Pinda assures public of stake in natural resources
The government has assured Tanzanians that their interests in reaping the benefits of oil and gas resources will be accorded a high priority.
The assurance was given yesterday in Dar es Salaam by Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda when opening Repoa’s 20th two-day annual research workshop under the theme: Harnessing natural resources for socioeconomic transformation.” However, according to the premier, Tanzanians need to be prepared to sacrifice behaviours which are likely to deter progress. He underscored the importance of natural resources such as oil and gas in accelerating structural and socio transformation, but cautioned on possible social disabling factors that are associated with natural resources.
In avoiding such social disabling factors, Mr Pinda urged Tanzanians to change their attitudes and mind-set by orienting them towards development in order to reap anticipated benefits from the gas and oil resources. “It is discipline that we need to converge towards a common vision for a fast and significant transformation for inclusive development,” noted Mr Pinda.
The premier said Tanzania must engage proactively in development of natural resources especially gas and oil in order to effectively deal with its risks and uncertainties. “We are still in discussion with international oil marketing companies on the proper utilisation of our gas and oil potentials in order to ensure that our people benefit from the resources,” he told government officials and local as well as international experts, specialists, researchers and policy makers who attended the two-day 20th annual research workshop.
“It will take time for such discussions to yield fruitful results, but preparations are very important,” he noted, pointing out the Natural Gas Policy adopted in 2013, the Natural Gas Utilization Master Plan and Natural Gas Act, both in advanced stage as some of the preparations taken by the government. According to the premier, review of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act of 1980 is also underway in order to accommodate new developments in the sector, among them being technological advancements and changes in global industry practice.
“The government is currently restructuring the state-owned national oil company (TPDC) in order to build its capacity to compete more effectively as a commercial oil company,” he added. The review, he said, focuses on our institutional arrangements so that clear separation of roles of policy making, regulating and commercial activities would be made.
“We are also in the advanced stage of preparing local policy content. These reforms, policies and legislations are necessary for ensuring optimal utilisation of natural resources,” he noted. Speaking earlier at the workshop, the Repoa executive director, Prof Samuel Wangwe, cautioned that if natural resources are not managed in proper ways, there is a risk that there would be a curse. “People think that with oil and gas resources it will be the end of poverty. But what it takes for such resources to be translated in a way that they can improve people’s lives is a major challenge,” he noted.
It is expected that Repoa’s 20th annual research workshop will promote policy dialogue based on evidence from research on matters related to the management of natural resources in ways that promote transformation of the economy to achieve inclusive development. Among participants are Prof Tony Venables from Oxford University, Prof Ragner Torvik from Norwegian University of Science and Technology who presented keynote papers.
