Mixed views as Arusha left out of Obama’s TZ itinerary

Arusha. He will not visit Arusha like his two immediate predecessors, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and the city’s residents, understandably, have mixed views.

 “You don’t narrow yourself to regions or cities. Whenever he will be, the fact is that he will be visiting Tanzania, and I believe his discussions with government officials will be for the benefit of the entire country,” said Mr Brown ole Suya, a local politician.

The politician-cum-commercial farmer from Simanjiro District in Manyara Region said he does not regret that Obama will skip the city dubbed the ‘Geneva of Africa’ by the then President Clinton when he visited Arusha in August 2000.

“Arusha is part of Tanzania. It is not an independent republic. We (in Arusha) will benefit because Tanzania will benefit. The only loss for our city is that hotels will not be full like when we hosted US presidents in the past,” he said.

Like many people, Mr Suya believes President Obama’s visit will benefit Tanzania immensely, saying he was coming here with specific purpose.

He still recalls his encounter with President Bush in 2008 during the latter’s visit to Arusha.  It was at the venue of projects targeting the Maasai women, specifically those run by the Maasai Women Development Association.

“Bush was here, and the US government has since provided much support in educating Maasai children, especially the girls, but it’s not bad that Obama will not be coming here,” he said.

Mr Sirili Akko, the executive officer of the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (Tato), a powerful lobby group based in Arusha, said it was a good thing that Obama had excluded Arusha from his visit.

“For the sake of the tourism high season (which has just started), it is good that he will not be coming to Arusha. His visit would have brought chaos on our roads as it happened the other day when Bush was here,” he said. He quickly added: “This does not mean that we don’t like his coming to Tanzania. Our country stands to benefit from the visit.”

During the time the US President would be in the country, Tanzania would be promoted as a safe and secure destination for tourists,” Mr Akko said.

“It (the visit) will help remind the world that Tanzania is one of the most endowed countries in the world as far as natural resources and tourist attractions are concerned,” he said, noting that tourism was not the only sector that would get global attention.

“Obama’s presence here will raise global awareness that Tanzania needs responsible investors who will promote good governance, human rights and welfare of surrounding communities through their investments.”

Mr Simon Mapolu, a business management consultant in Arusha, looks at the US President’s visit from the business perspective, starting with how the global media would portray Tanzania.

Tanzania, he said, would get free “advertisement” on global TV channels such as CNN, Al Jazeera, BBC and others prior and during Obama’s presence in the country.   “This will be free marketing for us,” he said.

The immediate impact, of course, will be revenue to be accrued from the huge delegation of over 800 people, most of them businesspeople, and the advance party of American officials and other people from different countries who will be in Tanzania during the period.

“The immediate impact would be on hotel room and bed occupancy which will reach 100 per cent with a multiplier effect on suppliers of foodstuffs, consumption of food and drinks to the maximum as well as money circulation,” Mr Mapolu said.

Like several other city residents interviewed, he did not fail to mention the anticipated benefits to the tourism sector. “The visit will boost confidence among tourists from the US,” he pointed out.

But it is in the area of heavy investments that the consultant thinks Tanzania has to bank on during a second visit to Tanzania by a US president in five years and the third in 13 years, a rare feat for an African country.

Mr Mapolu said Tanzania was likely to benefit from increased funding from the US such as the Millennium Challenge Account (MCC) and heavy financial investments in major projects such as oil, gas, mining and infrastructure development.

The presence of President Obama in the country would create awareness on the security matters, especially in the area of new technologies to combat terrorism. “We would be anxious to ask ourselves what are the Americans thinking about Tanzania?” he said.

Ms Hellen Sumuni, a manager with the Arusha-based Equatorial Safaris, said they would have appreciated if the US President would have visited the city in order to boost tourism, Arusha being the hub of the industry.

“If he would have been here he would not have failed to visit Ngorongoro, Serengeti National Park and Mt Kilimanjaro which are among the seven natural Wonders of the World. Hundreds of entrepreneurs would have benefited by selling their artifacts and local foodstuffs,” she said.

The visit would still benefit the country because of the investment opportunities in oil and gas, Ms Sumuni said. “The American people are coming here because Tanzania is a peaceful country and has potential for investments.”

Mr Walter Maeda, the director of Golden Rose Hotels, said he and many residents of the northern regions would have loved to see President Obama in Arusha like his predecessors Clinton and Bush. He said there was no doubt Arusha benefited from the past visits of American presidents. “The US is now the leading source of tourists to Tanzania. This was not the case until a few years ago,” he observed.

 Mr Maeda said local investors and businesspeople, wherever they were in the country, were set to capitalise on the visit and attract more investment from the US, market their products and promote Tanzania’s tourist attractions. Initial reports had it that Obama would have visited Mikumi National Park in Morogoro Region, some 300 kilometres from Dar es Salaam.

Officials of the Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa) as well as the ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism appeared not certain as to whether Mikumi was still on the US President’s itinerary.

“President Obama will visit one of the national parks but for the time being I cannot tell you which one,” said Natural Resources and Tourism deputy minister Lazaro Nyalandu when he met reporters here last week. There are a total of 15 national parks under Tanapa.