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| LAST ADDRESS: President Jakaya Kikwete addresses Parliament in Dodoma yesterday, his last to the House as Head of State. |
The president said the country has made massive discovery of natural gas and there was no reason to drag feet in coming up with proper laws to ensure that the country optimally benefits from its natural resources.
“To make sure that the country benefits, we decided to come up with natural gas policy and tabled before the National Assembly two bills — Petroleum Bill, 2015 and that of Oil and Gas Revenues Management Bill, 2015.
I’m pleased that this House endorsed the Bills and I will sign them to become new laws immediately when they are submitted in my office,” he told his audience.
The two Bills, together with that of Tanzania Extractive Industry (Transparency and Accountability) Bill, 2015, sets out a robust legal framework for purposes of ensuring that natural gas revenues are collected, allocated and managed in a responsible, transparent, accountable and sustainable manner.
President Kikwete told the House that the massive discoveries, which currently stands at 55.08 trillion cubic feet (tcf) and more discoveries estimated at 200 trillion cubic feet expected, will lift the country to become among the world’s leading natural gas producers.
He noted that if the newly-discovered natural gas is well managed, the country will transform itself into a gas economy and in the process alleviate poverty.
The Head of State pointed out that to achieve the intended objective, there must be good laws to manage entire natural gas resources from upstream value chain as well as mid and downstream value chain.
Highlighting the successes of his ten-year tenure, Mr Kikwete said the Fourth Phase government has managed to improve the industrial economy, saying there has been an increase of large-scale, medium-scale and small-scale industries, which grew from 11,544 in 2005 to 51,224 this year.
He told MPs that the Business Registration and Licensing Authority (BRELA) issued a total of 751 permanent licences for industrial projects in the country from 2005 to 2014.
According to the president, by 2014, the industrial sector’s contribution to the GDP stood at 7.3 per cent -- up from 6.8 per cent in 2005, while the sector’s contribution to the total export grew from 9.3 per cent in 2005 to 23.3 per cent in 2014.
He said the country was readying itself for further growth of the industrial sector as drafted in its second phase of the long term perspective plan, basing on the strong foundations laid in its first phase.
The president reported that soon this year, construction of a mine and an iron factory in Liganga, Ludewa District, will start and that he is set to lay its foundation stone next month.
Another huge liquefied natural gas plant will be set up in Lindi Region to speed up industrial sector growth.
Pointing out that industrial growth will boost economic growth in the country, Mr Kikwete further reported that the minerals sector has also recorded a significant growth and was currently second foreign exchange earner for the country -- just behind the tourism sector.
“We promised to review the mining policy, laws and contracts and we did just that. We also initiated talks with companies and effectively managed to review the contracts, which has helped a great deal to improve the welfare of the country,” he explained.
He said the mining companies were now paying capital gain tax, service levies to the councils and royalties to the government.
The president further said the establishment of Tanzania Mining Audit Agency (TMAA) has enabled proper auditing of investments in mining sector and enabled the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) to accrue proper tax from mining companies.
He told the House that the changes and investments in the mining sector have enabled the sector’s contribution to the GDP to increase from 2.9 per cent in 2005 to 3.5 per cent in 2014. Value of mineral export grew from 655.5 US dollars in 2005 to 1,794 US dollars in December 2014.
The tourism sector has also recorded remarkable growth in the past ten years, in which the sector grew by 7.1 per cent and its contribution to the country’s foreign exchange stands at 25 per cent.
The number of tourists visiting the country rose from 612,754 in 2005 to 1,140,156 in 2014 while a number of bed increased from 15,828 to 21, 929.
Revenue from tourism grew from 823.05 US dollars in 2005 to 2 billion US dollars in 2014, while employment from the sector increased from 32,673 to 686,130.
The president’s address was the last one since Parliament went on recess from yesterday, ready for dissolution, according to the Government Notice, on August 20.
Mr Kikwete’s address to Parliament was an opportunity for the president to bid farewell to the MPs as his two terms as president expire at the end of this year.
Meanwhile, President Kikwete also told the House that his government has accomplished 88 per cent of the pledges and plans made in the ruling party’s election manifesto, noting that he was leaving the country in a much better position than when he was voted in ten years ago.
“No one can deny the fact that we’re currently in a better position than we were yesterday,” stated Mr Kikwete here in his address to conclude the 10th Parliament.
In attendance included top government officials, former leaders and members of the diplomatic corps. Vividly in high spirits, the president who will be ending his second five-year term in October, said he was proud of the achievements made and explained that he was glad to have played a part in contributing to the country’s development as president.
In a wide-ranging speech, the president outlined the great strides his government had made in various political, social and economical aspects but also conceded that there were still challenges that would be addressed by his successor.
He said he was particularly happy that as he prepares to leave the highest office, Tanzania in general and Tanzanians in particular have remained strong and united despite some minor incidences that had recently threatened peace and tranquility.
“As we bid each other farewell, you are all witness to the fact that Tanzania and Tanzanians have remained united as one,” stated Mr Kikwete, noting that the few seeds of hatred had been planted by individuals with selfish motives.
He said the union between Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar must always be cherished, adding that his government had managed to address most of the snags to ensure that the 51-year political marriage has remained strong.
Mr Kikwete noted that from 13 issues ten years ago, the union challenges had been reduced to only four while efforts were underway to resolve them once and for all.
He reassured the public that the country’s borders were well secured while the peace and tranquility that Tanzanians have enjoyed since independence would continue to prevail as the country has invested in a modern and disciplined army.
“I would also like to commend the police for a job well done; as criminal incidences had gone down from 53,268 in 2005 to 43,808 last year,” he said. He however, admitted that more work needed to be done to check road accidents.
On good governance and rule of law, the president said the government had embarked on plans to transform policies, laws and systems to strengthen democracy, fight against corruption, leadership ethics and financial discipline.
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