It had rained very heavily the previous evening. Today heavy clouds gathered long before we left for Masasi from Ruangwa and we had covered hardly one kilometre when it started to rain again.
In some parts the road was slippery, in others we had to drive through temporary rivulets with heavy currents due to the heavy rain. That was when none of us (there were six of us in the vehicle) would say a word. Most of us were silently saying our prayers.
There were times when the vehicle would run sideways like a crab or like a bus that had lost its center bolt. Thank God the driver had done similar stretches of road before and there was nothing on his face to showthat he was worried by either the rainfall or the slippery road.
The team of journalists had visited several villages in Kilwa and Ruangwa districts to learn how communities conserve and protect forests and how they benefit from their work. The tour was part implementation of MamaMisitu, a programme that seeks to institute good governance in forests as a way of ensuring that communities use the natural resources to reduce poverty.
It was quite a relief when we hit the tarmac road a couple of kilometres outside Masasi town well before nightfall. That was good because we had a bit of time to have a look around the town and locate places where one could have food and a cold drink.
Yes, a cold drink was necessary to loosen the joints of our bodies which had gone stiff because of sitting for a long time.
It was also necessary to cool down the anxiety that we had experienced when the vehicle almost slipped on its side or when we plunged into small streams that flowed fast.
Someone ordered boiled chicken – free range chicken - there are no broilers here. The standard portion is quarter chicken, and you don’t have to tell the attendant about that, unless you want half or whole chicken.
What was interesting was that some of our colleagues got more than what they had asked for; a half chicken with the heart, liver and gizzard put together all at a price of a quarter chicken.
Stories started to fly around that they had communicated secretly with the ladies who were serving us the food. Others alleged that those who had been given more than the usual portion had promised the ladies a night out.
Anyway, we all got what we wanted and washed down our meals with cold drinks- beer, Coca cola, Fanta….depending on one’s choice and the thickness of the wallet. There after everyone left as and when they felt like doing so, as the night became less hectic.
The following morning we were joined by DeogratiasKimwaga and Hamis Rashid on a trip to Mbangara Forest located several kilometers from the town. The two were among native youths who were not happy with the way the district council was managing the forest.
The journey took us deep into the forest where there was a logger’s camp that was temporary abandoned. Whoever had set the camp would certainly come back; there were stacks of timber and a quick count took us to over 1,000 pieces.
There were also pairs of tattered overalls which could still be put to good use by loggers.
“This is all illegal stuff but you can see that all pieces of timber have been stamped, they have been legalized. We are not sure who keeps the stamp but it shuttles between the district forest office and the Tanzania Forest Services. What we do not know is who came to use the stamp here,” explained Kimwaga.
It emerged that while the district council had banned harvesting any products from the forest, illegal logging was going on allegedly with the collusion of some officials.
“Villagers are frustrated because their efforts to protect the forest have come to naught. They report the criminals to the authorities but no action is taken against the culprits. Informers are betrayed by officials and this has endangered our lives,” Kimwaga said.
So officially no harvesting is being done in Mbangara forest but the situation on the ground shows that illegal harvesting is rampant and it goes on with the blessing of district council officials.
“That is why we are angry,” said Hamis Rashid. “We feel cheated by the district council. This is a resource that should benefit locals and for the youth, allowing legal harvesting would enable us to get income and reduce poverty in our families. But now only a few people benefit from the resources. This is not fair.”
Salum Shomari later joined us in the forest. He was the acting ward executive officer for Mbagara ward. He told the group of journalists that communities were frustrated by the way then district council was mismanaging the forest particularly by failing to stop illegal harvesting.
He explained that the some of the youth had become impatient and were collaborating with illegal loggers.
“Our poverty is to a great extent due to weakness in the district council leadership. Officials are bent on making money from the forest and not improving the lives of communities around the forest by empowering them to manage this resource through participatory forest management programmes, “explainedShomari.
As we headed to town, we discussed several issues. One which was discussed at length was the illegal harvesting that was going on in the forest when officials had banned such activities. Didn’t the district forest officer, for example, know what was going on? And who had stamped the timber in the forest whenofficials knew that it was harvested illegally?
We had an audience with the Deputy Manager for Tanzania Forest Services Agency (TFS), Southern Zone, Boazi Sanga. Among other things he told the journalists that the agency was responsible for instituting sustainable harvesting of forests and cited illegal harvesting as one of the major problems the agency has to deal with.
“It is also our duty to see that communities benefit from forest resources because they are the ones who conserve and protect them. In collaboration with district councils we encourage villages to participate in managing forests through programmes such as Participatory Forest Management Programmes,” he said.
There are known habitual offenders who harvest timber illegally. The journalists wanted to know what TFS does with such people. “They pay fines and we confiscate the goods. But they would still go back to do the same things and we would arrest them and they would again pay fines again. The way out would be to take these people to court but court cases are cumbersome,” he explained.
Outside the TFS offices stood a blue lorry loaded with timber. It was an illegal consignment that had been confiscated by the authorities. A source familiar with TFS operations who was at the office premises told the journalists that the owner of the lorry was a habitual offender. “If you come here tomorrow afternoon you will not find the lorry because the owner would have paid the fine and also bought the timber through an auction in which only he and a TFS official participate,” he explained,adding:
“He would go back and harvest timber illegally and he would be caught again by TFS. He will then pay the fine and buy the timber in an auction. This goes on and on and people wonder why the agency is conducting business in that manner.”
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