MWANZA CITY COUNCIL

(ALL CORRESPONDENCE TO BE ADDRESSED TO CITY DIRECTOR)

PHONE: DIRECTOR: 225 28 2501375 P.O.BOX 1333,

ALL OFFICE: 255 – 28- 40334 MWANZA

FAX: 255 –028 – 2500785 15.05.2017

E-mail: Mwacity @ thenet.co.tz
Ref.No.MCC/L40/45/10

DISTRICT COMMISIONER,
NYAMAGANA DISTRICT,
P.O.BOX 1148
MWANZA

REF: MWANZA CITY COUNCIL TOURISM ATTRACTIONS REPORT

Refer the heading above,

Historical Background

Mwanza town was founded in 1892 as a regional administration and commercial center to
control mainly export production of the cotton growing areas in the Lake Victoria Zone. In 1978
Mwanza obtained the status of municipality in line with the local government structure
established in 1972. In 2000, Mwanza was further promoted to a city status. Currently there are
five cities, other being Dar Es Salaam, Tanga, Mbeya and Arusha.

Mwanza City is located on the southern shore of lake Victoria in Northwest of Tanzania with an
area covers about 1325 KM Square by which 900KM Square is covered by water. Mwanza city
lies at an altitude of 1,140 meters above the sea level with a sea level between 25.7C – 30.2C
during the hot season and temperature falls during the cooler season up to 16C

Culture
The Mwanza region is occupied by various tribal groups including the wasukuma, the
wakerewe. Wakara and wazinza. Wasukuma tribe is the major tribe occupying Mwanza region.
The sukuma are Bantu Ethnic group, they are the largest Ethnic group in Tanzania with an
estimated 16% of the country total population.
Sukuma means “NORTH” and refers to people of the north”. The sukuma refers themselves as
Basukuma (plural) and Nsukuma (singular). They speak Sukuma, which belongs to Bantu
branch of the Niger-Congo family.
MWANZA IN TOURISM ASPECT

Tourism continues to show robust growth and contributes significantly to our economy.
Through its direct and indirect impacts, the sector contributes over 17% to our country’s GDP
and supports over Direct and indirect employment .Despite the fact that Tourism remain an
important contributor to the economy but it can have negative impacts unless it is properly
managed and the conflicting needs of interest groups are balanced

Mwanza is endowed with a lot of attractions, naturally, manmade and cultural attractions.
Geographical, Mwanza has an advantage that a person (tourist) can travel to five different
countries within few hours and also it is easy and simple way to the wonder land “Serengeti
National Park” two hours’ drive from Mwanza.
At Mwanza there are some tourist attractions that provide a visitor with a memorable
experience for a reasonable admission charge or even for free

Mwanza Tourism Trends

Through statistically we realize that Tourism industry faces the periods of ups and down and it
mainly caused by so many factors, but there is a promising progress for the sector to grow in
the future. These are the statistics showing how the position of Mwanza in Tourism

International Visitor Arrivals by Air – Mwanza Airport

Year Purpose of visit N# of

arrivals
2012/13 Leisure, VFR & Business 5460
tourist
2013/14 Leisure, VFR & Business 4240
tourist

Year 2012/13 *average expenditure per tourist per day USD 133/-
*exchange rate 1USD = 1,500/-
Year 2013/14 *average expenditure per tourist per day USD 197/-
*exchange rate 1USD = 1,625.5/-

Tourism in Economic Dimension (Mwanza)

Tourism is interacted with many other sectors and it has the direct and indirect benefits in
social, economic, and political atmosphere ranging from individual and a country in general.
Through tourism, employments are generated through various establishments like hotels,
cruise ships, restaurants, tour and travel companies etc. For example, up to the year 2014
Mwanza has 54 Accommodations Establishments, 1490 rooms and 1579 beds, create more
than 1,133

TOURISM ATTRACTIONS

Gunzet House and Germany History in Mwanza

There are a number of monuments from the German Period, which lasted only from the
early 1890s to 1916.
The house was built by German colonist before the First World War for Medical Reseach.in
reality it was never used this purpose, but instead the British and Tanzanian Government used
it for administration. The house was wrongly called Robert Koch House. Robert Koch was a
German physician, famous for his contributions to the isolations of bacteria and awarded with
the "Noble Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his tuberculosis findings in 1905.

