Arusha 1939-1999

Arusha was like a tonic. Warm days, cool nights and living in an hotel, the New Arusha Hotel, where the meals were excellent and ridiculously cheap at shs. 3. 00 per day for breakfast. lunch, tea and dinner! The propietor's good deed towards the 'War Effort'. He also made available for our use (the 7 BNCOs), a large empty room which accommodated all our campbeds and kit. The Army paid for that. Bar sales shot up, no doubt off-setting the cheap meals? At this point another Sgt joined us from the Service Corps, a mechanic, who could carry on where I left off. The 'heap' I drove for 150 miles did, in fact, have a cracked cylinder-head. And the mystery of the missing Transport Officer; he was abandoned in Dodoma suffering from an attack of malaria!

I must digress for a while. Practically all the German nationals in the Territory were collected from here, there and everywhere as soon as war was declared. The number probably totaling 3,000 plus but where they were all interned prior to their evacuation to South Africa I cannot recollect. Their homes, estates, businesses etc, had to be abandoned and were left in the care of a newly formed Department, The Custodian of Enemy Property, thus creating plenty of employment for the older generation. Chaos reigned for a while but gradually sanity was restored. One shining example was in Arusha. The Ford Motor Co's agent was a German firm stocking a vast amount of spare parts dating from the present day back to 1930. With their German masters gone the Asian clerks were a little out of their depth when it came to searching for individual vehicle parts, consequently, one invariably had to go behind the counter, into the parts department, to find the necessary spare part(s) required.

I haven�t mentioned my brother for some considerable time! A month or two before hostilities commenced he went on six months leave to the UK and was therefore 'trapped', not knowing when he would be returning due to the unpredictable state of the shipping movements.

Back to Arusha. The township is situated on the lower slopes of an extinct volcano, Mt. Meru, which is 14,000 plus feet above sea level at the peak. In the European sector are well kept gardens with a profusion of flowers, and a whole variety of vegetables in the kitchen gardens . Plenty of beer in the two hotels. There was also a Chemists shop, most unusual in 'up-country' towns.

Arusha, in a country of bush and big game, primitive tribes and volcanic hills, has the distinction of being in the exact centre of Africa - 2,450 miles from Cape Town, and 2,450 miles from Cairo.

The new Arusha City status, which became effective on Friday, the 1st of July 2005 was celebrated with a low scale event at the open space in Mbauda area where market auctions normally take place. Arusha was declared a township in 1948.

. . . .

With a population of less than 300,000 Arusha is yet to meet the international requirement of 400,000 residents, necessary for a town to be accredited with such urban status. However, it is being speculated that, the fact that the area hosts a number of international institutions such as the UN-ICTR and the EAC, it was a politically correct reason to award it the status.

. . The first project to be undertaken was the construction of the new road from Namanga to Arusha. In continuation of the programme in that area it was decided to extend the new road from Arusha through Moshi, to Himo with a short extension towards Tanga. The first contract was let, in 1949, to Messrs. Stirling-Astaldi & Co. This project, which is now complete, provides 135 miles of first class road, with a stone base course, and an 18 feet wide bituminous surface. . . . .

The roads in this area not only carry some of the heaviest traffic in the country, but the volcanic soils are probably as difficult as any in the world for purposes of raod building. In the circumstances the substitution of bituminous surfaces for earth or gravel was long overdue.

It should also be noted that the plan provides for a further stretch of bituminized road westwards from Arusha for 50 miles, but owing to rising costs on the roads now being constructed it has been necessary to postpone the building of this section. It is, however, intended to bring this section of the Great North Road up to bituminized standard as soon as finances permit, since most of it passes over friable volcanic soils and carries very heavy traffic, and along it the produce of the Oldeani farming area and the produce of the Mbulu District is evacuated to Arusha

Estimated costs:

1. Great North Road

a) Namanga to Arusha "950,000

b) Arusha to Makiyuni " 410,000

c) Makiyuni to Tundama "31,051

d) Bridges "200,000

e) Mporotos Deviation " 60,000

Total "1,651,051

split to

Territorial or Loans Funds "796,051

CD & W Funds " 855,000

We've all heard of eBay, but have you heard of an American auction site: www.delcampe.com ? I bought some super postcards of 1950s Kampala there, and at present there are four postcards of Arusha, three of them from the '50s I think.

Thought you might like to take a peek. Kind regards, Hazel.

The former colony of German East Africa was renamed Tanganyika Territory after the First World War, in 1918. Tanganyika held some of the greatest concentrations of big game in Africa, and Arusha became an important center for safaris. The town, situated near Mount Kilimanjaro on the northern plains, was much smaller in area and population than Nairobi, but there were certain similarities. Both were colorful towns. Both were located in the cool highland regions of their respective countries, and both were known for their fun-loving citizenry.

Not far from Arusha were vast wheat- and grain-farming areas on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest mountain. While Nairobi rapidly grew into a large cosmopolitan city, Arusha remained a small hunting and farming community but with the same Wild West flavor as its Kenya counterpart. While the settlers around Nairobi were primarily of English descent, Arusha had more of an international flavor. Even at its zenith of prosperity in the late 1950s, Arusha was never a large town, having a total population of less than 8,000, including about 1,000 white settlers of all nationalities, many of them not actually resident in the immediate township, but on outlying ranches.

While Kenya had its Masai Mara, Tanganyika held the Serengeti. While Kenya had its famed deserts in the Northern Frontier, Tanganyika had Ngorongoro Crater, one of the wonders of the world, as well as Lake Manyara, which was also alive with big game. In addition Tanganyika had the largest game reserve in the world, the Selous.

The population of Arusha Township at the 1952 Census was 7,797 - comprising 1,084 Europeans, 3,153 Asians and 3,560 Africans. These figures, as far as the first two races are concerned, reflect an increase of over 100% over the 1948 Census

Arusha, a growing town and headquarters of the province, is the centre of my work in this part of Northern Tanganyika. Christ Church was built in 1932, and a fairly continuous Chaplaincy work has been carried out in the district. But behind this continuity there has been, and still is, a great deal of change.

At the end of the war there may have been no more than 30 residential dwellings in the town; now there are over 130 with an increasing number of flat dwellings in the commercial area. Many residents are Government Officials, who are not likely to be in the district much longer than two years, and their numbers are always changing. ...

Although the town plays a prominent part in the work, there are other places to be considered. Farming estates within distances of up to twenty or thirty miles from town; smaller Government stations with a population of perhaps 12 families, such as Monduli 25 miles away, or Mbulu 140 miles away. There is also a large farming community at Oldeani some 100 miles away.

Arusha, 4620 ft., 297 m. from Tanga, white pop. of district 740 (four hotels) is the business centre of an extensive coffe district located on the slopes of Mount Meru, provincial headquarters, realhead and shopping center for the Masai and Mbulu districts, the latter including the Oldeani and Babati settlement areas. Arusha is well watered (two rivers hold trout), the soil is very fertile, the rainfall good and the heat is tempered by the prevailing winds which blow from the glaciers of Mount Kilimanjaro. There is much fine scenery and the great Game Reserve of the Serengeti Plains is within easy reach by car. Sports club, Swimming Bath. Arucha was occupied by the British on March 20th 1916. Gymkhana club with 9 hole golf cource, tennis, etc. Two missions. The population of the district is increasing rapidly.

The Princess's first engagement in Arusha on Tuesday, 16th October, was a now familiar baraza held in the shadow of Mount Meru, and impressive mountain whose stark peak reaches 14,979 ft. Here she received a rousing welcome from thousands of African school children. A picnic lunch was taken on the shores of Lake Duluti, and then Her Royal Highness entered a safari car to drive to the Ngurdoto crater, a famed resort of wild animals. From the lip of the crater the Princess gazed down upon a herd of 150 buffalo and saw 15 elephants with a young calf running alongside. Shortly afterwards a mighty bull elephant moved through the high grass, but a giraffe which she particularly wanted to see failed to appear. The next day at a game farm, the owner, Mr. August Kuenzler, showed her how fast-running animals are caught with a noose and pole attached to a lorry.

A pleasant task for Princess Margaret during her visit to the game farm at Arusha on Wednesday, 17th October, was to choose two zebras that were to be given to Prince Charles and Princess Anne by the owner, Mr. Kuenzler. The choice was not that easy as there were 20 to choose from, but at last she indicated the pair she preferred. The Governor of Tanganyika, Sir Edward Twinning, caused a roar of laughter when he asked in the tones of a shop walker, 'and to what address shall I send them, Madam?' 'Home!' replied the Princess.

