PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has directed the Natural Resources and Tourism ministry to work with their Communications and Information Technology colleagues to build a communication tower at Mkomazi National Park, bordering Kilimanjaro and Tanga regions.

He directed the work upon hearing of communication challenges when visiting the park to open a new tourist entrance gate that took 350m/- and includes offices for Immigration, the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and a bank branch.

While traveling to the park, the premier was unable to maintain a phone call with President Samia Suluhu Hassan due to poor signal reception, hence the need for a facility to enhance tourism and communication services.

The new gate provides an additional access point to the park to improve the flow of tourists, as visitors coming through Mwanga District had to travel through Same District to reach the main gate to the park, but with the new gate, access will be more direct and efficient, officials said.

The customs office will facilitate revenue collection, while Immigration and security services uplift its status, further contributing to the park’s growth and public revenues, he said, highlighting that tourists need to communicate with people back home, so mobile network coverage is crucial for the park to progress, plus the tourism sector generally.

The Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) management needs to promote Mkomazi National Park more widely, so that it gains visibility in like manner as iconic Serengeti or Selous, pointing at the park’s unique appeal, including its rare population of black rhinos.

Showcasing the rare black rhino can attract visitors as the species is not found in other parks, enabling tourists to spend money in the park to the benefit of the local community and the wider economy, he said.

Boosting tourism adds to creating employment opportunities for the local community as benefits of the park’s growth are felt locally, he said, urging the Maasai pastoralist community in the vicinity of the park to prioritize education. Families need to send children to school rather than sending them to herd livestock, he emphasised.

Improved infrastructure—roads, water, electricity— will enable the community to invest more time in development activities, he said, while Emanuel Moirana,  the park’s chief warden, saidi that improvements like the new gate and offices have already had a positive impact, with tourist numbers rising from 3,000 in 2020 to 9,000 this year.