JPM: No to denationalisation
PROPERTIES that were nationalised from religious institutions during the Arusha Declaration will never be returned back, notwithstanding pleas by the spiritual leaders.
President John Magufuli, speaking at the consecration mass to install the new Catholic Archbishop Isaac Massawe at Saint Theresa Parish here yesterday, turned down the requests, describing the process to revert ownerships on all properties, which earlier belonged to churches, mosques and other private or communal institutions as “difficult and cumbersome.”
“Even Archbishop Polycarp Cardinal Pengo has severally written to me, listing nationalised properties that once belonged to the church, requesting, if possible, they be given back but my answer is no,” said President Magufuli.
He was responding to another request from Saint Theresia Vicarage to give back to the church the government run Naura Primary School, which the catholic church owned previously and is located next to the Cathedral.
The church management cited various reasons, location of the school on similar plot with the Cathedral whose new building is under construction, with title deed registered to the Catholic Church.
The other reason is invasion of the school playgrounds by Arusha Regional Traffic Police who use the open space as parking lot for vehicles that have been impounded due to various traffic offences. “The Naura Primary School issue is however a different case,” said Dr Magufuli, promising to address the issue once he gets back to State House in Dar es Salaam.
Naura Primary School was built in 1950 as Saint Theresia Primary School but it was nationalised during the 1967 Arusha Declaration and renamed Naura after the river which flows adjacent to both the school and the corresponding church.
It has 350 pupils so far. President Magufuli also rejected another request for Saint Theresa to be given the adjacent Naura gardens, saying: “It’s an open space and in reference to the 2004 environment protection Act, all areas on river banks or Lake shores should not be tampered with.”
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