Tanzania needs at least USD 19 Billion to address issues related to climate in the next five years and the country is struggling to raise funds to that effect.
Addressing the high-level side event to commemorate the East African Community’s Silver Jubilee in Arusha, President Samia Suluhu pointed out here that Africa also requires USD 1.3 trillion but so far the continent has been able to raise only USD 300 Billion to that effect.
“Energy transition is an important thing for our countries and we have started to implement the programs, in Tanzania for instance, we are mulling cleaner sources of energy such as solar and wind, we have already started a solar project in Singida,” said President Samia.
She said also by 2034 over 80 percent of households in Tanzania should be linked to the national grid and that all the 12,300 villages in the country will be using electricity and steer away from dirty fuel charcoal and firewood.
According to the Head of State, Tanzania has been losing more than 400,000 hectares for trees due to deforestation with the culprits being domestic and industrial fuel and harvesting timber for commercial endeavors.
“We recently launched a campaign to ensure that each district in the country plant 1.5 million trees,” said President Samia, adding that the mission started with zest but at the moment the pace has somewhat slowed down.
Samia pointed out that to reduce deforestation there is the need to supply alternative sources of clean energy especially electricity through rural electrification and natural gas or even treated briquettes.
According to President Samia, Tanzania will therefore January 2025 host a global heads of state energy summit, which will be attended by among other delegates, world leaders and representatives from the World Bank, the African Development Bank and other development partners.
“Over 700 million Africans are not connected to electricity and the January Meeting will come up with solutions including finding ways of reducing the number from 700 million to 300 million,” the Head of State maintained.
Meanwhile….
The President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni while addressing the issue of unions in in the region at the EAC function, said the East African Community could be celebrating 25th Anniversary since its establishment, but in reality, before the colonialists drew the borders East Africans have been a single society for thousands of years.
“The Berlin Conference which partitioned the African continent took place in 1884 just 140 years ago and before that our forefathers and grandfathers were one for thousands of years,” said President Museveni.
He said they were promoting Pan-Africanism for various reasons, to create a bigger market area, ensure prosperity of the people and build security resilience because size does matter when it comes to achieving things.
“The Americans, Chinese and Russians are flying to the moon and outer spaces while Africans are still here sleeping because their societies are disjointed,” pointed out Museveni.
The revived EAC sailed in 1999, when the Treaty for the establishment of the East African Community was signed in Arusha by the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania.
The EAC expanded in 2007 with the admission of the Republic of Burundi and the Republic of Rwanda; in 2016 with the admission of the Republic of South Sudan; in 2022 by the admission of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was further expanded in November 2023 with the admission of the Federal Republic of Somalia.