We want 50pc of homes use gas in cooking: Tanzania Government

Environment minister Mussa Azzan Zungu displays an alternative carrier bag bearing name of the manufacturer and certification of the Tanzania Bureau of Standard when he visited Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL) head-quarters at Tabata Relini yesterday. Left is MCL managing director Francis Nanai.

What you need to know:

Environment minister says the government would want to see the end of monopoly of few players in LPG importation and supply to lower price of the product and make more people afford the energy.

Dar es Salaam. The government is working out a plan that would see 50 percent of Tanzanian households use Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as a source of cooking energy.

The plan that was detailed by Environment minister, Mr Mussa Azzan Zungu, in Dar es Salaam yesterday, is a deliberate move by President John Magufuli’s administration to protect the environment.

“If there is a legacy that we can leave behind as the ministry – irrespective of who is in charge of the docket - then it is the one that ensures 50 percent of Tanzanian households are able to make use of LPG,” Mr Zungu told Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL) editors and senior journalists yesterday.

Data from the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (Ewura) show usage of LPG has been on the rise in Tanzania during recent years, thanks to government’s public awareness campaigns on the benefits of using product as compared to traditional fuels such as charcoal and firewood.

From a measly 8,000 tonnes per year in 2008, LPG marketers imported a total of 107,083 tonnes during the 2016/17 before the volume rose by 13 percent to 120, 961 tonnes in the 2017/18 financial year.

“In fact, we are now talking of about 145,000 tonnes per year,” the Ewura communication and public relations manager, Mr Titus Kaguo, told The Citizen.

Despite the growth, statistics from the Environment ministry show between 1990 and 2010, Tanzania lost eight million hectares of forest to firewood and charcoal.

The government’s plan is to create awareness over use of LPG which would ultimately result into a further growth in usage.

“This will then see us ending the monopoly of a few players in LPG importation and supply. As a result, prices will go down and many more people will be able to afford the energy which will ultimately have a positive impact on the environment,” said Mr Zungu

A pay meter, that will see people paying for cooking gas in line with the quantity of the product utilised, will also help to boost gas usage in Tanzania, said Mr Zungu.

At 50 percent of the LPG imported into the country, the Coastal Zone - which comprises of Dar es Salaam and Coast regions - accounts for the highest percentage of the product usage in Tanzania.

The Northern Zone (Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Manyara) comes second with a 23 percent usage while the entire Lake Zone accounts for 12 per cent.

The Southern Highland Zone – which comprises of Iringa, Njombe, Mbeya, Songwe, Rukwa and Katavi regions - accounts for only eight per cent of all the LPG imported into Tanzania.

Operators say a recent price increases in LGP was fuelled by a rise in world market prices which was necessitated by tension in the Middle East and winter in the Northern Hemisphere and a mismatch between demand and supply.

The world market prices has risen from $435/tonne during the last three months to trade at $590.

“As a result, the Saudi Aramco’s monthly contract price (CP) - which is used across the industry as the benchmark free on board LPG prices – rose significantly in January and this is what you see in our prices,” the Oryx Energies Tanzania head of commercial and supply, Mr Mohamed Mohamed, said, told The Citizen recently.