She then delighted the photographers by feeding the giraffes and taking many photographs of her own with a miniature camera. She was charmed by a baby elephant, saw a young rhinoceros and fed some strutting ostriches with corn.

Her Royal Highness's only public engagement was on outdoor reception at the European School........

Also in the main street were Arusha's two famous hotels.

The New Arusha displayed a board announcing that it was exactly midway between Cape Town and Cairo, and the Safari Hotel boasted an unusual copper topped bar to which a baby elephant had been led in for a drink in a recent Hollywood film Hatari (Danger). Mount Meru overlooked the pretty garden town beyond the golf course and the main road to Nairobi to the north.

The streets in the residential areas were lined with purple jacarandas and the well kept gardens displayed a profusion of tropical zinnias, petunias and marigolds mixed with the roses, hollyhocks, ferns and carnations of England. At 5000 feet above sea level, the climate was perfect after the sultry heat of the coast and the early mornings were a delight with dew-dappled lawns, mists and a nip in the air, mingled with the fragrant scent of cedar hedges.

I joined the Arusha Club and played for the rugby football and cricket teams. Bowling off-spinners, I once took a hat trick that culminated in the dismissal of my bank manager Mr Steele with a ball that bounced twice. The club's Chagga barman, Coleman, was a great character who kept secret medicines for members suffering from hangovers and took tops off beer bottles with such an elegant flourish that they invariably hit the ceiling with a cheerful thud.

IT must be counted a privilege to live and work in a district which includes Africa's highest and most renowned mountain, Kilimanjaro, and the world's largest natural crater, Ngorongoro, as well as other lesser known although by no means less attractive beauty spots and game reserves. However, variety and attraction could also certainly be found in the round of work which it was my privilege to fulfil during a tour of four years in Northern Tanganyika.

Arusha, about 4,500 feet high among the foot hills of Mount Meru, is an important centre not only for the Northern Province, but also for wider regions around, and the Headquarters of the Game Department for the whole of Tanganyika is situated not far from the town, indicating the importance of this area to visitors and tourists. Apart from its own population of well over 8,000 of all races, Arusha is the centre for a widespread community of European farmers and planters. So a great variety is to be found both in and around the town from its multi-racial communities ? Europeans of many nationalities, in government and commercial employ as well as the settler communities; Africans in diverse stages of development from primitive tribal ways to educated and civilised town customs; Asians almost as varied, from the small shopkeeper, to be found in even the remotest parts, to the wealthy and influential business man and estate owner. The ministry of the African Chaplaincy must take all these into account, and when this is done the importance of the position of our own people in such a territory takes on a new significance. The task of the Chaplaincy is not only that of looking after our own people in a strange land, but also of helping them to see their responsibility and calling as Christians living in one of the strategic missionary areas of to-day.

An incident emphasising this responsibility came to us in our own home one evening, when we were talking with an African friend, who was helping us in our language study. 'Tell me, padre' he asked, 'As I come to the Swahili and English services on Sundays I see both congregations, and I often wonder to myself, where are so many of our Government people? How can they expect to bring up our country in the best way if they don't seek the help of God?' How solemnly were we reminded that our people are being observed, and that such things as increased congregations at Christmas and Easter are noticed. Small wonder then, that we found our African Christians following the same pattern in their church life.

Yet there is among many of our people a real desire to help and to give the best they know in their contacts with the peoples of Africa. I think of farmers who were willing to help their African farm labourers to have the opportunity of worship and Christian teaching by visits from our African clergymen. There were many farms to visit within short distances of Arusha, as well as a large and fairly prosperous coffee farming area nearly 100 miles away. Often as I visited farmers it was possible to talk over with them ways in which the Christians among the Africans at work on their farm could be helped. One occasion called for a visit to a Pyrethrum farm some 7,500 feet up on Mount Meru for this very purpose. The thirty miles of tarmac road from Arusha was all right, but the four-mile climb up the rough farm road on the mountain side prove more than enough for our car, and my African colleague and I arrived at the farmhouse on foot. After lunch a further climb up the farm roads of over 700 feet brought us to a thatched roof building provided for Christian worship. This was the highest altitude at which I have conducted a service. These particular farmers were willing for our African pastor to travel by the farm lorry on the days when it made regular calls to the town, to assist him in more frequent visits to these members of his flock.

