East African Business Week (Kampala)
James Mwakisyala
18 April 2009
Dar es Salaam — Prospects that Tanzania's offshore could have oil now threaten to split the union with Zanzibar.
On the other hand, this is uniting Zanzibar's political rivals.
The isles House of Representatives has been up in arms demanding oil should be removed from the Union affairs.
That both licensing for oil exploration and actual oil benefits, if found, should belong to Zanzibar.
The Union Government has stressed that oil exploration was a Union matter and has gone ahead to consider applications for exploration of the Indian Ocean waters surrounding the islands of Pemba and Unguja (the main island).
The prospects for striking oil aren't as bright as one would have hoped at present. Tanzania's coastal and offshore exploration since the 1970s has only resulted in striking huge reserves of natural gas at three areas.
These are Songo Songo Island off Mtwara region; Mnazi Bay in Lindi in southern Tanzania; and Kimbiji, a short distance south of Dar es Salaam.
Latest reports show that no major oil well has been found so far.
There have been numerous rumours about finding oil seeps in the Rufiji River valley, and some studies of the country's bedrock show a 'high' probability of finding oil in several places in the country's Indian Ocean coastal belt and on the mainland.
Several foreign companies have signed contracts with the Union government to explore for oil but none has been lucky enough to hit a well.
Exploration for oil began nearly 60 years ago.
Such information notwithstanding, to most of the islands House Representatives, it is an emotional issue.
Members of Parliament of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and those of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) converge on this issue.
The legislators claim that oil wasn't stated in the 1964 articles of the Union between the founders Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and Sheikh Amani Abeid Karume of Zanzibar.
The Union Government argues that the sea is intractably linked to Tanzania's sovereignty, and all aspects of that nature are Union matters.
Although CCM and CUF have been at each other's throat over elections and the current political unease in the isles, political observers on Tanzania mainland assume that this is a political gimmick aimed at winning votes in next year's general elections.
The islanders have also demanded that if oil be a Union matter then all minerals be likewise.
They demand to have a share of the proceeds from the myriad of minerals on the mainland.
Zanzibar gets 4.5% of the Union revenue while the Union government retains the rest of 94.5% as agreed upon early 1990s with the help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
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I really fail to understand the logic here. The thing is, Zanzibar is getting 4.6% of the Union revenue, and of course it is not sharing any of its revenue with the mainland or contributing to the union government. This has been so for years, basically meaning Zanzibar has always been carried financially by the Union government. Now all of a sudden, at a mere speculation that there might be oil, they want it all. Zanzibar politicians are just proving the fact that they are a difficult bunch to deal with, as has always been the case. They have a… [Read Full Text]
Yes! It is believed that when resources are scarce, society will struggle for it, if there is no shared understanding of the resources how to utilize may result to conflict in any society. A sign of conflict of interest now smoking in Zanzibar. My fellow Tanzanians, we were united not to say this is mine but in order to corporate and share what we have for interest of Tanzanians. It might be true that some of the union matters were/are not in the contract, constitution or so to say, My view is that, since there has been a lot… [Read Full Text]