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THE Opposition camp was concerned that weakness on the part of the government to implement projects that would have generated electricity from natural gas and coal has resulted in the nation's dependence on oil for generation of emergency electricity.
Mr John Mnyika said that about half the amount of electricity in the country is generated by diesel, airplane fuel and heavy fuel, a situation that has compounded the cost of importation. This anomaly has also caused huge cost in foreign currency.
The opposition camp was contributing ideas to enrich the annual budget estimates of the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, which were tabled in the National Assembly by Prof. Sospeter Muhongo. The opposition was also unhappy that not much help has been promised to small-scale mineral miners.
Debating the ministry's budget proposals, Mr Mussa Zungu Azzan (Ilala-CCM) was bitter that some investors colluded with local officials to impoverish the nation.He gave the example of Pan African Energy "which stole 32bn/- and has refused to repay." He charged that the company, which deals with distribution of natural gas, has threatened to destroy the gas pipeline network.
He also demanded that no tax exemptions should be offered to gas companies.Mr Selemani Said Bungara (Kilwa South -CUF) said the economy was struggling because the nation was going through a political crisis. He said dirty politics prevailed in the country.
Speaker of the National assembly, Ms Anne Makinda, intervened and told the legislator that he went out of his way to speak about tenets of Islam and Christianity.Ms Makinda ordered the legislator to stick to the agenda at hand and stop abusing Parliamentary rules and regulations.
Mr Bundala spoke emotionally charging that residents in Songo Songo gas plant effluents had killed goats and sheep in Songo Songo Village. He demanded that Energy and Minerals Minister visit the village and see how compensation can be done.He further charged that Songo Songo villagers were not consulted before their land was taken by investors in the natural gas project.
He threatened that he and fellow villagers would not allow the gas to be transported to Dar es Salaam."We need to know our stake in the project," he said. He told the House that it is the residents who live in the vicinity of the pipeline's path who protect the project. He added that the residents in Lindi and Mtwara also want to have electricity from the gas.
Ms Rachel Mashishanga (Special seats-Chadema) spoke bitterly about the "unending" crisis that pits small-scale miners against major miners. She said it is the small-scale miners who discover mineral deposits. But the government offers the mines to large-scale miners and kicks the small-scale miners out.
Ms Mashishanga also expressed concern that foreign investors in mining transport quantities of soil, sand and rock sample abroad. She demanded to know if thorough inspections and assessment of the samples are carried out before such exports are made.
Source: allAfrica
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