The responsibility for Christian witness and service is with our people in all walks of life, and many of them have personal contacts with Africans and Asians in Tanganyika to-day. An outstanding example comes from a Government school a few miles from Arusha, where over 400 African students are trained in the arts of agriculture, animal husbandry and forestry. One British member of the staff has been largely responsible for the growth of Christian witness in this school. Under this man's leadership regular worship, Bible Study and prayer groups have been fostered among the Christian students, and he himself conducts at least one service or Bible Study each week. It is chiefly due to this man also that a mission conducted by the African Assistant Bishop of the Diocese has been held in the school each October of the past two years. Great changes have come into the lives of many of these students who, through the Missions and afterwards by the influence of their fellows, have found Jesus Christ to be the Saviour and Lord of their lives. We have heard recently of another keen Christian who has been posted to this school, and ask especially for your prayers for the Christian witness being made in this place.

The story of the church in which these students worship is an interesting sidelight on the variety of life in Tanganyika. The present building was erected by Polish internees, encamped in this area at the close of the war, for their own worship. When the school was commenced here, the interest of the principal secured the continuance of the church as a place of worship, but on condition that it became available for all Christian groups. The result was that the Roman Catholics used one end, and Protestants of all denominations the other end, of the building with an entrance into the centre. Meanwhile, until the completion of a new hall, the school also use the church as an assembly hall for many official occasions.

These opportunities are the front line of Chaplaincy work in Africa ? The places where the Christian gospel can be brought into effective contact with the vast areas of life not yet brought under the dominion of Christ. In this way nearly every member of our Chaplaincy congregations may be regarded as a frontier post! Let me introduce you to a few typical examples.

Mr. A is a government official in one of the departments of administration, agriculture or medicine, etc., and spends much of his time travelling over a vast area, perhaps with only the company of a dozen or more African assistants as they visit the centres of African village life. I wonder how often others look at him and see him not only as a Government official or even a 'white man', but as a Christian?

Mrs. B is a qualified teacher and with help in the home has enough time on her hands to take on a job. There is always a great demand for women in clerical work, but she likes teaching better, and so we find her as an assistant (sometimes even as head) teacher in a school, quite probably an Asian one where there is a great demand for teachers. In a school, then, of Hindu, Moslem and probably otherwise irreligious children comes ? A-part-time relief? And agent of Western civilisation? Or a Christian? How will others see her?

Finally, Mr. C, with some professional ability, likes the life of Tanganyika, and in his commercial employment rubs shoulders daily with African clerks and Asian supervisors, as well as labourers and odd job men of both races. Perhaps as he enjoys the novelty of African life and the excitement of a developing community, Mr, C. never thinks of himself as a frontier post. Of course, if he can teach these other people some standards of honesty, good work and just dealing in business so much the better. But a frontier post for the Good News of the Saviour of the world ? Well, that never entered his head. Or did it?

But every front line must have a base. In this instance, it is the less spectacular work of a Chaplaincy in its regular Sunday services and parish meetings in the town, the continuous visitation of a congregation and community that is always changing its members, together with the longer and more arduous journeys among the scattered farms and administrative posts of a district. The Arusha district was a compact one for Tanganyika Chaplaincies, with only one centre more than 100 miles away. The base work has been consolidated through the assistance of your Society together with the growth of the work in the Diocese itself. The effective working of the front line depends in part on the ready recognition by our own people of their calling and responsibility as 'workers together with God' in the extension of His Kingdom. Here at home we still hear much of the value of our export trade. The export of greatest value that we can give to Africa to-day is dedicated lives among our own people overseas in the calling of government, commerce and agriculture. That is where the frontier of Christ's Kingdom is to be found.

General scenes of the town, don�t know where or the relevance of the pictures.

General scenes of the town, don�t know where or the relevance of the pictures.

Pictures of Remtula Pirbhai Ltd (accountants?) building showing elephant tusks on display.

Pictures of Remtula Pirbhai Ltd (accountants?) building showing elephant tusks on display.

Pictures of Remtula Pirbhai Ltd (accountants?) building showing elephant tusks on display.

Don�t know where any of these were built, but all projects my father carried out" any ideas? (I recall one of them being called the 40 mile dam, would assume 40 miles from either Mwanza or Arusha.)

Where we lived in Arusha, on a street to the East off Simeon Road, opposite the Mt Meru hospital (The street was lined with Jacaranda trees).

