Govt mulls pre-paid services in home gas supply

What you need to know:

  • The project, which is being piloted in the country, is designed to promote the use of clean and affordable energy for end users.

Dodoma. The government has embarked on a new a pre-paid services project to supply Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in homes across the country.

The project, which is being piloted in the country, is designed to promote the use of clean and affordable energy for end users.

The Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office(Union Affairs and Environment) January Makamba, told reporters in Dodoma yesterday that a gas user in Tanzanian would now spend up to Sh800 to buy cooking gas when the project is implemented across the country.

Mr Makamba revealed this when he was responding to irregularities raised by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Professor Mussa Assad in his report which was released on Wednesday last week.

Mr Makamba said, “In this pilot project, a gas user somewhere in Tanzania fixes a gadget on gas tank to monitor the amount of gas used and the cost of the gas through mobile-money transactions. This would be helpful for people who can’t afford to purchase a huge amount of cooking gas in their homes.”

“We want people to stop using wood fuel or charcoal for cooking because it destroys the environment and deters the government’s effort to fight climate change, ensure affordable energy in line with the Sustainable Development Goals,’’ added the Minister at a press conference.

He said by March 2018, 16 companies had already been licensed to carry out the pilot project in Tanzania. He added that the investment in LNG is one strategy to protect the environment and improve economies.