Bismarck Rock
Historically, the name refers to the “iron man “himself, Otto Eduard Leopold Von Bismarck
(1815-1898), the Chancellor of the German Empire in 1871. Rightly so, as Mwanza was part of
the German East Africa territory, and a largest statue of Bismarck himself, who was also the
foreign minister, was said to be erected on the rock

The Bismarck Rock has become an iconic symbol of Mwanza. Located in water front by the
Kamanga ferry harbour, it is the Sunday evening meeting sport for many locals, as they wave
goodbye to the setting sun.

When the British took over after World War One, the statue was pulled down, and is still
allegedly swimming with the fishes somewhere around the outcrop – but the name remains. If
you wonder around the area you will find local courts and the old post office around the corner,
and the Chinese waterfront restaurant on the other side

Underground Tunnel
In 1890s to 1916 German were used a deep well as the entrance to the tunnel it can be visited in
the garden of a former German house. A tourist can also see old German building. Currently
number of visitors is unknown but tourist and local people do visit there and the area is located
In Round bout of BOT and CCM building.
It is an ideal attraction and it should be provided with one tour guide who knows well a history
of a place, Uhuru Torch, Ghandhi Hall and Muwassa building
European Cemetery
In a corner of Capri Point, the first European Cemetery of Mwanza can be found. It is a
Tanzanian tradition to bury the dead within the homestead of the family. In this way ancestors
are kept close and can protect the family. Therefore, when German colonists arrived in
Mwanza, there was no cemetery yet. The first European cemetery was built in 1890 by the
Germans, later taken over and expanded by the English and finally by the Indians. Nowadays
also some African names can be found on the cemetery

Gandhi Hall
The Historical Hall is located to the east of the roundabout lies the Indian Quarter of Mwanza.
At the entrance of the Gandhi Hall stands a sculpture of the founder of modern India who lived
for several years in South Africa. We read that the last British Governor of Tanganyika, Sir
Edward Twining, opened the hall in 1957. On the inscription to the right, we read that it was
built by Patel’s from Bombay or Mumbai who were then living in Mwanza

Churches, mosques and temples

Scattered in and around Mwanza lie many churches, mosques and Hindu temples, some of
them more impressive than others. However, none of these has the capability or aim to attract
mainstream tourists, nor do they have people to guide tourists around.
Tanzania is one of a few countries where people of different religions live closely together in
harmony. The various houses of faith could become part of an interesting religion tour through
the city.

Bukoba Ferry Monument

The MV Bukoba was a Lake Victoria steamer ferry that carried passengers and cargo between
the ports of Bukoba and Mwanza. On the 21st of May in 1996, just thirty minutes before
reaching Mwanza port, the MV Bukoba sank some 56 kilometres off the coast of Mwanza.
Though the vessel had turned over, it had remained on the surface, partially buoyant.
However, rescuers, who could hear trapped passengers screaming and banging, ignored the
pleas of fishermen and decided to drill a hole into the hull to rescue those trapped inside. The
effect was the air which had kept the hull afloat was released and shortly after the boat sank.
Only 53 people survived. The president of Tanzania at the time, Benjamin Mkapa, declared
three days of national mourning for the almost 700 victims that drowned that day (Tanzanian
Affairs 1996). The monument was built to commemorate what is considered to be East Africa's
worst ship disaster.
Lake Victoria, The Source of famous River Nile
Lake Victoria is located in East Africa and discovered by John Speke in the year 1858 and
named after Queen (Victoria) who was at the reins of England that time. The lake rests
between three counties namely, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Lake Victoria covers an
approximately 68,800 km squared.

