Press Release
The US Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr. Mark
Childress, and the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Hon.
Lazaro Nyalandu, in August 19, 2014 will unveil a plaque commemorating
the successful conclusion of the project to conserve Kilwa Kisiwani and
Songo Mnara World Heritage Site, implemented in partnership between the
Antiquities Division and World Monuments Fund, with an amount of $
700,000.00 funding from the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural
Preservation. The project has preserved one of Tanzania’s most important
heritage sites and created significant economic benefits for the people
of Kilwa. Kilwa has important cultural and natural assets, which, if
properly managed, can bring long term benefits to the community,
particularly women and youth, creating opportunities for local
entrepreneurs, jobs in the community, and helping to tackle poverty.
The project launched in 2011 coming to an end on the August 19, 2014
was aimed at creating a framework for ensuring that the competing
demands of economic development, tourism, social cultural change,
heritage preservation and the natural environment are balanced for the
benefit of all while preserving Kilwa and its heritage for future
generations and creating an exceptional heritage tourist destination. A
sum of $ 287,100.00 has been spent for conservation works and capacity
building programs in Kilwa District.
The fund has been spent to
accomplish the following: Preservation of cultural heritage whereby 70%
of historic monuments in Kilwa Kisiwani and SongoMnara have been
rehabilitated, Conservation and Management Plan for Kilwa Kisiwani and
Songo Mnara developed, GIS database of heritage sites developed, Coastal
sea wave defences improved around the monuments of Husuni Kubwa and the
Gereza, 130 people trained in GIS, Stone Cutting, Heritage Mnagement
and Archaeology whereby percentage of women was 52%.
The
heritage site of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara is one of only seven
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Tanzania. In June 2014, in recognition of
the successful conservation work undertaken by Antiquities Division,
World Monuments Fund and other partners such as France, Norway, Japan,
ILO AND EU, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in its 38 session in
Doha, Catar voted to remove Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara from the
UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger. This international recognition
is a testimony of the tremendous efforts made towards preserving the
site, and the generosity of the American people in funding conservation
efforts.
Residents of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara have also
enjoyed economic benefits from the investment in heritage preservation.
600 Kilwa residents were employed during the course of the project.75%
of the adult population on Songo Mnara was employed, 37% of which were
women and 30% Adult population of Kilwa Kisiwani. 50 residents of Songo
Mnara were directly employed by the project each month out of total
population of 450. In total 53% of the female population on Songo Mnara
was employed by the project. Tsh. 238,000,000.00 spent by the project
in Kilwa District whereby 57% were paid directly in salaries, while
Tshs. 82,000,000.00 were spent by the project on the island of Songo
Mnara alone. This project has generally contributed in empowering women
through job creation, improved education for children, improved family
health hence reduction of poverty.
The project is therefore of
sustainable befits to Kilwa. Many of the structures on Kilwa Kisiwani
and Songo Mnara are exceptional. On Kilwa Kisiwani, the building known
as Husuni Kubwa (or ‘large house’), which was built from 1320 to 1333,
is the earliest and by far the largest and most sophisticated surviving
major building south of Somalia, and carried coastal architecture to
greater heights than were ever attained later. Close by is the Great
Mosque, which was founded in the 11th century, and by the 14th century
was the largest and most sophisticated mosque south of the Sahara. Songo
Mnara contains the remains of 40 stone houses dating from the 14th to
16th century, some of which are better preserved and more
archaeologically intact than any comparable domestic building in East
Africa. The Portuguese fort is one of few remaining Portuguese defensive
structures in the region. The superlatives go on. Each of the
structures at Kilwa Kisiwani is exceptional, and as an ensemble, its
significance, from an historic, scientific, and cultural point of view
cannot be overstated.
The World Heritage Sites of Kilwa Kisiwani
and Songo Mnara are considered key tourist attractions in the fast
growing Southern tourism circuit that is highly complimented by the
giant Selous Game Reserve (WHS).
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