Irresponsible
statements by the Minister of Energy and Minerals will cost our country
dearly not only in developing the crucial Oil and Gas but also in
attracting foreign direct investment. What is needed
in Tanzania is transparency of contracts, sanctity of contracts and
building the crucial capacity of TPDC and not mere words from the
Minister who actually signs the contracts.
Announcing review of all production sharing agreements (PSA) to
be done by the new board of TPDC is simply a publicity stunt by the
Minister. What the Minister is unaware of and totally ignorant of is the
fact that many reviews have been done and nothing has been done about
it. The Parliamentary committee on Public organisations (POAC) had asked
TPDC through the office of the CAG to audit all the contracts. Out of
26 contracts, only 4 were audited and one (PanAfrica Energy) was found
to have inflated their costs to the tune of USD 26 Million. So review
will add nothing except earn short lived publicity for the Minister for
his cow boy approach while throwing the sector in huge UNCERTAINTY and
slowing down momentum.
Borrowing
the words of the US
President Barack Obama…..The Minister is shooting first and aiming
later portraying a confrontation approach that is ill-advised. His
approach on how he is handling this sector will cost our country dearly.
The oil and gas companies are very cautious and one thing is certain :
they don’t work in uncertain environments where contracts are under
threat of being revoked.
What
is needed in Tanzania is TRANSPARENCY. The contracts must be made
public and the new law must give powers to Parliament to approve the
contracts. That is the transformation we need to ensure that our country
benefits from it's resources. If the Minister is serious about walking
the talk he must bring these amendments to Parliament instead of
uttering irresponsible statements in press conferences.
Another
sensible radical transformation needed now is the enactment of the
Petroleum Revenue Management act. It doesn't help just mentioning
'revenue must not go to treasury'. We must be clear on how we will use
this income now to ensure all Tanzanians and their children see the
benefits. Establishment of sovereign development fund instead of a
sovereign wealth fund shall be a unique departure for Tanzania from the
resource curse other African countries are suffering.
We
(Tanzania) are competing with Mozambique to build the first LNG plant
to supply the Far East Asian markets out of East Africa. While our
neighbors are working hard and on time, we do the talking. This must end
Zitto Kabwe
Shadow Finance Minister
Toa Maoni Yako:
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