The road north of the house that joined the Moshi road (top of Simeon Road) was unmade, with an area of African houses on the right hand side. Brother Bob and the dog used to chase the local toto's that had come into the garden for the peaches.

There used to be a Baptist church on Ngoliondoi Road on the left hand side" lots of happy-clappy stuff. There was also a girl who lived nearby that used to own a pet monkey (name unknown" the girl I mean).

Beautiful backdrop with Mt Kilimanjaro looming large. Not sure where these premises were located in the town, but may have been somewhere to the South or West, perhaps what now constitutes the Industrial area off Sokoine Road.

Arusha is the provincial capital, a considerable town with two hotels, one of which seeks to attract by the claim to be exactly midway between Cape Town and Cairo. There is a small pocket of white farmers in the district, some of them immigrants from the Union of South Africa. Perhaps because it was Sunday evening they gave an air of festivity to the bar and lounge. The rather large European managerial staff mingled affably with them. I did not see any African or Indian customers. Dogs howled and scuffled under the window at night. Can I say anything pleasant about this hotel? Yes, it stands in a cool place in a well-kept garden and it stocks some potable South African wines in good conditions.

Population 10,000

various pictures of buildings in Arusha, 1961 (including Subzali's garage and Remtula Pirbhai Ltd) taken at night.

'The survival of our wildlife is a matter of grave concern to all of us in Africa. These wild creatures amid the wild places they inhabit are not only important as a source of wonder and inspiration but are an integral part of our natural resources and of our future livelihood and well-being.

In accepting the trusteeship of our wildlife we solemnly declare that we will do everything in our power to make sure that our children's grand-children will be able to enjoy this rich and precious inheritance.

The conservation of wildlife and wild places calls for specialist knowledge, trained manpower and money, and we look to other nations to co-operate in this important task - the success or failure of which not only affects the Continent of Africa, but the rest of the world as well'

Back in Arusha I visited the police, the hospital, the information department, the bank, the garage, the post office, the Parks office, the camera shop, the travel agency, and much else without having more than a short walk between each of them. Arusha is a most compact little town, with everything in easy reach of the visitor from out-of-town who wishes to arrange his affairs in a morning. Over the whole place is Mount Meru. This great, grey slab of a volcanic mountain is frequently not there, when the clouds are low everywhere, or when its own steep sides cause a mist around them. Every now and then, always surprisingly, it is suddenly there. Without any warning, as if it had erupted silently from the earth, a 14,749-foot mountain stands against the sky. Instead of the town's streets tapering away vaguely into the distance, they then abut most effectively against it.

At Arusha we were met by the new Director of National Parks in Tanganyika, John Owen, our guide all the time we were in Tanganyika.

Arusha itself with its cosy individual character, is unlike any other town I have seen in Africa. It was built by the Germans when they owned the province; they also built the road leading out of town, on which we met many Masai marching proudly and arrogantly with an accomplished feline grace.

....

To begin with, John Owen took us up to the Ngordoto Crater, a very recently created National Park, only an hour's drive from Arusha.

... [after a visit to Lake Manyara]

The Land-Rover lurched and plunged on the broken track, roared its way through torrents whose rush seems to have doubled in noise and intensity. I began to wonder how I should like to spend a night here with a breakdown, in this forest which now assumed a sombre and malevolent power.

We emerged after what seemed like an eternity, and with some relief returned to our perch on the rim; [the brand new Hotel Manyara] to a bath of kipper smelling water, a drink at the smart bar and a tranquil evening by the welcome fire. The young warden, Max Morgan Davies, joined us for dinner. ..

... [at Ngorongoro crater] Mr Phersen the district officer was putting us up.

... [to Seronera] We drove on to the warden's house. Mrs. Harver received us, and took us straight to the guest-house for a welcome bath.

... In the afternoon, the Chairman of the Tanganyika National Parks, Mr. Hunter, took us up in his small plane and flew us right over the Serengeti Plain.

... [Next stop Dar-es-Salaam.] The pilot of the small charter plane accommodatingly took us right over the splendid grey ash cone of Ol Doinyo Lengai, the Masai's Mountain of the Gods, a still sub-active volcano, puffing out clouds of sulphuric gases. A minute later we looked down into its neighbour the Embegi volcano, now extinct, its forested crater containing a lake. Clouds of flamingos were whirling like pink snow below us, shimmering against the blue water. The sides were very steep, their ravines thick with ancient forests. Such an intimate view of this farouche lonely giant could never have been achieved in any other way.

