was responding to a supplementary question from Ms Leticia Mageni Nyerere (Special Seats – Chadema).

Ms Nyerere had wished to know what the government intended to do to enlighten the wananchi on the ravages of dangerous weather changes -- especially people who have homes too close to the Indian Ocean waterline. The deputy minister said that demolition work had already started in some areas of Dar es Salaam.

The demolition is aimed at forcing encroachers to get out of harm’s way. The initiative, the deputy minister said, will be carried on elsewhere, covering the entire coastline. The move is partially carried out in fulfillment of the Rio+20 requirements.  In her original question, Ms Nyerere had sought to know what the State was doing to protect the environment in the light of the Blue Carbon arrangement on climate change.

She also wished to know how harvesting of coastline resources would be protected. The deputy minister said that the coastline, lake beaches, river banks and dams will be protected from all sorts of harm wrought by human activities. The activities, she said, include harvesting of poles, felling of trees and unplanned building of houses.

Other activities include destructive fishing methods, soil erosion along coastlines, river banks and lake shores, pollution of water emanating from sewage disposals, poisons contained industrial effluents and discarding of expired medicines and fertilizers.