President Samia’s Vision: Leading Tanzania’s Clean Energy Transition Amidst Challenges and Hope

By Adonis Byemelwa

Samia Suluhu Hassan's unwavering commitment to advancing clean energy initiatives was spotlighted during her recent visit to Paris, France. Arriving on Sunday, May 12, 2024, she co-chaired the Heads of State Global Summit on Clean Energy, held on Tuesday, May 14. This summit, focusing on clean cooking energy for Africa, marked a significant event aimed at elevating clean cooking energy on the global agenda and mobilizing support for this critical issue.

Foreign Affairs and East African Community Minister January Makamba, in a press conference on Saturday, May 11, outlined the summit's priorities. These included identifying effective policy measures to accelerate the use of clean cooking energy and developing a roadmap with concrete, action-oriented strategies around financing, carbon markets, policies, and partnerships. The goal is to mobilize additional support and scale successful clean cooking initiatives.

President Hassan's participation underlined her role as a champion of the clean cooking energy agenda on the continent. During the 28th meeting of the member states of the UN Convention for Climate Change (COP28) held in Dubai, UAE, from November 30 to December 12, 2023, she launched the Clean Energy Programme to Support Women in Africa (African Women Clean Cooking Support Programme (AWCCSP), further solidifying her leadership in this area.

The first-ever high-level Clean Cooking Summit in Paris, co-chaired by President Hassan alongside African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol, managed to mobilize $2.2 billion.

This funding represents a significant milestone in addressing a challenge that predominantly affects women and children. At the event, President Hassan called for a generous replenishment of the African Development Fund, including $12 billion for clean cooking.

Despite the progress, President Hassan highlighted the challenges that remain. "Insufficient funding and a lack of awareness about the economic opportunities within the clean cooking industry hamper efforts to scale interventions.

 Moreover, development of the needed solutions is limited by insufficient research and innovation," she stated. The summit saw over 100 countries, international institutions, companies, and civil society organizations signing The Clean Cooking Declaration, pledging to prioritize the issue and enhance efforts towards achieving universal access to clean cooking energy.

In Tanzania, the adoption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as cooking energy has been increasing. As of June 25, 2020, former Energy Minister Dr. Medard Kalemani noted that at least 2.5 million Tanzanians are using LPG.

 The number of LPG users has risen from less than one million in 2015, and competition among suppliers has led to more affordable prices. Tanzania's investment in LPG infrastructure, such as Taifa Gas Ltd's 7560-ton storage capacity, supports this growth. The entry of Taifa Gas into Tanzania’s market was expected to reduce cooking gas prices significantly, providing much-needed relief to consumers facing rising costs.

However, challenges remain in ensuring the widespread adoption of clean cooking solutions. Many rural residents struggle to afford LPG refills, despite the initial free distribution of cylinders by former Energy Minister, January Makamba. This highlights the need for holistic policies that address both access and affordability to sustain clean energy use.

President Hassan's leadership at the Paris Summit and her ongoing efforts reflect a strong commitment to clean energy solutions, aiming to improve the quality of life for millions across Africa, especially women and children. As the government intensifies its efforts to eliminate the use of charcoal and firewood, citing health and environmental concerns, many low-income citizens remain skeptical about the success of these initiatives. They argue that charcoal and firewood are more affordable compared to gas.

A survey conducted by Pan African Visions in various areas of Dar es Salaam and Shinyanga regions revealed that many citizens, including small business owners, cite several reasons for their continued reliance on these traditional fuels. Among these reasons is low income, which prevents them from using cleaner energy sources for their daily needs.

One such citizen is Hamissa Banzi, 31, a resident of Tabata Segerea, who sells fried fish. In an interview with PanAfricanvisions at her business location, Hamissa stated that with her monthly income of Sh150,000, she cannot afford to stop using firewood. "I can't stop using firewood in my business,"

Hamissa, a mother of three, told Pan African Visions while rubbing her eyes due to the thick smoke from the firewood stove, she uses to fry fish. "If I stop, what else can I use? Gas is too expensive; I can't afford it because my business is small. I wish I could use gas, but I have a big family. A 28-kilogram gas cylinder, suitable for a family and which I could use for a month to cook light meals, costs Sh56,000. If I buy a bag of charcoal for TSh 30,000, it lasts me two months. This is much more affordable for me."

Hamissa is among many residents of Dar es Salaam and other regions in the country who continue to use firewood and charcoal despite government and stakeholder efforts to encourage citizens to switch to gas. The ongoing use of charcoal and firewood poses a threat to the remaining forests, becoming an environmental hazard. Like Hamissa, many citizens prefer these traditional fuels due to their lower cost.

Jasson Kanuti, 45, a fried chicken vendor and father of two, uses firewood for his business because it is cheap and speeds up cooking. Kanuti complains that his capital is small, so he has to cut costs on fuel to make a profit. He says, "Frying chicken requires either firewood or gas because you need a strong fire to prevent the chicken from soaking up too much oil. Using gas would be a loss, and I wouldn't see any profit. Here, if I buy a bundle of firewood for TSh 2,000 and add some coconut shells, it's enough to fry chickens worth TSh 40,000."

The use of charcoal and firewood in Dar es Salaam is so prevalent that even those who use gas also resort to firewood to save money. One such person is Desteria Kamugisha, 40, who, despite using a 15-kilogram LPG cylinder costing TSh 56,000 and lasting two and a half months, still has to buy charcoal. Desteria uses gas because she believes it is safe for health and makes cooking easier but admits that to make the gas last longer, she buys charcoal for cooking slow-cooking foods like beans and maize porridge.

"If I used gas to cook everything, including beans and maize porridge, it would last only a few weeks because we cook three times a day. So, I have to buy a bag of charcoal to mix with gas because I have a family of seven," she says.

However, some changes are taking place as some citizens begin to switch from charcoal and firewood to natural gas supplied by the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC).

As residents like Aziza Njunwa in Dar es Salaam and Paschal Makonda and Juma Sterereo in Bugweto B, Ibadakuli Ward, Shinyanga region, embrace natural gas, there's a glimmer of hope for a cleaner energy future in Tanzania. However, while President Samia Suluhu Hassan's promise to reduce liquefied gas prices is encouraging, the challenges of navigating a free-market economy loom large.

Just as Agriculture Minister Hussein Bashe faced hurdles in his efforts against sugar price hikes, skepticism remains about how such promises will materialize. Nonetheless, these stories of change highlight the potential for a broader transition to cleaner energy sources, even amidst persistent challenges.