Tanzania: Power comes at a price
Duration: 00:05:42
Studio cue
Songo Songo Island is the site of Tanzania’s largest natural gas reserves. This gas is piped 250 km awayto be converted to low-cost electricity in the capital Dar es Salaam. But local people in the surrounding district of Kilwa have no access to the power generated from this importantsource.And they are frustrated at being held back by their costly and unreliable power supplies.
Neville Meena reports.
Script
Reporter Neville Meena: It is almost 8.30 in the evening and I’m wondering through the narrow street at the centre of Kilwa Masoko in the district of Kilwa. We are near 45 kilometres from the source of our country’s largest natural gas reserves. All around people are going about their daily business but they are doing it in the dark.
Mr. Burton Matthew: life is very difficult for us here and it’s because of the problems we have sourcing power. I own a number of milling machines which process maize to make rice. It is very expensive for me to run my own generator and when I ask my customers to pay more to help cover my costs they say they can’t afford it so the machines are standing still at the moment. Initially we were told we will be the first to benefit from the new Songas pipeline but it’s not like we’re going to be last.
Reporter Neville Meena: But it is not just the business community that is affected in this region of Tanzania. Tides Mwakinyike is a pupil at the local school.
Ms Tides Mwakinyike: Life here is problematic without sufficient power. I depend on electricity in the evenings because I’m expected to do homework and review what I have learnt from my lesson at school. I sometimes try to work by candlelight but I have been warned this is too much of strain on my eyes and can be dangerous. If my eyes hurt badly I end up sitting around doing nothing until I go back to school next day.
Reporter Neville Meena: Generally few can afford their own generators. There is one main electricity generator in Kilwa Masoko. This is owned by Tanzania electricity supply company TANESCO and is supposed to serve the surrounding communities but it is very old and very expensive to run. As local trade Wokusiima Kamulali explains, any profit she makes now seems to go back into the upkeep of the main generator.
Kamulali: we depend largely on the main generator here. But we are just a group of 15 women trying to sell food on the street. We could never afford to buy our own generator and it will be too expensive to hire one. Sometimes we can’t even afford to pay the bills for the main generator here so we end up using firewood to prepare the food. Even charcoal is too expensive for some of us.
Reporter Neville Meena: People in Kilwa have given up hope of ever being linked to the Songas pipeline. Yohana Jumaa blames government leaders for having let them down.
Yohana Jumaa: The problem we are facing here is power; imagine what it is like when you want to access hospital services. Sometimes we bring people who are seriouslysick to the local hospitals. They need care they need tests done but it is impossible without power. It is a real problem yet government leaders are unwilling to commit themselves to giving us a date as to when we shall benefit from this natural gas that is probably flowing under our feet right now. I believe it is the government’s responsibility to solve this problem.
Reporter Neville Meena: A pipeline carries the natural gas 250km from the tropical island of SongoSongo in the south to the capital Dar es Salaam. And it is here in the capital city where people are starting to notice the potential of the Songas pipeline. Tanzania breweries limited brews and distributes malt beer. It is one of 20 key customers now able to access this new found energy. But as a Manager Maneno Mbegu explained at the recent corporate event the changeover to gas has had its own teething problems.
Maneno Mbegu: the infrastructure has got some bottlenecks and the relevant authorities are trying to solve those infrastructures so it will take some time before most industries convert to usage of natural gas as a source of energy
Reporter Neville Meena: Mr Mbegu, there has been a great hope to make Tanzanian energy self-sufficient since the discovery of natural gas here but yet many communities still face regular power cuts. Are we looking at a brighter future for all?
Maneno Mbegu: When you talk about brighter future in Tanzania we need to look on the available infrastructure to supply energy. that hydroelectric dam that we have the same as natural gas. In order to expect these resources what we need to have is proper infrastructure that will ensure that most parts of Tanzania take advantage of these two natural resources.
Reporter Neville Meena: Delays are likely to continue for the foreseeable future but as Nurdin Babu District Commissioner explains on the phone, there is good reason to keep hoping.
Nurdin Babu: Once the project is completed the power supply will give us one economic growth by establishing small industry and secondly social welfare, electricity supplies and water service will improve and will be available all the time to the people of Kilwa.
ENDS
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