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Exportation of oil to Uganda okayed
2008-01-18 09:27:41
By Rose Mwalongo
Oil importers in Tanzania can now export fuel to Uganda provided they are cleared by the tax authorities, the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (Ewura) has announced.
Ewura Director General Haruna Masebu said in an exclusive interview in Dar es Salaam yesterday that Uganda has asked Tanzania to supply it with fuel following the post-election turmoil in Kenya.
The three weeks of violence in Kenya have made it impossible for Uganda to access badly needed fuel supplies through Mombasa, the landlocked country`s traditional port of choice.
``We have held a stakeholders` meeting with the Energy and Minerals minister (Nazir Karamagi), Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) officials and oil importers and agreed that Uganda`s request was a golden opportunity for oil importers to benefit from the enlarged market,`` noted Masebu.
He explained that they had studied the pros and cons of granting the request, adding: ``We have granted the request in principle. However, we have also agreed to jointly monitor the implementation stage closely to ensure that the exportation does not create fuel shortages in our own country.``
The Ewura chief elaborated: ``Oil importers have been
given a go-ahead to export fuel to Uganda on condition that they first get permission to do so from TRA.
Meanwhile, Ewura and TRA have agreed to have regular consultations to make sure that we have enough stock for our own use before such permission is granted.``
Commenting on how Tanzania was treating with reports that some people have been suspiciously crossing over from Uganda in search of fuel, he said: ``Ewura has put in place a close case-by-case monitoring system to ensure that there is enough stock of fuel in the country. For all we know, we have enough stock. We will help our neighbours (Uganda) all right but not at any cost on our part.``
Masebu also confirmed reports suggesting that Uganda had requested that it reroute its oil ships from Mombasa to the Dar es Salaam port, from where the cargo would later be moved to Uganda by road.
``They had also asked us to allow their heavy duty trucks to ferry their cargo using our roads but we were too cautious to grant that request because we felt they would damage the roads,`` observed Masebu, advising this reporter to contact the Infrastructure Development ministry for further details ``since I am not its spokesperson``.
Infrastructure Development ministry deputy minister Milton Makongoro Mahanga said when reached for comment later in the day that he had just read about developments on the issue in newspapers and was in no position to say how the government had treated the request.
``I have been on vacation and do not know how the ministry responded to the Ugandans’ request of using our roads. I am aware of the issue but, as I speak, I am in Bukoba with President Jakaya Kikwete,`` he explained.
Mahanga added that he has been out of the office for a whole month and advised that it was better that The Guardian contact Infrastructure Development minister Andrew Chenge.
The minister said when reached by telephone that he was on official duty outside Tanzania, adding: ``I am right now in Johannesburg, South Africa. Please, get hold of the ministry`s permanent secretary for the details you are after.`` Efforts to get the PS to comment on the matter failed yesterday, as he was reported to be in a meeting.
The head of the ministry`s Information Department, Martin Ntemo, said he was not aware of the current position ``but I am sure such an application would be somewhere within the minister`s office``.
``From what I know, whatever the case may be, we can never allow trucks of abnormal proportions to ply in our roads because that was bad for our infrastructure,`` he said.
``The cargo does not necessarily have to be abnormally heavy but, so long as it poses a danger to our transport network and infrastructure, no such permission would be granted,`` he added.
There were reports of a looming fuel crisis in Kagera Region some two weeks ago associated with the influx of unlicensed customers from Uganda crossing over following the violence in Kenya.
Public Safety and Security minister Harith Bakari Mwapachu told The Guardian that Kagera had turned into a reliable source of fuel for Uganda since Kenya became a virtual no-go zone.
``We are now especially cautious because the influx could cause not only shortages that would make fuel prices skyrocket but the development could endanger peace and security in the region,`` he said.
Energy and Minerals deputy minister William Ngeleja also said he was aware of the looming fuel shortage, adding: ``We will have to study the situation carefully to see the implications on national security, locally available stocks and the taxes involved should the need to help our neighbours out arise.``
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