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Minister demolishes his own 3 bedroom house to pave way for road expansion

The house, located at Mapogoro Village in Iringa Region, was built in 1995 and was earmarked for demolition by the Tanzania National Roads Agency (Tanroads)

Tanzania's lands minister William Lukuvi has demolished his three-room house to allow for road expansion.

The house, located at Mapogoro Village in Iringa Region, was built in 1995 and had been earmarked for demolition by the Tanzania National Roads Agency (Tanroads) because it was located in a road reserve.

“It was my first house. I built it when I first became a member of parliament,’ said Mr Lukuvi on Monday, October 16, shortly after arriving in Dar es Slaam from Iringa.

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Easily said than done is however normally the case most of the time, whenever Africans have found themselves in Lukuvi’s shoes they always tend to drag their feet and even move to court to bar the government from knocking down their houses until they get the best compensation price.

Not Mr. Lukuvi though who said public interests came first and demolishing the house would allow construction of a tarmac road from Tungamalenga village at the entry of the Ruaha National Park to Iringa town.

“I was born in Mapogoro Village, Idodi Ward. I knew my house was supposed to be demolished since 1995 that’s why I have decided to demolish it. Other people have already demolished theirs,’’ said Mr Lukuvi who was once the Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner.

As a result of his volition he was able to salvage a few items in the process.

“I was able to salvage some of the most important items such as doors, windows and iron-sheets. I know what I am doing is a good thing because the road that is being constructed will help boost development in this area,’’ he added.

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He said the house was until recently being used by the agricultural extension officer of Idodi ward.

“He used to live in the house for free, but when road construction began, I told him to shift,’’ he said.

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