Regarded as the Africa’s largest tropical lake, it is also boasted as the second largest fresh
water lake in the world and headwater reservoir of the popular Nile River. The volume of Lake
Victoria is approximately 2,760, which merely 15% of the overall volume of Lake Tanganyika

Saa Nane (island) National Park….

Saanane Island is a fully fledged National Park since July, 2013, covering an area of 2.18 sq km
comprises of three islets and aquatic environment. The park made a record of being the first
ever National Park to be located within the City and the smallest National Park in both
Tanzania and East Africa. The Park is the home of mammals like Impala, Rock Hyrax, Velvet
Monkeys and Wild Cats. The presence of “De-brazas Monkey” underscores its potential as the
only Park in the country inhabiting the species. Reptiles are also dominant; they include
crocodiles, Monitor Lizards, Agama Lizards, Pancake and Leopard Tortoises, Snakes
particularly Python. The aquatic part of the Park inhabits a variety of fisheries life, mainly
Tilapia and Nile Perch. The Park is located 2km Southwest of Mwanza city Centre, which lies in
the Gulf of Lake Victoria.

Approaches towards the Development of Sustainable Tourism and Investment

Opportunities

The development of sustainable tourism in any destination is the only way that could
guarantee the future generation to benefit and cutter for their needs through the same
resources that we have today.
Sustainable tourism means making the optimal use of the available tourism resources without
jeopardizing the possibility of the coming future generation to get their want from the same
resource. For any tourism practice to be sustainable must have the following basic elements:
 Should Maximize benefits to communities, visitors and heritage, and minimize negative
 Should Maximize benefits to the environment and minimize negative impacts
 Maximize social and economic benefits to host community and minimize negative
effects
Some effort has been made by Mwanza City Council in collaboration with the City of Wurzburg
and there is a sustainable tourism project in Mwanza going on under the Mwanza-Wurzburg
Cooperation Project.

Investment Opportunities
Local government (Mwanza City Council) has become an important arena for discussion about
the interpretation and implementation of sustainable development (i.e. tourism)
Mwanza city council has the primary role of ensuring that the Environment that both our local
and visitors encounter is clean, safe, health, accessible and encouraging the private sector and
the local community to propagate sustainably . There are so many untapped opportunities for
investment especially in tourism, some of the potential areas for investment includes,
 City Park
The area is located at city center (Nyamagana Hill) in a place famous known as
‘Makoboi, the area is with 8 acres as presented in the town planning drawing number
14/165/781/26. The famous Gunzert House is located with the same area and from the
restoration report of 2017, the area and the House could be used as a teaching center, a
gallery, museum, an event venue, library, research centre, an archive, a sales location, a
meeting space and an information centre for tourism. Under umbrella of Mwanza City-
Wurzburg Cooperation, SAUT, and Ministry of Natural Resource and Tourism (lake
zone office together we managed to write document and present it in Wurzburg and
trying to seek financing of the mentioned project at City Park

 Open spaces around the City Centre

In line with the increased number of activities in business and social aspect, the concept
of having open spaces with the city center is coming more important. The Council has
managed to have several open spaces which need to be developed so that that people
always could feel the beauty of our City. The Council has announced the tender so that
people, private company or institution could bid and develop it in line with the
conditions available. The few example of the open spaces are Bismarck Rock Park
(Mwanza Bellevue), Capri Point Park and Custom Park.

 Luchelele Zoo and Golf Course Field

The focus here is to brand Mwanza as a completely tourism destination and not partial
or gateway to Serengeti only as perceived by some tourist. Therefore the council has
dedicated the 32 hectors in plot number 608 Block’ F’ at Luchelele Ward to be used for
Zoo purposes and the Golf Course Field with 46.43 hectors ,18 holes , accommodating
25,000 to 50,000 people with 200 cars parking at once .

KIOMONI KIBURWA KIBAMBA

CITY DIRECTOR
MWANZA