CORDS handled over village certificates
By Gideon Sanago
PASTORALISTS in Arusha and Manyara regions now have a cause to smile, thanks to the Non- governmental Organization known as Community Research and Development Services (CORDS) for enabling them to acquire villages land ownership title deeds.
CORDS, which so far facilitated a total of 68 pastoralist villages in Monduli, Longido and Kiteto Districts , to acquire the land ownership certificates, has embarked on this endeavor, way back in late 1990s through its projects of ‘Pastoralist land rights and Pastoralists land use.’
“CORDS as an organization that protects the pastoralist ‘rights, late 1999 saw a need to bear the entire costs of land survey, village land plans and land demarcation as well as to facilitate the on going exercise of all villages to acquire land ownership title deeds from the Ministry of Land in Dar es salaam” said the project coordinator Emmanuel Ndulet.
Ndulet disclosed this when he was speaking at the brief function to hand over a total of 26 village certificates of occupancy at Mto wa Mbu township in Monduli District.
According to him, CORDS has so far handed over a total of 31 Village certificate in Monduli District, 31 others in newly district of Longido in Arusha region and eight certificates to Kiteto district in Manyara Region.
Officiating at the event, the Former Monduli District Commissioner, the retired Lt Col.
Issa Machibya implored the village leaders to keep in careful manner the acquired village land Certificates for the benefits of the current and next generation.
“I would like to urge all village leaders, to handle with care your respective village certificates of occupancy, bearing in mind that the certificate is the only tool in protecting your land in future”, Retired Lt .Col Machibya stressed, as he was handing over the 26 village certificates of occupancy”
He is however, expressed his optimism that the availability of the village certificates of occupancy will ease the rampant land disputes among the pastoralists and farmers communities.
“But on the other hand I would like to warn you that, the availability of these land ownership certificates, should not be an epicenter of breaking the long existed neighborhood among the bordering villages, rather it should be the catalysts for co-existence” he cautioned.
Highlighting the benefits that will be accrued from the acquired village certificates of occupancy, He said that, the certificates will be used as collateral by villagers in acquiring loans from local financial institutions like Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOS)
Machibya however commended the Arusha based NGO, CORDS for its tireless efforts in enabling the pastoralists to get land ownership certificates, which in turn will restore the long lost peace and harmony between the pastoralists and farmers communities.
CORDS, which has its headquarters at Kwa Iddi in Sakina suburb in the outskirt of Arusha city, started way back in 1998, with the eye of protecting pastoralists rights as well as supporting them to improve their living conditions, among others. It works with pastoralist’s communities in Kiteto, Simanjiro, Monduli and Longido Districts in both Arusha and Manyara Regions.
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