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- Feb 26, 2008
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The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. The Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) yesterday differed with a statement made by President Jakaya Kikwete on Wednesday that the Mother Nature was to blame for the prevailing power crisis bedeviling the country.The CTI second vice-president, Mr Jayesh Shah, said the government should stop politicising the power woes, and should instead look for a workable and lasting solution.
Speaking during his Wednesday tour of the Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF), the President defended the minister for Energy and Minerals, Mr William Ngeleja, saying he (the minister) was not responsible for the ongoing power shortage that is threatening to cripple the economy. Of late, various commentators have been calling for the resignation of Mr Ngeleja, who they accuse of failing to address the power crisis that has become the nightmare of industrialists, every category of entrepreneurs and domestic consumers alike.
Mr Shah told The Citizen in a telephone interview that the government must shoulder the blame for failure to take pre-emptive measures, since it is well known that Mother Nature is not a reliable way of getting electricity, more so in the face of the vagaries of global warming.
"We've said this before, that the government needs to look at the possibility of having alternative sources of power…the country is in a crisis and the words the President is speaking are not helping the matter in anyway," said Mr Shah.He said Tanzania's economy would continue to shrink if the power problem is not solved quickly in the face of inflation and the falling value of the local shilling against the US dollar.
Mr Shah's barbed remarks add clout to recent calls by the chief executive officers (CEOs) of different major companies who asked the government to look for an emergency plan to rescue the country's economy from a total collapse.
In a meeting last week, the CEOs advised the government to convene a meeting that would involve stakeholders from the government, academia, private sector, development partners and civil society organisations to roll out the necessary plan.The chairman of MAC Group Limited and a CEOs roundtable member, said production in various industries and companies had dropped by about 30 per cent because of the power problem.
The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) told members of the Parliamentary Committee for Energy and Minerals in Dar es Salaam that the loss resulting from the power cuts could amount to a whopping Sh840 billion in unmet collection targets in the second half of the just ended fiscal year.
The CTI had reported that the last power shedding had not been as serious as the current one, in which about 50 factories have been forced to close up shop.While the CEOs see the problem as a national disaster, when speaking, President Kikwete said the drought problem in the country was not as serious as in countries like Kenya where presently many people were threatened by hunger.
"We ask the private sector and other stakeholders to assist us in dealing with the problem," said the President.
President Kikwete's defence of the minister and now, the CTI rejoinder, come in the wake of criticism that government was not treating the problem with the serious it deserves, while commentators, including ruling party MPs and their Opposition counterparts, are openly calling for the resignation of Energy minister Ngeleja.
In his statement, President Kikwete also shielded Tanzania Electrici Supply Company Limited (Tanesco), explaining that nature was to blame for the problem. He said it was about time people stopped demanding that certain people take responsibilities for problems they did not create.
"The power problem here has not been premeditated by Ngeleja or Mhando (William, the managing director of Tanesco)…there is no water in Mtera," the President insisted, adding, "this problem has been caused by drought…which of course is not that serious here because in countries like Kenya, drought is already a national disaster."
Because of the crisis, Mr Kikwete said, the government was ‘sweating' on the prospect of obtaining about 300MW until the end of the year, to lessen the problem. "Tanesco is already in the process of working with Aggreko to try to solve the problem…I'm told there were disagreements regarding the cost of the project but they informed me today that they were at an advanced stage of their negotiations."
Source:The Citizen
Dar es Salaam. The Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) yesterday differed with a statement made by President Jakaya Kikwete on Wednesday that the Mother Nature was to blame for the prevailing power crisis bedeviling the country.The CTI second vice-president, Mr Jayesh Shah, said the government should stop politicising the power woes, and should instead look for a workable and lasting solution.
Speaking during his Wednesday tour of the Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF), the President defended the minister for Energy and Minerals, Mr William Ngeleja, saying he (the minister) was not responsible for the ongoing power shortage that is threatening to cripple the economy. Of late, various commentators have been calling for the resignation of Mr Ngeleja, who they accuse of failing to address the power crisis that has become the nightmare of industrialists, every category of entrepreneurs and domestic consumers alike.
Mr Shah told The Citizen in a telephone interview that the government must shoulder the blame for failure to take pre-emptive measures, since it is well known that Mother Nature is not a reliable way of getting electricity, more so in the face of the vagaries of global warming.
"We've said this before, that the government needs to look at the possibility of having alternative sources of power…the country is in a crisis and the words the President is speaking are not helping the matter in anyway," said Mr Shah.He said Tanzania's economy would continue to shrink if the power problem is not solved quickly in the face of inflation and the falling value of the local shilling against the US dollar.
Mr Shah's barbed remarks add clout to recent calls by the chief executive officers (CEOs) of different major companies who asked the government to look for an emergency plan to rescue the country's economy from a total collapse.
In a meeting last week, the CEOs advised the government to convene a meeting that would involve stakeholders from the government, academia, private sector, development partners and civil society organisations to roll out the necessary plan.The chairman of MAC Group Limited and a CEOs roundtable member, said production in various industries and companies had dropped by about 30 per cent because of the power problem.
The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) told members of the Parliamentary Committee for Energy and Minerals in Dar es Salaam that the loss resulting from the power cuts could amount to a whopping Sh840 billion in unmet collection targets in the second half of the just ended fiscal year.
The CTI had reported that the last power shedding had not been as serious as the current one, in which about 50 factories have been forced to close up shop.While the CEOs see the problem as a national disaster, when speaking, President Kikwete said the drought problem in the country was not as serious as in countries like Kenya where presently many people were threatened by hunger.
"We ask the private sector and other stakeholders to assist us in dealing with the problem," said the President.
President Kikwete's defence of the minister and now, the CTI rejoinder, come in the wake of criticism that government was not treating the problem with the serious it deserves, while commentators, including ruling party MPs and their Opposition counterparts, are openly calling for the resignation of Energy minister Ngeleja.
In his statement, President Kikwete also shielded Tanzania Electrici Supply Company Limited (Tanesco), explaining that nature was to blame for the problem. He said it was about time people stopped demanding that certain people take responsibilities for problems they did not create.
"The power problem here has not been premeditated by Ngeleja or Mhando (William, the managing director of Tanesco)…there is no water in Mtera," the President insisted, adding, "this problem has been caused by drought…which of course is not that serious here because in countries like Kenya, drought is already a national disaster."
Because of the crisis, Mr Kikwete said, the government was ‘sweating' on the prospect of obtaining about 300MW until the end of the year, to lessen the problem. "Tanesco is already in the process of working with Aggreko to try to solve the problem…I'm told there were disagreements regarding the cost of the project but they informed me today that they were at an advanced stage of their negotiations."
Source:The Citizen