YEA partners Maritime University to create jobs for the youth

The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) is partnering with the Regional Maritime University (RMU) to offer free skill training to reduce youth unemployment in the country.

Two hundred (200) youth across the length and breadth of the country have been recruited to undertake nine month Marine Engineering Technician's Programme at the university.

Designed under the trades and vocation module of the YEA, the programme seeks to prepare the beneficiaries adequately in the job market.

The Head of Marine Engineering at the RMU Engineer Joseph Felix Tetteh made this known to Adom News when he conducted journalists round the university in Accra.

The eight reporters are attending 14-day national media training course on oil, gas and mining as a follow-up to the regional training Core A, held in Tanzania.

It was attended by 24 African journalists selected from Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda from October 16-29, this year.

Being organised by the NRGI, in collaboration with Penplusbytes, the International Institute of ICT Journalism, the training programmes are aimed at empowering participants to tell the true story in the extractive sector.

Ing. Tetteh indicates that the successful trainees will acquire internationally accredited certification issued by University to enable them get employment opportunities in the maritime sector or set their own businesses.

 

Source: Adom News I Abednego Asante Asiedu I abednego.asante-asiedu@adomonline.com twitter: @Abednegoasante

YEA partners Maritime University to create jobs for the youth

The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) is partnering with the Regional Maritime University (RMU) to offer free skill training to reduce youth unemployment in the country.

Two hundred (200) youth across the length and breadth of the country have been recruited to undertake nine month Marine Engineering Technician's Programme at the university.

Designed under the trades and vocation module of the YEA, the programme seeks to prepare the beneficiaries adequately in the job market.

The Head of Marine Engineering at the RMU Engineer Joseph Felix Tetteh made this known to Adom News when he conducted journalists round the university in Accra.

                                        Engineer Joseph Felix Tetteh

 The eight reporters are attending 14-day national media training course on oil, gas and mining as a follow-up to the regional training Core A, held in Tanzania.

It was attended by 24 African journalists selected from Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda from October 16-29, this year.

Being organised by the NRGI, in collaboration with Penplusbytes, the International Institute of ICT Journalism, the training programmes are aimed at empowering participants to tell the true story in the extractive sector.

Ing. Tetteh indicates that the successful trainees will acquire internationally accredited certification issued by University to enable them get employment opportunities in the maritime sector or set their own businesses.

Preps for gas-fired firm over tax liabilities power link to Coast Region reach 87 pc

http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/home-news/46279-preps-for-gas-fired-firm-over-tax-liabilities-power-link-to-coast-region-reach-87-pc


BERNARD LUGONGO,
SENIOR WRITER,
DAILY NEWS,
Tanzania Standard Newspapers Ltd,
MOB: +255 713 636856.

Call for parallel growth for Tanzania's gas, agric sector

Call for parallel growth for Tanzania's gas, agric sector

Call for parallel growth for Tanzania's gas, agric sector As Tanzania's gas industry shows positive impact on its economy, the Chairman of the Mtwara Business Club, Mullo...

 

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Tanzania’s major gas production plant employs significant proportion of local workforce

By Dennis Peprah, Mtwara

    Though Tanzania is yet to pass her local content law, the major natural gas production plant in the Eastern African country engages appreciable number of local employees.

   In-fact the oil and gas sector is a new area the country is exploring, but local employees constitute significant proportion in the sector's labour front.

    Civil Society Organisations and other key players in the industry say specific clauses in the Tanzania's Natural Gas Act 2015, and Natural Gas Policy 2013 give priority to local content requirements.

    Mr Raphael Mbena, the Country Office Manager of the Maurel and Prom Exploration and Production Limited, a gas processing facility located at Mtwara in the North-Western part of Tanzania said 98 percent of the company's workforce is local employees.

     He told reporters on a field visit to the plant site at Msimbate on Tuesday that the gas recovery facility employed 78 people with only two expatriate workers.

     The 24 journalists, eight each from Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana are attending a 14-day regional course on oil, gas and mining to enable them to better understand and tell the true story in the extractive sector in their respective countries.

     It is being organized by the Journalists for Environmental Association of Tanzania in collaboration with Penplusbytes, an international ICT Journalism in Ghana and the African Media of Excellence in Uganda, with support from the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), an NGO.

     Mr Mbena explained that though the oil and gas sector is a new area, the Tanzanian government had learnt lessons from other countries and to make sure that citizens get desirable benefits from the gas sector.

     He said local communities around the project's catchment area who were directly or indirectly affected by the natural gas production had been duly compensated.

    Compensations were mainly paid on crop and property rates.

    Mr Mbena said communities have also benefited immensely especially in the area of health and education adding classroom blocks, clinics,  maternity blocs and other infrastructure projects had been constructed in local communities.

     He said good relationship between the company and the local people is required to ensure maximum output and protection of the national asset.

    Mr David Chajdronnier, the field engineer said the facility started production in 2006, adding with five wells (one offshore), it is able to more than 35 million cubic feet daily.

     The situation was however different at gas processing and distribution plant at Madimba and Somanga fungu power plants as the local employee workforce were significantly low.

     According to Dr Emma Msaky, a Geologist and Technical Advisor at office of the President of Tanzania, oil and gas advisory Bureau, the new Petroleum (exploration and production) Act requires that exploration licenses expired nine years.

     Initially, she explained the exploration license lasted for 11 years starting from initial three years.

     Dr Msaky Tanzania government has opted for production sharing agreement, which according to her manageable and beneficial to the country now.

Is Local Content the Solution to Unemployment?

Ebenezer Agyekum-Boateng, TV3, Ghana

Dar es Salaam, October 21, 2016: "Even without oil, we are doing well...with oil as a shot in the arm, we're going to fly."

