Civic actors have called upon the government to enhance "local-local" content so that the gas economy benefits the host communities. This call was made by Prof. Honest Prosper Ngowi, a Mzumbe University lecturer during the Policy Forum breakfast debate held on the 28th of August 2015 at the British Council Auditorium entitled: “Tanzania’s Gas Economy: Examining Local and National Perspectives.”
“In many countries today, there are huge expectations from extractive revenues which can ultimately lead to overspending and debt among other things. Therefore it is important to have a law in place that manages these risks and challenges so as to meet the desired goals.”
On June 16th, 2015, the Government of Tanzania tabled in parliament three bills related to extractive industries under Certificates of Urgency. The bills are The Tanzania Extractive Industries (Transparency and Accountability) Act 2015, The Oil and Gas Revenue Management Act 2015 and The Petroleum Act 2015.
To this effect, we the undersigned Civil Society Organizations convened and deliberated on the bills in Dares Salaam from the 21st to 23rd of June, 2015 aiming at providing inputs for improvement of the proposed legislations with national interests at the fore.
On the 18-24 May 2015, Policy Forum – Local Government Working Group (LGWG) was invited to participate in the “World Village Festival” and other subsequent events organized by Kepa in Helsinki, Finland. The event brought in different NGOs from Europe, the Middle East and Africa to discuss the opportunities and challenges related to development that developing countries are facing but more specifically how decisions made in the north affect the lives of people in poorer countries.
Stakeholders have urged the government in co-operation with other stakeholders to establish a legal framework for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices as to ensure its effective implementation and compliance for the benefit of both national and international interests.
With the advent of natural gas in Tanzania, there are many players entering the fray to make a contribution in helping the country avoid the ‘resource curse’ or the ‘paradox of plenty’ that have in so many instances shackled many other African resource-rich countries and prevented them from benefiting from extractives.
The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) has endorsed the civil society Extractive Industry Working Group’s position on the draft petroleum policy that was published last month.
In April 2014, the Ministry of Energy and Minerals issued a second draft National Petroleum Policy of Tanzania. As natural resources stakeholders, we, the undersigned, appreciate the opportunity tocomment on the draft with the aim of providing inputs for improvement of the draft with national interests at the fore.
We, COMMEND the government for its efforts and determination to manage the resource effectively and strategically for public good;
Following the recent significant discovery of natural gas in Tanzania, the country has emerged as a potential large gas producer in East Africa, generating substantial interest from citizens, civil society and politicians regarding the prospects for the resource to propel the nation’s economic development. The government, to its credit, has embarked on a series of processes to develop policy and legal frameworks that will help govern the exploration, production, transportation and distribution of natural gas.
“’Local Content' means the local component of goods, services and human resources employed in the conduct of Petroleum Operations under this contract” – Model Production Sharing Contract (2003)