Tanzania: When natural resources become a curse
By Elias Mhegera – The debacle on oil and gas which was catalyzed by a resistance from the Mtwara residents on the government’s plan to pipe natural gas from its shores to Dar es Salaam is not yet resolved.
Currently there are no media reports on this matter simply because the Government has suppressed such coverage after it imposed a curfew albeit covertly after detaching a battalion of soldiers from the Tanzania People’s Defense Forces (TPDF).
This does not mean that the decision by the government has been supported wholeheartedly as evidenced in the Dar es Salaam city recently. It was during the Policy Forum Breakfast Debate at the British Council on Friday last week when all the vehemence proved this theory.
Nzega constituency MP Dr Hamis Kigwangala
To show to what extent this stance by the Government has angered the citizenry it was the people’s representative through the Nzega constituency Dr Hamis Kigwangala (MP) who criticized the decision to silence the people’s voice on the oil and gas as undemocratic and uncalled for.
“It is strange to find that the piping of the gas is an issue which does not allow for a broad discussion this opaqueness can lead to more speculations of the hidden and corrupt motives by some bigwigs,” said the legislator.
He reminded that the founding father of this nation Mwalimu Julius Nyerere had once warned that there was no hurry for the extraction of minerals if we do not have the resources or the capacity for such endeavors.
Prof Ibrahim Lipumba
This stance was supported by Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba, a prominent economist and chairman of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF). He lashed at the Government’s decision to impose a ‘curfew’ to residents of Mtwara on the pretext of preserving peace and tranquility.
These comments followed two presentations and a discussion by three presenters namely Ms Genevieve Kasanga, Head of Communications and Government Relations, at Statoil and investing company, a government representative and Silas Olang, a Senior Regional Associate (Africa) for Revenue Watch Institute (RWI).
As it was observed during the discussions, the Government had gone as far as signing a contract with the investors in gas and oil without enough prior consultation, without a policy and even a new law in place. These were highlighted as serious shortcomings by the stakeholders during the debate.
Dr George Jambiya from the Tanzania Natural Resources Forum (TNRF), was worried that the rush from signing of the contract with investors in this area can be translated as a lust for quick money, rather than advancing the national interests in the first place.
From the training to investigative journalists that was conducted at the White Sands on Monday this week it was realized that discovery of oil and gas has brought severe shackles in many areas with such discoveries.
Such contracts have always been accompanied with a sudden rush, opaqueness, excessive use of force by the government of the day and sudden visit by international figures in order to divert media and public attention.
In summary these indications depict farfetched interests and in most cases grand corruption. Always there are ‘big minds’ who are consulted prior the signing of these contracts where some Government manages to get justifications and ‘ten percents’ from the deals.
