Guardian (Tanzania)

The government has been asked to step in and urgently assist about 30,000 drought-stricken residents of Sale Division in Ngorongoro District, Arusha Region.

Oxfam International said in a statement that assessments carried out in the area the past few months indicate, the drought has already taken a heavy toll on children who are acutely malnourished.

According to the statement, unless the government immediately releases relief maize from Strategic Grain Reserve for the residents, acute starvation is imminent in the Division.

�The children, the elderly and HIV/Aids sufferers are the worst hit. Malambo, Piyaya, Sale, Oldonyo Sambu, Engaresero, Pinyiny and Digidigo areas within the division need immediate food aid,� said the statement signed by Oxfam Country Programme Manager Mark Waite.

The telltale signs for the crisis have been there for several months.

The area has not received adequate rainfall for the last two years and large numbers of animals have been dying since last November, he says in the statement.

�This is always the most difficult time of the year for people in this area. However, this year is much worse than usual,� Waite says in the statement.

Animals face a high risk of disease and death without adequate feeds.

To make matters worse, animal prices have plummeted dramatically.

�A cow is selling at 50,000/-, only a quarter of the normal cost,� Waite says.

Currently, Oxfam is working with local communities in the affected areas to create self-sustainable food sufficiency in future.

The international NGO says it will support the government in logistics if it releases relief grain for the residents from its Strategic Reserve.

The fate of Arusha to either attain city status or remain simply a municipality now depends on the on-going parliamentary session in Dodoma.

Arusha Municipal Director, Noah Mwaikuka admitted that the issue still hangs in the balance but was optimistic that before the end of this year, Arusha would become a city.

��The final decision will come from the National Assembly whose members are expected to either endorse or shelve the current �city� proposals during the ongoing budget sessions in Dodoma�� Mwaikuka said.

Already the municipality has been allowed to extend its boundaries to some specific distances into the Arumeru District in order to boost the size of the rather tiny urban center which also doubles as �Arusha District.�

?The Arusha Municipality will now embed three wards from Arumeru, namely; Moshono, Matevesi and Olasiti.

Minister of State in the Prime Minister�s Office, (Regional Administration and Local Governments,) Mizengo Pinda, announced these changes during a visit to Arusha region recently.

The municipal councillors wanted Arusha to be allowed to extend boundaries beyond the Kisongo location and move up 500 meters from the main Namanga-Arusha-Moshi road, a proposal which was later overruled.

At the moment, the northern boundary separating Arusha and Arumeru lies 200 meters from Namanga-Arusha-Moshi Road. If the municipal extension demands were passed, then even the Arumeru District Council Headquarters, would fall within Arusha Municipality.

The municipal officials had in May this year, wanted the 200 meters to be extended to 500 meters, based on the argument that the current borderline cuts through a number of households such that ��while the living rooms are in Arusha, the bedrooms would be in Arumeru and vice-versa.��

On the other hand, the Arumeru officials had another idea. They proposed that the 200 meters that cut into their administrative area be reclaimed, such and the borderline between the two precincts should be the Arusha -Moshi Highway, a move that would have made Arusha lose its important residential locations of Sanawari, Mianzini, Sakina, half of Kimandolu and about 70 percent of Kwa-Ngulelo area.

Last March, President Jakaya Kikwete ordered the Arusha Municipality measuring some 93 square kilometers to stretch its borders in order to cater for increasing population, the imminent growth of economic undertakings and social facilities that will be needed once the urban centre becomes a city.

the President instructed that the city should not expand into areas earmarked for farming activities.

He also rejected earlier proposal which had granted Arumeru District with municipal status, saying the vast precinct was still not adequately developed.

He advised the local leaders to split the district into two autonomous councils.

Deliberating the President�s order during the recent Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) meeting the two authorities found themselves being divided over their respective proposed boundaries.

Submitting the proposal as agreed by the local full council session to the RCC, Arusha, Municipal director, Noah Mwaikuka said the councillors proposed that the Arusha Municipal boundary should be expanded to 500 meters north from Moshi-Namanga Highway.

�The Arusha Municipality full council session which was held on 21st of April 2006, prior to the regional meeting suggested that the five wards from Arumeru, namely; Moshono, Murrieti, Oljoro, Mateves and Kisongo, be also included in the Arusha Municipality mainly because their geographical location would simplify the proposed Arusha city�s expansion plan.�� Mwaikuka stated.

This earlier proposal intended that the future �Arusha city� to have over 700 square kilometers, but much of that, accounting for 607 square kilometers, should be caved from the vast Arumeru district.

Oh his part, the Arumeru district council Executive Director Raphael Mbunda said his councillors were against the proposal of expanding the Arusha-Arumeru border.

The Arumeru officials opposed the proposal to take Mateves and Kisongo wards located between Arumeru and Monduli districts, arguing that Arumeru would be totally cut off from Monduli.

Meanwhile, Arumeru District is now set to be zoned into two councils namely, Arumeru Rural and Meru District, according to Minister Pinda.