KONDOA: The Host Of This Year’s African World Heritage Day Celebrations

 

By VALENTINE OFORO 

A RECORD number of tourism aficionado and key players from across the country are expected to throng in the Dodoma’s famous district of Kondoa; the historical place where this year’s African World Heritage Day will be cerebrated.

Presence of ‘The Kondoa Rock-Art Sites’ popularly goes by the touristic fame name of ‘Kondoa Irangi Painting’ is what has blessed the district with a prestigious chance to host such a high-profile continental touristic gala.

Proclaimed by the 38th session of the General Conference of UNESCO (November 2015), African World Heritage Day which is observed on May 5 each year, provides an opportunity for people around the world, and particularly Africans, to cerebrate the continent’s unique cultural and natural heritage.

Briefing over cerebration of the crucial day, Zuberi Mabie, the Conservation Officer and Head of the Kondoa Irangi Painting expressed that an array of the country’s potential stakeholders in the tourism sector will take part in the historical event.

With the Dodoma Regional Commissioner (RC) Rosemary Senyamule expected to grace the event, Mabie detailed that: “Hosting this event will help to unlock a diverse economic opportunities to Kondoa districts, ranging from putting the Kondoa Irangi Painting into a new heights through doubling visitors, but also, improving key awareness on reservations issue,”

Commencement of the eagerly –awaited event will see a special walkathon from Kondoa District Officer (DC) offices to the Sabasaba grounds, the venue at the heart of the district where a series of tourism related events have been organized, incorporating special exhibitions from the county’s tourism stakeholders.

“At the grounds, giant players in the Tanzania’s game reserve corridor like the Kilimanjaro National Parks (KINAPA), Selous Game Reserve, Serengeti National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Zanzibar-based Kilwa Kisiwani, and Stone Town Conservation and Development Area, to mention but a few,” he detailed.

Added his voice pertaining to the cerebration, Ally Bakari, Director General of Town Conservation and Development Area expressed happiness to be part of the event, saying they have well prepared to learn, but showcasing a number of issues towards the leisure-based economic sector.

The Kondoa Rock-Art Sites are a series of ancient paintings on rockshelter walls in central Tanzania. The Kondoa region was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006 because of its impressive collection of rock art.

The Kondoa Irangi Rock Paintings are located in central Tanzania, about a 3-hour drive from the town of Dodoma. This UNESCO World Heritage site is contains one of the world’s optimum collections of prehistoric rock art with an estimated 1600 distinct cave paintings in almost two hundred different sites. 

The Irangi Hills north of Kondoa is the most accessible site than all. Kolo Rock Ancient Paintings, located in the area between Singida and the Irangi Hills in the village called Kondoa Irangi Dodoma region. The most recent cave paintings are estimated to be a century or two ago while the oldest are between 19,000 and 30,000 years old.