Mtwara natural gas saga not a curse, it`s an African awakening!

The emerging problem in Mtwara should not be confused with the African natural resource curse, but rather be seen as a new pattern of African awakening in which citizens are rising up to demand what belongs to them in an effort to get out of poverty.

The government of the day must not turn a deaf ear or politicize the issue in Mtwara. It must re-examine itself carefully, and respect the people’s will to save itself.

The culture of secrecy in which contract details are negotiated and signed in the darkness by rogue public officials has particularly imposed a heavy economic burden upon the people of Tanzania, which has led us to this point.

The Mtwara saga is certainly a product of phony contracts, which has presented the government of Tanzania with a golden opportunity to review its investment and economic policies that seem to be repressive and deceptive, not progressive to its people.

What is happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo or even in Niger Delta is quite different to what is happening Tanzania. DRC and Niger Delta have militants, factions and separatists in all out war, fighting their governments.

Mtwara residents are on the contrary, waging a different type of war, a peaceful war that can never be defeated by the mightiest army on the face of the planet. And in the wake of rather stunning revelation of inflated cost of the pipeline ($1.2Billion) from the actual price of $600million, their strength has grown and there is nothing the government can do but back down and address the mistakes made.

Sand oil discovery in Canada brought economic boom to Alberta residents and the Canadian economy as a whole. High school graduates working in the oil industry are earning in excess of $120 an hour which is considered average pay.

Albertans are enjoying their natural wealth. Oil companies are investing -giving back- heavily on Alberta’s social programs and causes. On the contrary, Tanzanian residents in Nyamongo, one of the gold rich regions in Africa are much poorer than they were before the gold mining companies camped on their land. Water sources are polluted, animals are dying and the residents are silently suffering hitherto unknown ailments.

Ministers Mwakyembe, Kagasheki, Magufuli or Muhongo are invariably known to be top performers in the current government. Notwithstanding, as long as these leaders are surrounded by indisciplined civil servants and crooked politicians, architecting the diversion of important national economic projects for their selfish gains, these top performers will remain hostages of the goons, that seem to be in the government’s radar.

Citizens of the internet age who communicate through text messaging and social networks have been awakened from their sleep and are literally unstoppable.

They are no longer interested in political propaganda and the so called Chinese aid shrouded with corruption. They know what they need and when they need it. Mtwara is a contagious polity awakening the government must reckon with.

mashaka.john@yahoo.com

SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY