Karl Lyimo, Dar es Salaam
      BOOK, BELL AND CAndle
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I've never ceased to wonder why highly educated, experience-seasoned, well-positioned officials in public service can brazenly state that (for example) 'electricity tariff hikes are unavoidable!' This suggests that the hikes are inevitable, much like death and other calls of nature!

Again, some top officials in government and its power baby Tanesco have been trumpeting the hollow singsong that the latest tariff hikes won't affect consumers of up to 50 units a month... What kibosh!

Electricity is a crosscutting sub-sector in social and economic terms. As such, all goods and services the production and/or provision of which depend on electricity must be impacted by tariff changes.

In the event, traders — responding to the capitalistic stimulus of maximising profits, and minimising losses when the former is impracticable — routinely pass on the new, higher costs to customers.
So, even consumers unconnected to public power systems must fall victim to hiked tariffs.

The two examples suggest that the pontificators are either extremely naïve, or are paying lip service to powerful vested interests!
I won't name names of the trumpet-blowers on the latest 40.29 per cent power tariff hike over existing tariffs — which were already inordinately high, anyway.

Instead, I'll attempt to show that their argumentation's as controversial and futile as was 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' project, built and then destroyed at the psychological moment by allied commandos in World War-II!

I've already shown that all Tanzanians (and the economy) will be severely hurt by the tariff hike — including the 50-unit, and even zero-unit, consumers!
The hikes rarely hurt state officials and other decision-makers who 'enjoy free' electricity supplies; their bills are paid using taxpayers’ money!

As the three sisters of fate (Clotho, Lahkesis and Atropos) would have it, an answer for those who claim tariff hikes are unavoidable was published as an investigative report by the CCM paper on January 22.

In its leading story, the paper revealed massive thefts of Tanesco fuel, and smuggled into Kenya! Reportedly, 500,000 litres of fuel were 'stolen' at the company's Mbeya depot on January 7, and sold at Sh500 a litre (Sh250m for the lot).
The consignment was being transported to Kenya in three truckloads, when two of them were intercepted at the Namanga border crossing (their registration numbers withheld from publication here).

Reportedly, a litre of the fuel fetches Sh1, 200 in Kenya (Sh6bn for the lot)!
Apparently, another attempt to steal 600,000 litres of fuel from theCompany’s Ubungo depot in Dar es Salaam on January 14, was foiled... If nothing else, this shows that the thefts aren't a one-off affair; nor did stealing start this year; it's been ongoing for years!

Furthermore, there's no way that such huge consignments can be stolen from such a well-established institution without active participation/collaboration, connivance and/or condoning by senior company officials.

Again, there's no way that state law enforcement organs — as well as top officials of Tanesco, the Energy & Water Utility Regulatory Authority, their parent ministry of Energy, and the government at large — are unaware of the ongoing skulduggery of such magnitude.

This being the case, frequent power tariff hikes aren't unavoidable. They could readily be avoided — but only if and when such inside thefts, embezzlement, corruption and other criminal skulduggery are eradicated, or largely curbed.

Not only that... Effectively tackling other shortcomings —including cutting electricity thefts and transmission wastage, as well as collecting consumer payment arrears (especially from government institutions and Zanzibar-Zesco) would give great respite to hapless ordinary consumers... As well avoid frequent tariff hikes. Cheers!!                     
Karl Lyimo is a veteran journalist and economic/political commentator based in Dar es Salaam

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