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Mjimwema: Switch from simple village to modern settlement, tourist paradise
2008-04-20 11:07:16
By Staff Writer Peter Msungu
``Mjimwema village, the one time sparsely populated suburb in Temeke District, Dar es Salaam Region, where vast areas were uninhabited due to a variety of reasons, has now turned into a tourist paradise due to the fast mushrooming of tourist hotels being built not only to woo in foreigners but also to give the area a new look,`` says Mr. Augustine Mwingira, a resident of Mjimwema village for the last 45 years.
He adds that it is not only the mushrooming of hotels that is changing the suburb but also the building of modern houses that is being undertaken by ordinary people from other districts of Dar es Salaam.
Legend has it that in the distant past, according to Mr.Mwingira, people were not building modern houses for fear of witchcraft.
But now, there is a lot of political awakening to an extent that even those local residents who would have preferred to live in mud houses are now changing their minds by trying to modernise their houses.
Mjimwema was formerly occupied by fishermen. There were those armed with fishnets, fish traps, fish spears and goggles.
To say the least Mjimwema residents were preoccupied with fishing, so says Mr.Mwingira.
The Mjimwema of the past had bushes which were hiding places for wild animals like wild pigs, monkeys, baboons, antelopes, dik diks, hippos, snakes etc, making it difficult to grow crops as these wild animals would invade shambas, explains Mr.Mwingira. He testifies that his first attempt to grow food crops like maize, sweet potatoes and others ended in a disaster as wild animals destroyed all plantations.
Faced with this problem, Mjimwema residents resorted to growing tree crops like coconuts, cashewnuts, oranges, pawpaws, etc.It is definitely for this reason that Mjimwema village is populated with coconut trees, says Mr.Mwingira, adding that in the past rice was always spiced with coconut milk (tui), because there are plenty of coconuts around.
In the past there was plenty of land where one could graze his herds of cattle or flocks with ease. The Mjimwema of today is facing a scarcity of land.
People of all walks of life have flocked in from all parts of the country and are buying all prime areas, forcing out the one time poor local residents who would prefer cash rather than hoard land which they could not make use of.
``Gone are the days when one could graze livestock over large acreage of land as there has been an increase of people who have opted to move to Mjimwema from the more densely populated areas in the region. It follows therefore that prospects for increasing farming and livestock keeping are fast dwindling .
Mjimwema which was an attractive peri-urban area forty years ago is fast being invaded by more city dwellers,`` reports Mwingira when he talked to The Guardian on Sunday recently.
The sparkling beaches which have been a big attraction to picnic goers are also attracting hooligans who form gangs to attack beach goers in the hope of robbing cellular phones, money and other valuables, claims Juma Kambi, another Mjimwema resident who has now moved to Temeke after he was bought off. He appeals to city fathers to protect our beaches as valuable resorts for tourists and our town/city dwellers.
Commenting on Mjimwema infrastructure, the now retired Minister for Communications and Works, reveals that the Ferry/Mjimwema/Kibada/Kongowe road which some 40 years ago was a mere track used by cyclists and very few pickups, was upgraded to a tarmac level road in 1997/98. Again, in 2007/2008 the Mjimwema/Gezaulole section of the marram track Mjimwema/Kimbiji is being tarmacked .
A new residential area of modern buildings is currently under construction by mutual developers. Electricity supply is being extended to Gezaulole. ``Hopefully the road and electricity will soon be extended to Mwongozo/Mbutu area. More and more developers are seeking beach plots.
``We are informed that city fathers are busy surveying more and more plots for residences at Kibada area. We appeal to them to hasten completion of the surveys so that they should not be overtaken by squatters.
We should emulate the World Bank in planning and developing such sites taking into consideration the need of roads, water, electricity, waste water disposal, school sites , recreating areas for children etc.
Let us provide some green areas where the residents can relax and breathe clean air after a day`s toil in industry and office,`` Mwingira concludes.
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