1st October 2013
The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation
(NORAD) has stressed the importance of building a broad political
consensus on important principles regarding the management of natural
resources in order to manage the expectations following discoveries.
NORAD Director General Vila Kulid said in Dar es Salaam yesterday when presenting a paper titled “Norwegian Experience of Petroleum Development” in a seminar organized by Research and Poverty Alleviation in collaboration with Norwegian Embassy that it is important to strike the right balance between the need to attract serious, competent companies and securing a fair share for the state.
“The state wants to get the lion’s share, but this should not impede policies that maximise the whole “pie”.
She also highlighted good governance as among the key issues in managing natural resources saying that it was crucial for attaining qualitatively better society.
Kulid said transparency and accountability are keys to combat corruption, mismanagement and to manage public expectations.
She said transparency should start in issuance of contracts, licensing criteria, production, revenues, expenditures, environmental impact and publicise information about resources.
Kulid also said that it was important to involve all ‘wananchi’ in all processes in order to know public expectations after the discovery of resources.
"It is important to involve stakeholders from various sectors, including parliament debate, private sector and civil society organisations to get alternative views,” she said.
She said although the oil and gas sector does not provide employment to many people, but good supervision of income will help to improve people’s lives by improving services such as education and health.
For his part, Prof Sufian Bukurura from Law Reform Commission and a Board Member of Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation said that Tanzania can learn a lot from Norway.
He said that Tanzania should first learn that poverty needed not to be a permanent situation as Norway has made right decision to liberate its people from poverty.
He said many things failed in the country because politicians interfere the decisions of experts citing the gas policy saying that it started to be prepared one year ago but few people have been delaying the process due to personal interests.
REPOA Executive Director Professor Samuel Wangwe said that Tanzania can learn so many things from Norway, among them was managing expectations after the discovery of natural resources.
He said involvement of the entire society was important just as was capacity building in terms of management of the resources.
“People need to be trained on how to manage these resources … human resource preparations is very important and capacity building of local suppliers,” Prof Wangwe said.
He however, said apart from learning best practices from Norway the country should also learn from past experiences so that it does not repeat the mistake made in the mining sector.
NORAD Director General Vila Kulid said in Dar es Salaam yesterday when presenting a paper titled “Norwegian Experience of Petroleum Development” in a seminar organized by Research and Poverty Alleviation in collaboration with Norwegian Embassy that it is important to strike the right balance between the need to attract serious, competent companies and securing a fair share for the state.
“The state wants to get the lion’s share, but this should not impede policies that maximise the whole “pie”.
She also highlighted good governance as among the key issues in managing natural resources saying that it was crucial for attaining qualitatively better society.
Kulid said transparency and accountability are keys to combat corruption, mismanagement and to manage public expectations.
She said transparency should start in issuance of contracts, licensing criteria, production, revenues, expenditures, environmental impact and publicise information about resources.
Kulid also said that it was important to involve all ‘wananchi’ in all processes in order to know public expectations after the discovery of resources.
"It is important to involve stakeholders from various sectors, including parliament debate, private sector and civil society organisations to get alternative views,” she said.
She said although the oil and gas sector does not provide employment to many people, but good supervision of income will help to improve people’s lives by improving services such as education and health.
For his part, Prof Sufian Bukurura from Law Reform Commission and a Board Member of Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation said that Tanzania can learn a lot from Norway.
He said that Tanzania should first learn that poverty needed not to be a permanent situation as Norway has made right decision to liberate its people from poverty.
He said many things failed in the country because politicians interfere the decisions of experts citing the gas policy saying that it started to be prepared one year ago but few people have been delaying the process due to personal interests.
REPOA Executive Director Professor Samuel Wangwe said that Tanzania can learn so many things from Norway, among them was managing expectations after the discovery of natural resources.
He said involvement of the entire society was important just as was capacity building in terms of management of the resources.
“People need to be trained on how to manage these resources … human resource preparations is very important and capacity building of local suppliers,” Prof Wangwe said.
He however, said apart from learning best practices from Norway the country should also learn from past experiences so that it does not repeat the mistake made in the mining sector.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