Arusha town was established by the Germans at the beginning of the present century and has grown to a population of 55,281. Several of the Afrtican groups, particularly the Somalis, are of non-Tanzanian origin. The Tanzanians themselves came from different tribes; the Arusha themselves, on whose land the town is situated account for only 18.7% of the population (1967 figure).

The Europeans came in, first as missionaries, then as Government officials and then as settlers. The immigrants were of course largely German, but the government encouraged South African Dutch to migrate from South Africa where they found British rule unacceptable after their defeat in the Boer war.

A small settlement of Russians was established around Engare Sero, but failed.

The Greeks started largely as railway contractors, but many took up ex German farms after World War I.

The Asians came in as traders, and later as clerical and professional workers. They now number about 4000 being largely from India and Pakistan.

A major explosive eruption was reported on 8 - 9th July 1967. Ash fell at Arusha (110 km southeast) and at Wilson Aerodrome in Nairobi, 190 km to the northeast.

After this the volcano seems to have remained dormant for several years.

Population 100,000

Population of 110,000, and growing at 10% p.a.

A flourishing town of trees and flowers, Arusha is 4,560 feet above sea level. Once a small trading post it is now the agricultural, industrial and administrative centre of the region. Its importance is primarily due to its geographical position, situated as it is in the centre of East Africa and half-way between Cairo and the Cape.

Population 134,708.

If it reflects Tanzania's 11 percent average annual rate of urbanisation, Arusha's population may have exceeded 350,000 by the early 1990's.

ARUSHA, Tanzania -- In the highlands of northern Tanzania the violet/blue jacaranda trees are at the zenith of their beauty this fall, providing a colorful backdrop to a series of meetings Secretary of State Warren Christopher will have here with regional leaders October 11.

Nestled at the foot of picturesque Mount Meru, Arusha offers its 200,000 residents lush scenery and abundant wildlife as well as the money amassed from tourists who throng here from all over the world to visit game parks like Taraugire and Serengeti and the scenic Olduvai Gorge.

Arusha is also the center of a fertile agricultural region and in recent years has become a focal point for meetings of the East African Community and for Great Lakes leaders and foreign ministers who are shepherding a peace accord in Rwanda -- and an economic boycott against Burundi, site of a recent coup against its democratically elected government. The Pan African Postal Union also has a main office in town.

A traditional market town, Arusha is dominated at the center by a large clock tower and shopping area where Makonde carvings and the mineral meerschaum, which is mined in the vicinity, can be bought. In addition, the Cultural Heritage Center on Dodoma Road offers jewelry and gemstones as well as local crafts. Amethysts mined nearby are especially beautiful.

Secretary Christopher will land at nearby Kilimanjaro Airport before traveling to the Mount Meru Hotel, where he will have separate meetings with President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, President Daniel arap Moi of Kenya, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere, who has been an indefatigable worker for peace in the region.

Nyerere has the distinction of being the first African head of state since independence to step down from power voluntarily when he left office in 1985.

Certain to be a topic of discussion will be progress on the proceedings of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (lCTR), which has had full backing from the United Nations and the United States; the U.S. has so far contributed more than $9 million for its operation.

The Mount Meru Hotel, where Christopher's discussions will take place, is the largest hotel in Arusha. The day before the anticipated Christopher visit, its lobby, normally crowded with tourists in bush hats and safari jackets waiting to visit nearby game parks, was filled with a milling crowd of U.S. and African officials and their security officers.

Journalists from the Associated Press, the BBC, the Voice of America, and the Financial Times were also bumping into each other trying to get interviews with the officials, who were attracted to Arusha because of the Christopher visit.

Among those officials was U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania Brady Anderson, who began consultations with his staff about logistics for the secretary of states's official visit immediately after his arrival. Anderson, a fellow Arkansan and longtime friend of President Bill Clinton's, was appointed envoy here in 1994.

Ambassador Anderson's staff of 260, including 40 Americans, operates a mission that has among its many responsibilities overseeing a development assistance program in Tanzania that totaled $18.3 million in 1996. The development program, administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), emphasizes improvements in the rural transportation infrastructure, private enterprise development, and family planning.

According to USAID figures, the total amount of U.S. assistance to Tanzania from 1953 to 1992 was $480 million.

