Browsing: Tanzania

Medical marijuana may very well be the agri-business that Africa needs to get its economies high in the global multi-billion…

More importantly though, a clear signal was sent to the EU Parliament that the colonial days are over and that meddling in affairs and interfering with matters that are of the exclusive sovereign remit of the host countries, Uganda and Tanzania, is simply not tolerated.

Following the EU Parliament’s action, Total Energies is to appear before the Parliament for a hearing and answer queries that the members of parliament will have. That coupled with the fact that Total has an ongoing court case in France regarding an allegation of its failure to put in place an adequate vigilance plan covering health, safety, environment, and human rights risks as required by French law, related to the the same EACOP project, it will be interesting to see whether or not Total Energies might drop out of the project at the risk of being exposed to breach of contract claims by the other Parties to the venture.Total Energies controls EACOP legal shareholding since it has the majority.

However, it may be a small price to pay amid the increasing pressure in France and Europe for green and climate friendly projects. Worldwide, financiers are avoiding investments in fossil fuels projects and looking for what is hailed as green investments.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN), natural gas economy governance commands the norms, institutions and processes that determine how power and responsibilities over natural resources are exercised, how decisions impact the constituents of the region and how citizens (in this case people in Mtwara and the rest of Tanzania), women, men, indigenous peoples, and local communities, participate and benefit from the management of natural resources.

Tanzania has only explored a small fraction of the natural gas reserves (0.5 TCF out of 57.74TCF), and in order to explore further socio-economic and political affairs ought to be aligned perfectly to ensure that the production of natural gas comes with blessings and not a curse, as manifested in some African nations.

A Tanzanian policy research think tank—Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF)—converged with local government authority officials, to discuss how governance gaps in planning and management of the natural gas economy in Mtwara can be addressed.

On behalf of Tanzania’s Minister for Tourism and Natural Resources, Director of Wildlife Division, Dr Maurus Msuha said; “The project is key especially in our changing environment as many of our wildlife movement corridors are increasingly becoming fragmented to reduce encroachment and conflicts.”

The project will extend across five years to restore destroyed wildlife corridors along with supporting the surrounding communities. As such, the majority of the funding will go into strengthening the institutional capacity of key players from both the public and the private sectors.

“Although we cannot reverse previous damage to wildlife and natural resources, moving forward, USAID Tuhifadhi Maliasili will foster sustainable management at the community and national level,” Dr Masuha told stakeholders.

The project will engage and empower women and youth groups at both local and national levels. It is only through such communal engagement that the project can be sustained. A key part here is conducting awareness campaigns on the importance and relevance of ecosystem protection and environmental conservation.

While Tanzania has approved genetic engineering research and has no issue with the safety of GMOs, across the continent in Nigeria, the story is different. The leading economy in Africa is against genetic engineering and/or the consumption of GMOs.

Stakeholders are calling on the government to revisit its biosafety laws to protect its people from what they describe as the uncertain safety of GM products.

Local media in Nigeria report worrisome findings of a survey by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), which was conducted across nine major cities in the West African country that revealed over 30 food products found in the Nigerian market are GM products.

The products range from vegetable oils and cereals to ice cream and spices. Ok, so there are various GMOs on supermarket shelves in Nigeria. Is it a crime? No, in fact it is perfectly legal to import, sell and consume GM products in Nigeria.

The connection bypass road launched by the five presidents of the East African Community (EAC) has set precedence in the importance of neighbouring countries undertaking joint projects to improve transport infrastructure between and amongst themselves.

This point is underlined in the World Bank report; “Patterns of shipping, transshipping, and distribution mean that trade depends not only on the quality of infrastructure in the two trading countries but also of that in key third party countries on the trading network.”

The point is that while two countries can come together to improve transport infrastructure, it is not enough because trade, in many cases, goes much further than the border between two countries.

Lake Victoria’s fisheries support more than 3 million livelihoods and bring in US$500 million in revenues annually.

Nile Perch is the main fish caught in Lake Victoria. Fish maw – the air sack that aids the Nile Perch in floating and a Chinese delicacy – has been a major export source. Statistics from the Uganda Ministry of Agriculture indicate an increase in fish maw exports earning from US$27m in 2015, to US$31m in 2016, US$48m in 2017 and US$52m in 2018. These earnings exclude the earnings from Nile Perch and its eggs.

However, the lake has been invaded by water hyacinth – the floating, green mats of waxy leaves with purple blossoms – depriving the waters below of oxygen which makes it hard for aquatic life to survive.

That, plus overfishing which occurs when fishermen use undersized nets that catch fish before they reach maturity, rapid population growth, and pollution by wastewater, agro-pesticides and fertilisers threaten the future of fishing in Lake Victoria.

Recent economic growth and development within Southern and Eastern Africa have created positive opportunities to expand water transportation services. Owing to the impressive growth of the East African economy, where countries like Tanzania and Ethiopia have experienced remarkable growth rates higher than the regional and continental levels, there is a prospect for expanding cargo traffic. A few of the sub-regions ports are experiencing capacity constraints and congestion.

What is good for the goose must also be good for the gander. However, the EU commission has commissioned the Baltic pipe project, somewhat similar to the EACOP. The Baltic Pipe project was inaugurated on September 27, 2022, at an opening ceremony in Goleniów, Poland.

Tanzania is not immune to the unrest afflicting northern Mozambique, which has occasionally spilt over the border, so any decision to push ahead with the onshore project will also be made regarding the security situation.

According to the Jornal Domingo online reports, President Filipe Nyusi said it is necessary to exploit the advantage of the countries being neighbours, especially concerning the negotiation of contracts for the exploitation of hydrocarbons. This item is, in fact, one of the great weaknesses of the States.

Mozambique will be the first of the two countries to export liquefied natural gas, which should happen in the coming days, through the Coral Sul offshore project, in Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, concludes the ‘Domingo’ online report.

According to figures from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), a global data visualization tool for international trade, as of 2020, Tanzania exported US$114 in Crude Petroleum, making it the 126th largest exporter of Crude Petroleum in the world. In the same year, Crude Petroleum was the 863rd most exported product in Tanzania. The main destination of Crude Petroleum exports from Tanzania is the United Arab Emirates.