Tanzania: Policy Dialogue with Same District Officials, CSOs and Media

In a dialogue between District Officers (Dos), CSOs and the media held on 27th May 2022 in Same District, Northern Tanzania, stakeholders arged that the Government, the private sector, and development partners to jointly address barriers to a clean energy transition towards 2050, a fundamental milestone in the green growth initiative in the country.

However, key issue that were emphasized included the minimal contribution of renewable energy sources in the current energy mix, which stands at only 0.5%. Today, only about 0.5% of the country’s power comes from renewable sources, a figure the government plans to increase to 12.43 % over the next two decades (by 2044) (National Power System Master Plan -PSMP, 2 updates 2020).

The transition to clean energy in Tanzania takes its course from national policies, strategies and plans, trickling down to energy regulatory authorities and national utility companies.

As the country strives to achieve a sustainable energy for all through the implementation of national development plans, the national power master plan (2016) and the national energy policy (2015), the recently released study on the transition to clean energy is urging the government to boost clean energy and pursue policies that would help secure a green and socially just transition. Furthermore, the transition should include public dialogues and debates that can help in addressing several structural barriers holding back the development of a sustainable power sector in Tanzania.

But according to the discussion during the dialogue, the ambition seems unrealistic if the plans will continue lacking the comprehensive approach needed to achieve that goal, especially the limited involvement of the rural communities, meager resources allocation, limited knowledge and a slow pace in catching up the technological advancement in the clean energy sector.

“I have a 32 inch solar powered television screen, which I am not using any longer because its power cable was damaged and its compatible spare is not the market” insisted the district Development Officer, when sharing experience of the slow pace of investment in the technological development in clean energy transition endeavors in Tanzania. 

Adding on that, Zainabu Daudi, a Councilor from one of the remote wards in the Same district informed the participants that participation of the private sectors is also very low because of limited knowledge and information about the demand of clean energy equipment and technologies in rural areas, compounded by unclear business cases that could have been used to attract their investment.

Titus Onesmo, contributing to the dialogue from the CSOs representation, noted that the term “Transition to Clean energy” has recently made its way into national policy and climate change discussions, but many workers in the local government and actors in the private sector may not be aware of this term, hence are not active in the green growth endeavor across the country”.

At different times, CSOs representatives argued that government policy initiatives suggesting the commitment to ramping up green energy in the country, should be promoted and decentralized for comprehensive understanding by local government and the private sector. Adding on the same, Gaspary Gratian insisted that the real-world impact of such policies is not yet visible despite the government’s publicly stated aim of boosting potential sources e.g. wind and solar energy”.

He added that there is a gap between the political commitment and the actual implementation at local levels and the non-state process on this transition. He further pointed out that in order to increase the interest of the majority in the public domain heading to the real transition, reforms in terms of stakeholder’s engagement and public awareness are crucial.

The policy dialogue on the transition to green growth using the clean energy transition brought together different actors from the CSOs in Same district and District Officers (Dos) from natural resources, environment, community development, planning and Agriculture departments.

At the end of the dialogue, FORUMCC, CSOS and the DOs under the leadership of the Council Chairperson agreed to develop a road map towards the integration of the clean energy transition initiatives into the district plans and budgeting process, including some actions relevant to the projects in this financial year.