Crisis In Tanzania

Appears To Be Easing

Don Causey


That crisis in Tanzania I told you about last week appears to be easing. The crisis was set off by a huge last-minute fee increase that called for concession fees to be quintupled and trophy fees to skyrocket. Not next year, but immediately. The news led many clients to put trips on hold. At least two clients I know of actually had their safaris cancelled, or shortened, seemingly as a result of the fees.
At this writing, I have not been able to find out why the above-mentioned clients’ safaris were interrupted. I suspect the action was taken because of poor information flow into the countryside, or because of factors unrelated to the fee increase. I say that because I have just made calls to several of the major companies in Tanzania and all of them are continuing to conduct safaris. They are also telling future clients to come on as planned. More important still, I just got off the phone with Gerard Pasanisi, Chairman of TAHOA (Tanzania Hunting Operators Association), who stated unequivocally that the announced price increases would not be imposed this season.
The safety net here that protects the 2007 season is a 1994 agreement Pasanisi engineered between TAHOA and the government. That agreement assures members of TAHOA that fee increases cannot be implemented unless there has been a nine-month advance warning. “The 2007 season will go forward as planned,†Pasanisi told me this morning. “The minister has already personally assured me of that.â€
Anyone who knows the Tanzanian hunting scene knows Pasanisi has always called this kind of thing correctly. I am cautiously optimistic he has so this time, too. My only concern is the fact that the fee increases were not an abrupt gesture by a government official; they were formally approved by an Act of Parliament, apparently as part of a government-wide effort to raise more revenue. Does a legal agreement between TAHOA and the government take precedence over an Act of Parliament?
Pasanisi says it does, and I have never known him to be wrong in the 26 years I have been publishing The Hunting Report. Based on his word, I would personally go forward with a safari if I had one booked to Tanzania this season.
I say that, and hastily point out that there is a small chance that the crunch here may not come until after the season has ended and trophies are about to be shipped. Will the government, at that point, demand that the new trophy fees be paid – lion and leopard $12,000 each, for example? Elephant $15,000? Pasanisi says absolutely not.
Here at The Hunting Report I always share all of the information I have on matters like this. Whenever possible, I also try to make hard and fast calls on how to use that information. Sometimes, though, events simply cannot be firmly called. And this is one of those situations. All I can tell you is what I would do personally. In this case, if I had a safari to Tanzania booked, I would haul butt and get on the plane! – Don Causey.

Kathi,
Hope you're right!
I guess we can book the airlines then?
Russ

Russ,
Sent you a e-mail

Bad timing.

From Monday to today we switched our hunt (Friday departure) from Tanz to Zim, only to learn we were good at the old rates.

I have to say that Wendell did a fabulous job in finding out what he could and taking care of all our needs, fears, and whining.

Looks as though you were dammed if you did an dammed if you did.

Last year about 2 wks before I left for Namibia there was a scare about polio. That the Gov't of Namibia wanted all toursits vaccinated or they would do it. I came withing a busy signal on the phone line of canceling my trip as I am alergic to the vacination. When the call didn't go thru I took it as an omen and went of the trip without the shot...by the time I got to windhoek it had all blown over and I realized all the commotion on AR was for naught.

Thanks for the info Kathi. I have been sweating bullets since I have heard of this nonsense.

that's the problem with African hunting in general. the situation can and will change day to day. i truly love it but man can thinges get f---ed up in a hurry!!! luckily they can be corrected just as fast

Any news as to whether the newly proposed fees will go into effect for 2008 or 09? Are they still trying to negotiate those down?