Masasi
Masasi is a medium-sized district town with approx. 40,000 inhabitants in southern Tanzania in the southwest of the Mtwara region on the border with Mozambique . It is the capital of the Masasi district and is located between high mountains in the otherwise flat surrounding area. The highest mountain (Masasi Hill) rises about 350 meters and is under nature protection.
Infrastructure
Masasi forms a regional transport hub. The road from the Liwale District in the north to the district town of Nachingwea on the Makonde Plateau in the southeast of Masasi crosses with the important road from Mtwara on the coast to Tunduru and on to Songea and Lake Malawi in the west. The road is currently paved from Mtwara to Masasi, but will be expanded as a highway to Lake Malawi in the coming years. In addition, the unit bridge will be built in the southwest of the city as the first direct road connection between Tanzania and Mozambique, which will make Masasi increasingly important in the coming years. The Masasi Airport is also to be given more prominence, and Precision Air is to be served several times a week.
Masasi has a relatively stable power supply via a diesel power plant. The power supply is usually only interrupted when the diesel supply from Mtwara fails due to high oil prices or undermined roads.
The hospital in Masasi does not correspond to western standards, but it is important for the whole area and is relatively well equipped.
population
The population is made up of Bantu , the largest group is the Wao people . The majority of the population is Christian as well as Muslim. In the east of the city there is an important Anglican monastery, the Catholic parish church is the center of the largest parish in the city.
Economy / agriculture
In addition to the cultivation of corn, bananas, coconuts and tomatoes for personal use, the city and its surrounding area are strongly influenced by the cashew nut plantations. They form the main source of income for the city, even if the kashew nuts are shipped via winding middlemen between December and February, first from the villages to Masasi, then with large trucks to Mtwara and from there to India. The World Bank's idea of building and establishing a cashew nut factory was a good one and it came about initially. However, the factory only runs a few months a year because of liquidity problems and nepotism, so it cannot exploit its potential. Around 300 people could find permanent employment in the cashew nut factory, making the factory by far the largest and most important employer in the city and a significant step in its development.
Crafts also have great potential. The basket weavers in the western area and the wood sculptors at Ndanda , who make the famous Makonde carvings , are famous beyond the region . There is also a strong tradition of carpentry and joinery.
In 2001 local civil society organizations got together and founded the "Masasi NGOs Network" ( MANGONET ). The now 20 organizations work in different areas such as agriculture, education, economic development, human rights and environmental protection and have set themselves the goal of promoting the development of their city and the Masasi district and taking it into their own hands through civil society engagement.
Web links
Coordinates: 10 ° 43 ′ S , 38 ° 48 ′ E