All 10 U.S. tourists aboard a light aircraft died when it smashed into a mountain near a Tanzanian game park, rescue officials said on Thursday.

'They are still looking around the site, but there is no hope of finding survivors,' an official told Reuters. He said they had found 10 identifiable bodies and the scattered remains of two other people.

The Cessna aircraft belonging to Northern Air went down about 11 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Wednesday as it took the tourists from Serengeti national park to an airport near Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's largest mountain.

Rescuers who worked through the night to reach the crash site said the plane smashed into Mount Meru at 2,580 metres (8,500 feet) and appeared to have burst into flames.

'They found the plane wreckage at around 4 a.m. (0100 GMT),' said Margaret Muyangi, head of Tanzania's Civil Aviation Authority. 'It was very foggy and difficult to work out there.'

On Wednesday, a U.S. embassy spokesman in Nairobi confirmed that 10 Americans -- six men and four women -- were on board the aircraft along with a Tanzanian tour guide and a pilot whose nationality he did not know.

Visitors were on luxury tour

The spokesman said the tourists, three couples and a group of four came from Florida, Massachusetts, Connecticut, California and New Jersey.

Seven other American tourists from the same group but on a different plane arrived safely at Kilimanjaro Airport.

They had been on a luxury tour organized by Abercrombie & Kent, staying at the Serena Wildlife Lodge, an upmarket safari camp in the Serengeti.

The crash site was on the southeastern slopes of Mount Meru, a 4,565-meter (14,979-foot) high mountain 50 km (30 miles) west of Kilimanjaro.

Kilimanjaro, although close to the equator, is permanently snow-capped and both mountains are frequently shrouded in heavy cloud.

The Serengeti draws tens of thousands of tourists every year who come to see its wide range of big game animals and the annual migration of millions of wildebeest.

Mount Kilimanjaro, which stands at 5,895 metres (19,347 feet), also attracts thousands of hikers and climbers.

In Washington, the State Department said it was notifying the families of the 10 American tourists listed as passengers.

Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

An aircraft chartered by Abercrombie & Kent Tanzania from Northern Air is missing. The aircraft carrying ten American tourists on an Abercrombie & Kent Livingstone Safari took off from Seronera Airstrip in the Serengeti at around 10:20 am (Tanzania time) 3:20 am (EDT) on Wednesday, September 1, and has not been heard from since. An extensive search is under way. *

We have been informed that the aircraft was a twin-engine Cessna 404. It was being flown by Chris Pereira, Chief Pilot of Northern Air. The clients on this aircraft were part of the Abercrombie & Kent Livingstone Safari, which departed August 22nd from the United States.

Additional, information will be posted to the website as it becomes available.

For further information, contact: The Africa Desk of the U.S. State Department in Washington, or Gillian Larkin, Sr. VP, at the Abercrombie & Kent Offices in Oak Brook, Illinois, on 1-800-323-7308 or 1-630-954-2944. Or visit our website a www.abercrombiekent.com.

* Update at 2:00 pm - Oak Brook, Illinois Time

An aircraft, which is believed to be the aircraft in question, has been seen on Mt. Meru and the search-and-rescue efforts are now all focused on reaching this aircraft.

** Update at 4:00 pm - Oak Brook, Illinois Time

The search-and-rescue team have located the crash site. As best as they are able, given the fact it is difficult terrain and dark, they have not been able to locate any survivors at this time. This search party will camp at the site, waiting for day break. With daybreak a helicopter will return to the site, hoping to land near the crash site in order to thoroughly search the area and confirm whether there are (or are not) any survivors. A Flying Doctor and Nurse are among the search-and-rescue team to enable giving any survivors immediate medical attention.

*** Update on September 2nd at 10:30 am - Oak Brook, Illinois Time

The aircraft and the bodies of ten passengers, together with the pilot and the A & K Professional Guide have been found. There are no survivors. The bodies will be moved, first to Arusha, and then to Nairobi, where they will be prepared for repatriation. This will be handled by the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. The State Department has informed all next of kin and will only release the names of the deceased when they are ready to do so.

The twin-engine Cessna 404 was owned by Northern Air, which has seven aircraft. The Cessna 404 was licensed to carry up to 14 passengers and was being flown by Northern Air's Chief Pilot, Chris Pereira. Mr. Pereira had over twenty years and 16,000 flying hours of experience. The aircraft left the Serengeti shortly after 10:00 am Tanzania time and crashed into the side of Mt. Meru at about 9,000 feet above sea level. The weather was overcast, which is fairly typical around Mt. Meru at this time of the year and there was nothing unusual about the weather.

