Envoy faults Govt, donors on power crisis

By Florence Mugalura

Norwegian Ambassador Mr Jon Lomoy,blames government on power crisis facing Tanzania. As the country continues to grapple with power crisis, the Norwegian Ambassador Mr Jon Lomoy, has blamed lack of adequate investment in the power sector to poor policies.
Mr Lomoy also believes that donors who fund over 34 per cent of the country?s development budget have failed in their role to help the country find a lasting solution to its electricity problem. The ambassador told Sunday Citizen in an exclusive interview this week that both the Government and its development partners share the blame for the current crisis.
He said the Government was lagging behind in formulating suitable policies to guide local and foreign investments in the energy sector, citing Uganda as a shining example of a country with good energy policies. ?Donors too have not done enough to put pressure on the Government to set priorities right and save the country from the recurrent power problem that badly affects the economy," he said.
He said in countries such as Norway, governments had clear programmes on generating electricity which is given the first priority as the basic pillar in economic development. Parliament last year passed the Electricity Act and Rural Energy Act to spur growth by putting to an end generation and distribution monopoly enjoyed by the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco).
However players in the sector argue the formulation of relevant regulations to implement the law has done little to encourage business as prospective investors are still worry of the investment risks, with some citing ?political? interference as their main fear for doing business. According to the ambassador, the Government needed to create a conducive environment for foreign investors to come and do business without any fears. ?I believe foreign investors can invest in power generation here in the country but the Government must create room for them to feel secure to do business; in other words, there must be an environment that will assure the investors of security of their business,? said Mr Lomoy.
He noted that Uganda has already managed to attracting foreign businesses that have helped the country overcome, to a large extent, a similar power supply crisis. He said Tanzania was facing power problem because there was no additional power to the national grid.
Tanzania needed to add at least 100MW every year to the national grid, he said. ?The only solution is to have different projects and programmes to ensure there is enough power generation in the country,? said Mr Lomoy.
He added that Tanzania like other countries need to use different means of generating power instead of depending on water which is always affected by climatic changes. The envoy said the country could use coal, gas, water, wind and even solar energy to generate power that would be connected to the national grid. He said the government must collaborate with private sectors in solving the problem