Mwananchi
Summary
·
A major
portion of the money was used to complete the Standard Gauge Railway and
the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project
Dar es Salaam. President Samia Suluhu Hassan has invested nearly Sh20 trillion in the implementation of development projects in the infrastructure and energy sectors during her two-year reign, it has been
learnt.Reports say that Sh12 trillion was
directed for projects executed by the ministry of Works and Transport while
about Sh8 trillion was pumped to the ministry of Energy.
A significant portion of the money
given to the ministry of Energy was used to carry out the Julius Nyerere
Hydropower Project (JNHPP), while the majority of the funds given to the
ministry of Works and Transport were used to carry out the Standard Gauge
Railway (SGR) project.
The money came from different
sources, including budgetary allocations, aids, and loans from different
financial institutions, both domestic and foreign.
Speaking recently to The Citizen,
the assistant commissioner from the policy analysis department in the ministry
of Finance and Planning (micro), Mr Mbayani Saruni, said the amount could be
more than that.
“The ministry of Work and Transport
is in the lead due to the ongoing implementation of the SGR project. In
particular, the ministry of Energy has come second due to the execution of the
JNHPP,” he said.
“I don’t know how that was calculated,
but the situation can be seen like that,” he added.
The Treasury, on behalf of the
central government, stood third as it spent another reasonable amount for debt
servicing and the payment of salaries to public servants. Spending by the
ministry of Energy will definitely increase because preparations for the
implementation of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project worth over $40
billion are underway.
Jointly with Ugandan counterparts,
the country is also expected to implement the East African Crude Oil Pipeline
Project (EACOP), worth $3.5 billion.
The University of Dar es Salaam
(UDSM) economist, Prof Humphrey Moshi, said Tanzania will start reaping the
benefits of these investments in the next few years.
He commended President Hassan for
walking the talk in the implementation of projects started by her predecessor,
President John Magufuli, who suddenly died in office on March 17, 2021.
“This investment will lay an
economic foundation in many areas. Reducing costs of product production and
stimulating Foreign Domestic Investment (FDI) are among the benefits the
country should expect to reap,” said the UDSM don from the department of
economics.
“The investment will create more
jobs, address the challenge of youth unemployment in the country, and reduce
the rate of youth migration,” he added.
Furthermore, he said the
government’s investment will promote irrigation agriculture, especially in
addressing the challenges of wheat and edible oil shortages.
Cooking Energy
The Permanent Secretary in the
ministry of Energy, Mr Felchesmi Mramba, said the government is collaborating
with stakeholders in preparing the structure of a special fund alongside a
10-year vision and strategy on clean cooking energy for 2023–2033.
The move aimed to implement the
country’s ambition to reduce the use of firewood and fossil energy for domestic
and industrial purposes.
Statistics show that 63.5 percent of
households in Tanzania are using firewood as their main source of cooking
energy, followed by 26.2 percent using charcoal, 5.1 percent Liquefied
Petroleum Gas (LPG), three percent using electricity, and 2.2 percent using
other sources.
“We are very excited to see a
project that will benefit the majority of women. Even our recent tour to
encourage the women in rural areas to start using gas instead of firewood and
charcoal was part of these efforts,” said Ms Regina Kabwogi, the director of
Training and Research at the Tanzania Women in Energy Network (TaWoE).
Power
The Parliamentary Committee on
Energy and Minerals says Sh4.42 trillion is needed to address the frequent
challenge of power outages. In February of this year, 26 solid grid agreements
worth Sh1.9 trillion were signed as steps to empower the organisation.
Fuel crisis
In order to address the challenge of
the global fuel crisis brought about by the impacts of the ongoing war between
Russia and Ukraine, President Hassan’s administration affected the provision of
a Sh100 billion subsidy that will reduce prices for final consumers.
“The country should also invest and
convert their vehicles to start using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), which is
also recommended in addressing the challenge of environmental pollution,” said
Raphael Mgaya, the Tanzania Association of Oil Marketing Companies (TAOMAC)
executive director.
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