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Kikwete owns up:Electricity out of reach of...
2008-01-02 08:39:03
By Guardian Reporter
President Jakaya Kikwete has admitted that electricity is very expensive, forcing many Tanzanians to rely on other sources of power such as paraffin and charcoal which, he said, was detrimental to environmental conservation.
He made the admission yesterday in Dar es Salaam soon after participating in a nationwide tree-planting campaign.
``It`s true that power tariffs in the country are very high, though it is only 10 per cent of Tanzanians who have access to and use electricity. The remaining population use other sources of power,`` the president said.
Linking the new power tariff hike and wanton felling of trees, President Kikwete said: ``We`re just speaking theoretcally on these two issues because for many years there have been very few Tanzanians who depend on electricity for their livelihood.``
According to Kikwete, many people depend on charcoal, kerosene and other sources of power for cooking and other domestic activities.
On the tree-planting campaign, Kikwete said his goverment had resolved to make April 1, every year, a nationwide tree-planting day.
He said the day and month would be appropriate for planting trees because at that time every part of the country experiences rains, which is good for the trees to survive.
``In collaboration with responsible ministries, we're determined to make this proposed date effective. This will be the appropriate time for planting many trees across the country,`` he stressed.
He, however, said the proposed date would not change the current January 1 tree-planting day, especially for Tanzania's coastal zone.
``January 1 will not change. It will remain as it is because the rains are unpredictable. I think it`s wise to find another special day..that`s 1st April.``
He explained that from now up to April it would be a time for preparation as 2008 has been proclaimed to be the United Nations International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE).
``IYPE aims at capturing people's imagination with the exciting knowledge we possess about our planet..It`s for this reason that we need to think and rethink on how we can make our world a better living place. One of them is to plant as many trees as we can. This is due to the fact that we have been losing millions of trees every year,`` he said.
The First Lady, Salma Kikwete, challenged Tanzanians, especially women, to come out and effectively participate in tree-planting campaigns as the impact of environmental degradation affected women and children most.
``Let`s come foward and play our part in this tree-planting campaign as from these trees we`ll get firewood and raw materials for furniture. At the same time we will be conserving our environment,`` she stressed.
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