By Rosemary Mirondo
Iringa
— Iringa District is one of the country's sleeping giants that need
quick interventions in promoting its tourist attractions.
Despite being endowed with historical cultural background and numerous tourist attractions; they are yet to be fully tapped.
According to the
2012 population census, Iringa District had a population of 405,377
consisting mainly of the indigenous Hehe tribe.
According to the
Bank of Tanzania's 2013 report, Iringa fell behind in contributing to
the GDP after Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Mbeya, Shinyanga.
This is despite its
potential , and in view of this, a non-governmental organisation Fahari
Yetu in collaboration with the European Union under the European
Development Fund in Tanzania have embarked on a project to promote
cultural heritage and tourism for sustainable development in the
Southern Highlands.
Fahari Yetu
assistant project manager Jimson Sanga, who is also a University of
Iringa lecturer in tourism and culture, said the Fahari Yetu project was
started three years ago with the aim of promoting tourism in the
Southern Highlands.
"Our first project
is Iringa, and we started by educating the people on the importance of
preserving culture and identifying tourist attractions and also
preserving them from ruin, " he said.
He said Fahari Yetu
first project includes the restoration of the regional commissioner's
office into the district museum that will house the district cultural
heritages.
According to him,
the building which was built by the Germans in the early 1990s was
dilapidated and therefore earmarked for demolition.
However after
negotiations, the local government agreed to hand it over for
restoration and turn it into the districts museum and tourist attraction
for both local and international tourists.
"We started the
renovation about three years ago with mostly planning, but the actual
renovation started about a year ago," he said. He explained that so far
the renovations total cost was Sh240 million and was expected to be
finalized anytime soon before the actual launch, June 25, this year.
"We expect the minister for Home Affairs to officiate at the launch of the building, " he said.
He noted that after
the launch they will be performing archive activities curation and
exhibiting culture and heritage material. Adding that, they will also be
identifying and interpreting cultural heritage assets, to preserve and
foster cultural awareness as well ad market tourism attractions. He said
that they also aim to promote other tourist attractions in the district
including Gangilonga, Igeleke Rocks and paintings.
hanging area including Chief Mkwawa's remains.
In another
development Fahari Yetu project manager Mr Jan Kuever said that they
museum will not only be a tourist attraction but will also be a cultural
educational programme.
"Our students lack
practical learning experience, but with the museum they will be able to
learn practically the history of the past history of the Hehe starting
during the colonial era to the death of Chief Mkwawa leading to his
successors," he said.
Meanwhile National
Museum of Tanzania curator in charge Mr Mawazo Ramadhani said that he
has been in the project since it started three years ago.
According to him, he is lending expertise from the NMT to ensure the exhibitions go well.
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