Chaos hits Mtwara after gas project confirmation

Mtwara/Dodoma. Violent demonstrations erupted in Mtwara yesterday after Prof Sospeter Muhongo, the minister for Energy and Minerals, announced in Parliament that construction of the Mtwara-Dar es Salaam gas pipeline would continue according to plan.

Mtwara town had all the appearances of a ghost town earlier, with empty streets and businesses shut from dawn, but chaos erupted soon after Prof Muhongo’s speech mid-morning. Gangs of youths hurled stones and burnt down and vandalised houses belonging to Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and its leaders. A TV journalist was also attacked.

Other reports said four Tanzania People’s Defence Forces soldiers died and 20 were seriously injured in a car accident as they were rushing from Nachingwea in Lindi region to Mtwara to help suppress the riots.

Witnesses said 31 soldiers were in the convoy when the accident happened at Kilimanihewa. The driver of the truck that was ferrying the solders lost control. Mr Kapambara Mgawe, the TPDF spokesperson, confirmed the death of the soldiers. The accident happened after the driver of the truck lost control while taking a sharp corner. Some of the injured were taken to Ndanda mission hospital. Prof Muhongo’s detailed account of how the government would ensure that Mtwara residents benefit from the gas rang hollow in the ears of the rioters.

In the current budget, Sh63 billion has been allocated to gas processing in Lindi and Mtwara. A US-based firm has been given the go-ahead to build the processing factory. According to Prof Muhongo, the factory will not only create jobs for the people of Mtwara but also boost the power supply to the grid--and this would ensure industrial investment in southern region.

Already, Dangote Industries is setting up an integrated cement plant in Mtwara, the minister said. “With good limestone and gypsum deposits,” he added, “Tanzania attracts sound investment opportunities in the sector and also offers an ideal opportunity for Dangote Cement to consolidate its operations in Eastern Africa,”

Site work has reportedly started on the Green Field Cement plant.

According to the minister, about 0.3 per cent of charges from sale of natural gas will remain in Mtwara and Lindi. Residents also stand to benefit from more social services and amenities like schools, dispensaries, water and electricity that will likely follow the arrival of investors. And youth in Mtwara and Lindi will receive training in gas and oil-related disciplines at Vocational Education Training Authority centres.

According to Prof Muhongo, the American firm Schlumberger has built a large workshop in Mtwara that is designed to repair equipment used in mining, exploration and development of oil and gas.

His promises notwithstanding, riot police had to use tear gas and live bullets to disperse rioters yesterday. There were unconfirmed reports of death and severe injuries in the confrontation between demonstrators and the police.

Journalists based in Mtwara sought cover in offices and homes after protesters turned on them, accusing them of failing to properly report their grievances. “It is dangerous for journalists to roam about in the streets as we have received threats from the rioters,” Modestus Mwambe, the ITV/Radio One Mtwara correspondent, said in a breaking news broadcast yesterday.

A radio reporter, whose name we could not establish immediately, narrowly escaped a beating after being cornered by protesters. TBC correspondent Kassim Mikongolo’s house was burnt down as the enraged mob accused the state-owned television station of sabotaging the interests of Mtwara residents. TBC transmissions on analogue terrestrial transmitters had been cut off in Mtwara since Tuesday evening and only returned after Prof Muhongo’s budget speech. But our reporter saw Mtwara residents following the TBC broadcast during the budget speech through the few digital Pay-TV receivers available in town.

TBC Director Clement Mshana told The Citizen that the problem was caused by technical hitches in the transmission equipment. Similar problems also appeared in Mara region at the same time but both were repaired.

At least one person was reported to have died of gunshot wounds and more than 10 were admitted to hospital. There were unconfirmed reports that some police officers had been killed. Other buildings that were reported to have been torched or attacked include the office of Mtwara Urban MP, the house of the chairman of CCM in Mtwara-Mikindani municipality and the CCM office in the municipality.

Additional reporting by Frank Aman and Elisha Magolanga

“It is true that the office of CCM has been demolished and my house has been attacked,” Mr Chinkawene told The Citizen.

At Msimbati village, where some natural gas wells are located, it was business as usual as villagers got on with their daily routine. “The village market and shops have been opened,” Msimbati resident Juma Ayoub said. “It is calm but our stand remains that we want the gas drilled here to be processed right here in Mtwara.”

Mtwara regional police commander Linus Sinzumwa said in a telephone interview that he would provide details of the chaos only after gathering all the facts. Further reports said rioters destroyed the Mikindani bridge that connects Mtwara town with Dar es Salaam.

In Parliament, Prof Muhongo said that the government would not reverse the decision to build a $1.22 billion gas pipeline from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam despite the opposition, which he said had been fuelled by some political parties.

The project, undertaken with a loan from China at an interest rate of 1.5 per cent and which will be paid for over 20 years after a seven-year grace period, is expected to receive a $39.4 million (Sh63 billion) from the government during 2013/2014 financial year.

“The Mtwara–Dar es Salaam Gas Pipeline is on….we plan to spend Sh63 billion during the 2013/2014 financial year as part of the government’s contribution towards construction of the project,” Prof Muhongo said, requesting the National Assembly to endorse a total of Sh1.102 trillion for his ministry during the period to June 2014.

Speaker Anna Makinda had to postpone the evening session covering the budget of the Ministry of Energy and Minerals because of the riots in Mtwara and directed the government to come up with a statement on the security situation in Mtwara. She said: “We have heard a lot from the media regarding the fragile security situation in Mtwara since the presenting of the budget for the Ministry of Energy and Minerals came to the knowledge of many…unfortunately, as we are speaking, things are not well in Mtwara….I now postpone the Parliament so we can get enough information on the situation in Mtwara from the government tomorrow.”

Ms Makinda also directed a parliamentary steering committee to meet and propose the way forward on how the handle such a complex situation.

During the morning debate, the Opposition Spokesperson for the ministry, Mr John Mnyika (Ubungo-Chadema) reiterated his party’s position that the government shelves the project until all the natural gas contracts that Tanzania has entered into are made public.

“The official opposition bench wants the government to cancel the project until all the contracts that Tanzania has signed with various investors, including with those constructing the gas pipeline, are made public,” he said,

He also wants the government to explain to the people how they and their country stand to benefit from the project. The debate took an even more interesting turn with the intervention of the former attorney general and cabinet minister, Mr Andrew Chenge (Bariadi West-CCM), who urged the government to ignore those calling for the shelving of the project.

“Tanzania’s resources, everywhere within the country, are for Tanzanians of current and future generations…..the government should not listen to calls from the opposition to have the issuance of new oil and gas exploration suspended,” said Mr Chenge.

His Same East counterpart, Ms Anne Kilango-Malecela (CCM) called on the government to understand that certain people were resisting the project because it touches on their interests. Still, she added, the riots in Mtwara should be thoroughly investigated because some arguments against the Mtwara–Dar es Salaam Pipeline might be genuine.

(Additional reporting by Elisha Magolanga in Dar es Salaam)