Govt says Stigler's energy plan on track despite Nape critique

Dodoma. Energy minister Medard Kalemani yesterday responded to concerns raised by Mtama lawmaker Nape Nnauye who on Monday faulted the government for capitalizing on the 2100MW power project—Stigler’s Gorge—while investing fewer resources in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project.

Elaborating the budget proposals for Prime Minister’s Office in the 2018/19 fiscal year in Dodoma, Dr Kaleman addressed various issues raised by MPs regarding the energy sector, stressing that the government was on the right track regarding its approach to the Stigler’s Gorge and other energy sources in the country.

On Monday, Mr Nnauye told the House that the Stigler’s Gorge project “was not mentioned anywhere during the 2015 election campaigns” and therefore didn’t deserve as much attention as investment in LNG which he said, “people in Mtwara and Lindi Regions needed most.”

“Is this not akin to betraying our party (CCM) manifesto?” asked Mr Nnauye, whose remarks drew the ire of fellow party members.

Mr Nnauye’s major concern was that the people of Mtwara and Lindi were expecting to benefit from the LNG plant as their minds had been prepared for that as the party sought votes to lead the government under President John Magufuli.

However, the energy minister Dr Kaleman came up in defence of the government’s cause, “First of all, it’s not true that the party manifesto didn’t say it would invest in water as a source of energy”.

“The party manifesto has mentioned the sources of energy but didn’t name the projects,” he added as he explained details of how the government was investing heavily in the energy sector.