Tanzania revokes tourist hunting permits issued in 2017

Tanzania’s newly appointed Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism on Sunday revoked all tourist hunting permits issued by the ministry this year.

Addressing tourism stakeholders in the political capital Dodoma, Hamisi Kigwangalla said the permits will be re-applied through auction.

“Acting on authority bestowed on me, I am officially revoking all permits given to tourist hunting companies this year,” he said.

The minister ordered officials overseeing the issuing of the hunting permits to prepare the new system of issuing the permits through auction in 60 days.

“Issuing the hunting permits through auction makes the exercise more transparent,” said Kigwangalla.

He also ordered that tourist hunting blocks which were in dispute, including Loliondo and Natron, should not be given permits until the disputes were resolved.

In September 2015, the Tanzanian government was advised to suspend tourist hunting but it said it did not believe the practice had fueled wildlife poaching as proposed.

The then Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Adelhelm Meru, said hunting tourism helped to enhance wildlife conservation and balance the ecosystem.

Tanzania Hunting Operators Association chairman Eric Pasanisi said the proposed suspension on hunting tourism will adversely affect wildlife conservation as 65 percent of conservation funds were derived from tourist hunting. Enditem


Source: https://www.newsghana.com.gh/tanzania-revokes-tourist-hunting-permits-issued-in-2017/

Well it wouldn't be the first time they switched horses mid-stream

Bet this throws some chaos into "affordable hunting opportunities in Tanzania "

CAustin said:

Bet this throws some chaos into "affordable hunting opportunities in Tanzania "

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yep, for now and the coming years... id hate to be in the outfitters shoes...

PeteG said:

yep, for now and the coming years... id hate to be in the outfitters shoes...

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It is a shame really that the outfitters can not depend on stable management from the various government entities.
Not long ago there was a thread here about hunting opportunities in that wonderful country. I think many AH members were pleased to see that indeed one could take a safari there at a reasonable cost.
As they like to say in Africa......."we will sort it out". Hope the government and the outfitters can do just that.

Man, I am scheduled to be in Western TZ with Danny Macallum Safaris next August September for a massive safari that I have been planning for a long time.

This throws a major wrench in the gears as I now have to play wait and see about them sorting this out. If they don't do so soon, I may have to find another option. Not sure what else is out there that can challenge a place like that. To be honest, I don't think anything can.

These governments pull this crap and it is just terrible for local wildlife and local economies. How can you now send a deposit for tens of thousands of dollars????

brettp said:

Man, I am scheduled to be in Western TZ with Danny Macallum Safaris next August September for a massive safari that I have been planning for a long time.

This throws a major wrench in the gears as I now have to play wait and see about them sorting this out. If they don't do so soon, I may have to find another option. Not sure what else is out there that can challenge a place like that. To be honest, I don't think anything can.

These governments pull this crap and it is just terrible for local wildlife and local economies. How can you now send a deposit for tens of thousands of dollars????

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BRETT I figured there would be some folks on here planning an adventure in Tanzania that would be impacted. Keep your fingers crossed!

CAustin said:

BRETT I figured there would be some folks on here planning an adventure in Tanzania that would be impacted. Keep your fingers crossed!

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and toes, and legs, and arms and eyes and anything else i can think of!

Keep us posted. Your outfitter may well get his areas again without much to do.

CAustin said:

Keep us posted. Your outfitter may well get his areas again without much to do.

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I sure hope so. It's 7 million acres that they've had for 40 years!

brettp said:

I sure hope so. It's 7 million acres that they've had for 40 years!

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Ouch! Is it one of the disputed areas mentioned in the OP?

No.

They should just bid on their current concessions.
The choice is to hang together or hang separately.

Only a bureaucrat would take something simple, and complicate it.

What the heck is wrong with these knuckleheads?

Does this look familiar? Note the date and the quotes from the TAHOA rep.

While operators clearly can be financially impacted by these games, the true victims are the animals. Without some security of tenure, no operator can afford to make the investments in habitat preservation and enhancement, anti-poaching, community development, etc. which are all necessary for animals to thrive. Tanzania seems to be doing whatever it can to destroy what it has.

Somebody did not get a high enough "fee" this year.

Hank2211 said:

While operators clearly can be financially impacted by these games, the true victims are the animals. Without some security of tenure, no operator can afford to make the investments in habitat preservation and enhancement, anti-poaching, community development, etc. which are all necessary for animals to thrive. Tanzania seems to be doing whatever it can to destroy what it has.

Click to expand...

Yeah, and the Golden Goose (hunting) can only lay so many eggs.

BRICKBURN said:

Somebody did not get a high enough "fee" this year.

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No doubt. Sounds like a shakedown.

This may be a new minister trying to make a name for himself, and along the way impress a relatively new and demanding president.

There are laws in Tanzania. If long term contracts are in place, it might be hard for a new minister to override them without a lengthy court battle. There are a number of concessions that have been turned back in or abandoned that he can probably try to auction off. And should!



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Hunting block licences put on hold, to tune-up system
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The minister has also given the ministry a 60 day ultimatum to devise and finalise more just, fairer and profitable procedures before the coming hunting season in January, 2018.

“Under the powers conferred upon me by the Tourism and Natural Resources Act Number five of 2009, I am suspending all the hunting block licences pending new arrangements to be devised to auction the blocks,” the minister said.

Speaking to various stakeholders in the tourism and natural resources industry in Dodoma, Dr Kigwangallah said the new measures were meant to ensure that the country benefited more from the available natural resources.

He also said his decision was in line with the implementation of the five- year development plan which stipulated clearly on page 94 that the government must abandon the current arrangement and adopt a new move to auction the hunting blocks to get more revenue.

“We are the only country in sub-Saharan Africa that is not auctioning the hunting blocks,” he said, stressing that the arrangement must be changed.

He explained, however, that under the new arrangements, hunting blocks which were currently in disputes would not be allowed to participate until the standoff was resolved.

The visibly irked minister wondered why the ministry was delaying in licensing the locals to hunt, tasking its experts to ensure that they finalised the arrangement within 60 days, to enable locals hunt and enjoy their God- given right over the wildlife.

The minister furthermore ordered the Tanzania Tourism Board to liaise with the ministry on the establishment of a National Convention Bureau, which would be tasked to bring in more business tourists and increase the tourist inflows into Tanzania.

In another development, the minister announced the government’s grand plan to repossess all government hotels that were privatised in the past but had not been developed. He said out of the 17 hotels that were privatised, only ten were working and redeveloped and the remaining seven were abandoned.

Hotels to be repossessed include Embassy Hotel in Dar es Salaam, Mikumi wildlife Lodge, New Livingstone Hotel (Moshi) Hotel and Hotel Savoy in Morogoro.

On the country’s drive against poaching, the minister said the ministry would double its efforts to tame poachers, saying currently, the government was working on a number of information that some big shots in government and Members of Parliament were perpetrators.

“We will have no mercy in this exercise. If anyone thinks we are joking, I am daring the person to provoke us,” the minister said.