Stove maker wants tax exemption reinstated

Arusha. Manufacturers of Moto Poa stoves and gel which has been used in some areas as an alternative to kerosene have pleaded with the government to consider reinstating tax exemption on the products to promote the use of clean energy among ordinary Tanzanians.

Bulk Tanzania which produces Moto Poa gel from sugarcane by-products said the tax attached to the products is denying access among ordinary Tanzanians and ultimately affecting production.

Moto Poa gel is an ethanol-based fuel which can boil a litre of water in barely nine minutes and a litre of the gel burns for between four and five hours, according to Mr Rajab Nurbha, the managing director of Bulk Tanzania.

Mr Nurbha lamented that the government waived tax exemption that the environment-friendly products enjoyed before last Budget session, frustrating their mass production and access to ordinary Tanzanians currently relying on charcoal and fire wood for energy, and hence fueling deforestation.

“Owing to power outages rocking the country, we’re carrying out a research to see if the German innovation which led to the production of the Moto Poa gel can be extended for the heavy liquid to also generate light,” said Mr Nurbha, adding that the firm was working on the production of locally made Moto Poa stoves to replace those made in China in a bid to reduce the production cost and prices.

Speaking during the 26th anniversary of Bulk Tanzania when the products were officially launched recently, Mr Nurbha said so far hoteliers mostly could afford to buy the Moto Poa gel sold buy agents scattered around major townships at Sh2,800 a litre.

He said Bulk Tanzania was eyeing the Kenyan market after realising traders from the northern neighbouring country were flocking to Arusha to buy the products for selling them to ordinary citizens and hotels.

Korodias Mushi, one of the Moto Poa retail sellers from Victoria Hardware at Kimandolu suburb in Arusha, and his counterparts Oscar Peter and Juliana Massawe, separately said the product were ideal for ordinary Tanzanians, as besides rescuing the forests, were cheaper than kerosene and user friendly.

Kilimanjaro Biochem, Tanzania’s first bio-ethanol project with 22,000 litres per day distillery at Mwanga, supplies the sugarcane by-products used for the production of the Moto Poa gel.