In a move which could impact on the flow of the tourists into the country and the lucrative tourism industry in Tanzania in general, tour guides and porters have threatened to down tools in protest over unfavourable working conditions.
They are furious over the apparent failure by the government to implement the terms the two parties had agreed on in order to improve their welfare as well as boost the tour business, especially mountain climbing on the Kilimanjaro.
The planned strike, to be spearheaded by members of the Tanzania Tour Guides Association (TTGA), will last for three weeks and will be effected throughout the country, according to officials of the body.
Speaking to journalists in Moshi last weekend, TTGA chairperson for Kilimanjaro region Johnson Sadock said they have decided to go on strike in order to express their dismay over the way the authorities are treating them.
"We forwarded our grievances to the relevant authorities way back in 2013 but without any positive response. During a meeting of tourism stakeholders on August 5th, it was agreed that our demands be sorted out within 60 days". This has not been the case", he pointed out.
Porters scaling Mt. Kilimanjaro. They feel exploited and want to strike.
He added that a meeting which was to evaluate
implementation of what was agreed in August was to take place on
October 7th but according to the official, it could not take place
because the ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism did not have
funds to convene the event.
Mr. Sadock said the immediate solution to the crisis was for the tour guides and porters to stage a country-wide strike after the October 25th General Election. The number of tour guides and porters in the country could not be determined.
Many of them, however, are active and based in Arusha and Moshi where they are active in taking climbers to Mt. Kilimanjaro and Meru and other visitors to the national parks located in the northern zone regions.
The secretary of the Kilimanjaro Guides Association (KGA) James Mong’ateko suggested that the strike would be effected because they had been suffering for a long time with the responsible officials within the government doing little to act on the problems facing them.
He wondered why it was easy to raise money for Miss Kilimanjaro beauty pageant but has been difficult for the ministry and the institutions under it to mobilise funds to boost the tour business which contributes much to the national economy.
According to Mr. Mong'ateko, the Natural Resources and Tourism permanent secretary communicated recently with the Kilimanjaro regional administrative secretary Severine Kahitwa that the ministry had no funds to pay as allowances for officials and other stakeholders who were to be invited to a meeting of the tour guides and porters, an event that would have aimed to seek solution to the problems facing the sector.
Officials of the three key players in the tour business, the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO), Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) and the Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa) which manages the Kilimanjaro National Parks (Kinapa) among others, were not available to comment on the threat which can have some consequences on the industry.
Mr. Sadock said the immediate solution to the crisis was for the tour guides and porters to stage a country-wide strike after the October 25th General Election. The number of tour guides and porters in the country could not be determined.
Many of them, however, are active and based in Arusha and Moshi where they are active in taking climbers to Mt. Kilimanjaro and Meru and other visitors to the national parks located in the northern zone regions.
The secretary of the Kilimanjaro Guides Association (KGA) James Mong’ateko suggested that the strike would be effected because they had been suffering for a long time with the responsible officials within the government doing little to act on the problems facing them.
He wondered why it was easy to raise money for Miss Kilimanjaro beauty pageant but has been difficult for the ministry and the institutions under it to mobilise funds to boost the tour business which contributes much to the national economy.
According to Mr. Mong'ateko, the Natural Resources and Tourism permanent secretary communicated recently with the Kilimanjaro regional administrative secretary Severine Kahitwa that the ministry had no funds to pay as allowances for officials and other stakeholders who were to be invited to a meeting of the tour guides and porters, an event that would have aimed to seek solution to the problems facing the sector.
Officials of the three key players in the tour business, the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO), Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) and the Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa) which manages the Kilimanjaro National Parks (Kinapa) among others, were not available to comment on the threat which can have some consequences on the industry.
Recently, TTGA,KGA and the government agreed to
implement seven resolutions within 60 days. They were aimed to assure
the porters and tour guides were fairly paid for their hard labour.
One of the resolutions was that the porters and guides would receive at least 50 per cent of their pay in advance.
It normally takes between seven and eight days for the poorly paid handlers to take the tourists and their luggage to the mountain.
It normally takes between seven and eight days for the poorly paid handlers to take the tourists and their luggage to the mountain.
It was also resolved that tour firms which have
neither been registered nor licensed to operate should be prohibited
from handling the mountain climbers.
Officials of Kinapa were advised to act on this
because such tour guides and porters do not pay taxes to the government
since they were not licenced.
The meeting insisted that tour guides and porters should receive their pay as per the Government Notice (GN) No. 228.
It emerged that the high cost of licenses was
partly to blame for the low pay to the tour handlers on Mt.
Kilimanjaro, one of the leading tourist attraction in the country.
During a visit to Kilimanjaro region early this
year, the deputy minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Mahamoud
Mgimwa said he was surprised to find tour operators
paying tour guides only $ 15 to $ 20 a day against what was agreed
earlier between them and the government.
The snow-capped mountain, the tallest in Africa, received about 60,000 tourists a year, mainly climbers. They are handled by hundreds of porters and tour guides through about six routes to its Kibo peak. The porters, in particular, are poorly paid and lack appropriate working tools.
The snow-capped mountain, the tallest in Africa, received about 60,000 tourists a year, mainly climbers. They are handled by hundreds of porters and tour guides through about six routes to its Kibo peak. The porters, in particular, are poorly paid and lack appropriate working tools.
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