The government has received a technical report examining more than 60 concerns raised by 22 residents over a long-running dispute involving administrative boundaries and the boundary of Kazimzumbwi Forest.
The report, submitted on October 2, 2026, is expected to guide the government’s next steps in addressing grievances that have persisted around the demarcation of administrative areas and the forest boundary.
The report was presented at the Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner’s office to ministers from the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG), the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.
The expert team was formed after residents presented their concerns to the government during a meeting held on September 23 at Chanika Zingiziwa grounds.
The team comprises the Director responsible for Urban and Rural Planning from PMO-RALG, the Commissioner for Lands, the Director of Survey and Mapping from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, and the Conservation Commissioner of the Tanzania Forest Services (TFS).
Their task was to examine the issues raised by residents and provide a technical assessment to support the government’s efforts to resolve the dispute.
The process followed a directive issued by Vice President Deogratius Ndejembi on September 18, when he visited the Pugu landfill.
The Vice President directed the ministers responsible for local government, lands and natural resources to meet residents within seven days and listen to their concerns over the boundary dispute.
The ministers subsequently met residents on September 23, giving them an opportunity to present their grievances and supporting claims.
The latest report represents a shift from listening to the residents’ complaints to examining them through technical and institutional processes involving land administration, surveying, local government planning and forest conservation.
The dispute has raised questions about the boundaries used to determine administrative areas and the limits of Kazimzumbwi Forest, making accurate surveying and documentation important in determining the areas affected.
For residents, the outcome of the process could have implications for land administration, settlement planning and the use and management of land around the forest.
The government has not yet made public the specific findings or recommendations contained in the experts’ report.
The three ministries are now expected to consider the findings as they determine how to respond to the more than 60 issues submitted by the 22 residents.
The process also puts the focus on whether the technical findings will translate into a clear resolution of the boundary questions that have remained a source of concern for communities in the affected areas.
The submission of the report comes less than two weeks after the Vice President’s directive, keeping the government’s response within the timeline set for addressing the residents’ concerns.