Govt: We`ll not dictate to Tanesco on Dowans
2009-03-04 13:56:21
By Njonanje Samwel
The government has said it will not intervene or give instructions to the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) regarding the much talked about plan to buy Dowans power plant.
The state-run power firm is therefore free to do what it feels is best to avert the looming power crisis, blamed on the ever increasing power demands in the country.
A government spokesperson gave the stance in an interview with The Guardian on Monday in reaction to ongoing debate over whether Tanesco should buy the Dowans power generating plant in Dar es Salaam or not.
Energy and Minerals spokesperson, Aloyce Tesha, was emphatic that the government has no plan to `chip in` over the issue apparently because that "is not its duty.``
After about a week of exchange of words between Tanesco and parliamentary committees overseeing the giant utility company, this paper had sought the government position on the matter.
The ministry spin doctor said: ``The ministry is only charged with policy issues.
We have nothing to do with the issue because Tanesco is an autonomous government institution with full mandate to run its day-to-day activities such as procurement of the debated plants,`` he said.
The ministry spokesperson pointed out that the Tanesco Director General is appointed by the President and is required to report to the firm`s board of directors and not to the ministry.
``For that reason, the ministry can neither revoke the appointment nor intervene in a matter which is outside ministerial duties.
Let the matter be explained by the respective authority, which in this case is Tanesco management,`` he explained.
What the ministry can do, said Tesha, is just overseeing whether the procurement of the generators and other equipment is in line with what he described as ``policy issues.``
Tanesco`s Director General, Dr Idris Rashid said in a statement last Saturday that the institution saw no other solution to the looming power demand than purchasing generators, and apparently a simplified option is acquiring the used Dowans Holdings Company gas propelled turbines.
According to Dr Rashid, ‘fast-track' purchase of the Dowans generators was becoming increasingly crucial because the country is on the verge of a looming power deficit precipitated by ever increasing demand.
He said the utility firm needs at least 105 extra megawatts of power for its national grid each year to curb the peak time demand which now stands at 787 megawatts, with the forecast of 1,331 megawatts by 2014. The available power supplied through the national grid is 595 megawatts only.
However, Tanesco and the government stance is contradicting a statement the two institutions issued in October last year, in which they categorically refuted claims of a move to buy power generators from Dowans.
They were reacting to reports that Tanesco had sought permission from the ministry to take part in the procurement process of Dowans` 35 MW gas turbines lying idle at Ubungo in Dar es Salaam.
The Tanesco-Dowans ill-fated wedding ended in August, last year with Tanesco claiming that the contract between the two parties was unbearable, and that it no longer needed the plant because the company was generating adequate power from its own sources.
Dowans and Tanesco entered into the contract after Richmond Development Company LLC failed to generate 100mw as stipulated in the June 23, 2006 agreement, which was signed after hydropower generation dams ran dry following a prolonged drought.
Before the contract was revoked, Dowans had been pocketing a windfall 183m/-a day through a dubious power generation deal that sparked a hot debate in Parliament and streets.
The move to purchase Dowans gas turbines has been vehemently opposed by several Members of Parliament, including Kyela legislator Dr Harrison Mwakyembe and his Nzega counterpart, Lucas Selelii.
The lawmakers were key players in a parliamentary select Committee formed last year to probe the Richmond Development Company LLC scandal, leading to the resignation of the former Premier Edward Lowassa along with two senior cabinet ministers, Nazir Karamagi and Dr. Ibrahim Msabaha.
Mwakyembe, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, said buying the Dowans plant would violate Public Procurement procedures which restrict government institutions from purchasing used items.
Opposing the deal, Lucas Selelii said regardless of their old age, the plants were being sold at high prices and therefore any move to buy them would cost the nation highly.
Meanwhile, President Jakaya Kikwete yesterday ordered the Ministry of Energy and Minerals to increase power production efforts to bridge the demand gap and avert the looming shortage.
He said this during talks with officials of the ministry at the State House in Dar es Salaam. The meeting was part of his routine audience with officials of various public institutions.
``The national programme for production of electricity is lagging behind and still there is a big gap between the actual demand of electricity and what is being generated,`` said Kikwete.
The president ordered the officials to increase the pace of implementation to ensure that areas which had been promised to receive electricity are provided immediately without unnecessary delays.
The president told the ministry to take immediate action to stop transformer oil theft which causes great loss to the nation. ``This distorts the whole distribution system of electricity to the public,`` said Kikwete.
Additionally, the President directed the ministry to supervise the mineral sector effectively by ensuring that people with licenses to search and carry out mining of minerals use them in accordance with the conditions spelled out in the license.
He also told the officials that the Public procurement act should not be a roadblock to big energy infrastructure projects particularly those in which investors are involved and where the nation is in need.
SOURCE: Guardian