Upon discovery of oil and gas by some African countries, expectation for accelerated economic development and dealing with the unemployment challenges of these countries have heightened.

When Ghana discovered oil and gas in commercial quantities, Ghana's former president John Agyekum Kufuor stated the discovery of the country's first major oil deposit could turn the West African country into an "African tiger".

"Even without oil, we are doing so well... With oil as a shot in the arm, we're going to fly," he told the BBC in June 2007.

Nigeria makes an average of $50m a day from oil? But where has all the money gone. August 10, 2010 the then military head of state General Yakubu Gowon, said Nigeria's problem was not money but how to spend it.

This heightened expectation from the leaders trickle down to the citizens.

An expert in local content law, Neema Lugangira cautions that discovery of oil and gas does not automatically deal with the unemployment challenges.

"the unemployment situation can be dealt with by participation of local businesses in the extractives value chain," she said in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Neema Lugangira, who initiated the Tanzania Local content law observed, opportunities for employment through participation.

"There are opportunities for local businesses through local content but there are no mechanism to make sure it is achievable" she said.

Procurement gives more money!

By Felix Mwakyembe
Local participation should focus on procurement rather than a singular focus on employment, an international local content expert stated in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

The expert, Ms. Neema Lugangira, revealed that procurement has a diversity of business opportunities compared to employment which provide limited space for human resources.

“Most organization and even the government spend between 60 to 70pc on procurement,” said the independent consultant Ms. Neema.

According to expert, during the negotiations, Tanzania influenced for onshore LNG to so that it increase local participation in gas industry.

Ms. Neema, a former Acting Director for Local Content in Investments, National Economic Empowerment Council, Prime Minister’s Office in Tanzania noted they rejected the floating LNG since it limits local participation.

In order for Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania people benefit from the resources, robust policy and strong legal framework is required to improve local participation in the extractive industry.

End 

Civil societies up in arms over uranium mining in Tanzania

By BERNARD LUGONGO
Tanzanian government and civil societies group are still clinging to
their conflicting stances over uranium mining in the country.
The group has been protesting the mining of the uranium basing on the
environmental pollution, but the government has stuck to its gun—with
trial uranium projects are ongoing.
National Coordinator, Interfaith Standing Committee on Economic
Justice and Integrity of Creation, Ms Grace Masalakulangwa, said a
stand of the civil society organizations is that the uranium should
not be mined in the country.
"We civil societies protest this because there is no specific law yet
to address the issue of environment pollution that would be as result
of packing and transporting the uranium. But the government has
remained with its stand that it would go on to mine.
Executive Director of HAKIMADINI, an organization advocating for
rights of locals in mining areas, Mr Amani Mhinda, asked: "Do Tanzania
need uranium? Are we ready for uranium mining?"
The concern by the civil societies comes just a day after a new
development was reached at Mkuju River Uranium Project.
Urenium One Company on Wednesday this week announced that it has
completed the Mkuju River Uranium Project, thus putting the country in
a good position to become among the top five producers of uranium in
Africa.
The company's Chief Operation officer, Mr Andrey Shutov said in the
coming two years they will start mining activities, noting that the
project expected to boost the country's economy.
According to Mr Shotov, the project started seven years ago and that
it has reached to the implementation stage after various research
studies were conducted.



--
BERNARD LUGONGO,
SENIOR WRITER,
DAILY NEWS,
Tanzania Standard Newspapers Ltd,
MOB: +255 713 636856.

CSOs, environmental conservationists in Tanzania say the country is not ready for uranium mine

 

By Dennis Peprah, GNA

    Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Oct 21, – Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), wildlife and environmental conservationists in Tanzania are strongly resisting attempts for uranium mine set to begin production of the radioactive material near the Eastern African country's Selous Game Reserve.

    Although developers of the mine are saying the project has the potential to create more jobs and indirect cash inflows, major CSOs in the country said Tanzania is not ready for the project.

    The Ghana News Agency (GNA) gathers that the Russian state-owned atomic agency (Rosatom) and Australian-based Mantra limited are jointly developing the project, which according to promoters create more than 1,600 direct jobs and indirect cash inflows of 640 million dollars in the country.

     Mrs Grace Masalakulangwa, the National Coordinator, Interfaith Standing Committee on Economic Justice and Integrity of Creation in Tanzania told our correspondent that "Tanzania is not ready to mine uranium".

     She told reporters on the sidelines of a 14 day regional training course on oil, gas and mining underway in Dar es Salaam the country had little knowledge on the sector and needed strong legal framework to get better negotiation deal.

     The training course is being organized by the Journalists Environmental Association of Tazania, in collaboration with Penplusbytes, International ICT Journalism in Ghana and the Africa Media for Excellence in Uganda with funding from the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI).

     Twenty-four Journalists eight from Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania are attending the course.

     Mrs Masalakulangwa observed that without robust national policy in the sector, the disadvantages of the mine would outweigh the benefits.

     She pointed out that many companies in the extractive sector in the country had failed the people, with most of the failing to fulfill their promises and social responsibility programmes.

    "If there is no legal framework to guide us in the negotiation table our country is going to lose a lot because uranium mine is a new area and this can lead to chaos", Mr Dennis Mwendwa the Chairperson of the Oil and Natural Gas Environmental Association (ONGEA) in Tanzania stated.

    He said the interest of the people of Tanzania ought to be protected and the CSOs would leave no stone unturned to achieve that.

Journalists on lessons in Natural resource governance in Africa

Journalists on lessons in Natural resource governance in Africa

Theophilus Kwesi Agyei Annim

Journalists on lessons in Natural resource governance in Africa Effective reporting on the extractive sector requires in-depth knowledge and experiences. It is in line with thi...