The Professional Guide leading the group, William Meiliani, was also killed. The remaining 7 clients on this Livingstone Safari Group went on to Nairobi and the Masai Mara, continuing their safari.

We are deeply saddened by this tragic accident.

A wildlife conservation information centre will be set up in Arusha for use by tourists, wildlife researchers and the public.

The centre, being established by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, is expected to be opened before the end of the year.

Nearly 20 per cent of the Tanzania's 880,000 sq km surface area is under some form of conservation.

The conservator of the Ngorongoro area, Mr. Emmanuel Chausi, said the Arusha centre would be stocked with brochures, books, magazines, maps as well as video-cassettes and photographs depicting aspects of wildlife conservation. It will also advise visitors on wildlife safaris within the East African region.

The Ngorongoro authority, which administers the 8,300 sq km Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Arusha region, has so far spent Tsh40 million ($50,000) renovating a building in downtown Arusha which will house the centre. However, the conservator said the cost of the setting up of the centre would be much higher.

Mr. Chausi said the move had been prompted by the sharp increase in tourists visiting Tanzania's northern wildlife parks and conservation areas that include the world renowned Ngorongoro Crater recently listed as a World Heritage Site.

"There have been many inquiries about Ngorongoro and other game attractions like the Serengeti park by tourists. This facility will provide tourists with prior information before visiting the sites," Mr. Chausi said.

With its finest blend of landscapes, wildlife, the pastoral Maasai and archaeological sites, Ngorongoro is one of the leading tourist's attractions in Tanzania where tourism has seen fastest growth in recent years.

The main attraction is the 250 sq-km Ngorongoro Crator spanning a 23-km radius located some 160 km west of Arusha - that constitutes a mountain formation Geographers describe as a huge caldera or collapsed volcano.

At the depth of 600 metres from rim to bottom, the crater is a spectacular scenery with an abundance of wildlife that combine to make it a wonder of the natural world. Adjacent to it is the Olduvai Gorge the site where the famous skull of the nutcracker man (Australopithecus boisei) was excavated in 1959 as well as the 3.6 million-year-old Laetoli footprints.

Wildlife experts say the crater alone has over 20,000 large animals including some of Tanzania's last remaining black rhino. Other large grazing animals include wildebeest, zebra, giraffes, buffalo and gazelles, and it is also home to lions

Figures released by the Tanzania Division in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism indicated that some 175,476 tourists visited NCA in 1998/99 earning the Authority some US$ 5.7 million (Tshs 3.9 billion).

That was an increase of 35.7 per cent in tourist flow compared to 155,289 tourists recorded in 1997/98 generating some $4.2 million (Tshs 2.9 billion). It is estimated that the Authority will collect some $6.85 million (Tshs 4.8 billion) during the 1999/2000 season.

The main competitor to NCA in tourist attraction in Tanzania is the 12 game parks of the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), that dot the country. During 1998/99 TANAPA attracted 269,902 tourists in its parks earning it $13.1 million (Tshs 9.1 billion).

A fresh wave of armed banditry has erupted in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha. The bandits are believed to be members of the Somali community, reportedly from neighbouring Kenya.

They are said to be operating in liaison with local criminals in disrupting social harmony and throwing residents of the district into panic. The bandits ambushed and murdered the district police commander in August and came back two months later to massacre nine villagers, five days after President Benjamin Mkapa ordered the police force to rout them.

The police responded by killing eleven thugs, but those who escaped came back and served notice to the district commissioner saying they would come for his head no matter what or how long it took.

As a result, regional authorities are currently involved in training local guards in tactics aimed at stemming the Somali banditry.

The Monduli district commissioner, Abdallah Kihato, said the training, to be carried out by the Tanzanian military, will involve members of the Maasai community who inhabit the area.

Regional authorities are, therefore, co-operating with their Kenyan counterparts to stem the recurrent incursions.

'We need the co-operation of Kenyan authorities to corner these bandits,' Arusha Regional Commissioner Daniel Njoolay said.

He added that the region is also working on an operation called 'Operation Save Tourism' to net the bandits.

The operation will include regular police patrols in collaboration with rangers from the Tanzania National Parks.