Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
Carbon credits trading: A new form of Africa’s colonialism?
The debate over the necessity and implications of the much-touted carbon credits trading drew the attention of many participants during this year’s International Transparency and Accountability Conference (ITAC) in Arusha, which focused on strengthening accountability for climate action.
During the second day of the two-day conference, organised jointly by a local think tank on public accountability WAJIBU and the government, on September 29, 2023, conference participants delved into discussing opportunities that carbon trading can offer Tanzania and other African countries.
Experts define carbon trading as a trading system in which companies or individuals can compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing carbon credits from entities that remove or reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
While some describe the arrangement as an effective way of addressing the climate crisis that is wreaking havoc on millions of people worldwide, others have criticised it, labelling it as a new form of neo-colonialism of the African continent and its people.
Full story here.
Barrick reports two new deaths at its North Mara mine
Police in Mara are investigating two deaths that occurred at different times at Barrick Gold’s North Mara mine, the Canadian-based mining company has said in a statement.
The first incident happened September 21, 2023, where approximately 100 intruders unlawfully invaded the mine property during heavy rainfall.
“Unarmed private security contractors responded in an attempt to repel the armed invaders but subsequently requested police intervention to remove the aggressive intruders from the mine site,” the company said in a statement.
“Seven intruders were arrested, and based on initial police findings, some had sustained injuries as a result of fighting amongst themselves,” it added. “Another intruder, injured in the fighting amongst themselves, was found unconscious by the police but later succumbed to his injuries while being transported to the Tarime District Hospital.”
Another incident happened on September 22, 2023, where police assistance was requested to engage with aggressive armed invaders in an attempt to prevent them from illegally entering the Gena Pit.
“During the incident, a policeman discharged his firearm and wounded an intruder,” Barrick said in a statement dated September 28, 2023. “The intruder was transported to the Musoma hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on 27 September.”
UK-based corporate watchdog group RAID, which has been observing Barrick’s Tanzanian operations closely and exposing alleged human rights violations at its mine, said in a Twitter post that deaths reported by Barrick now stand at five since December 2022 alone.
“Local sources say human rights abuses are frequent,” the group added. “Even by the company’s own figures, the number of deaths is alarming.”
On November 11, 2022, RAID described Barrick’s North Mara mine as “one of the deadliest in Africa,” with much of the violence directed at the indigenous Kurya community living near the mine.
“Since the Canadian mining giant assumed operational control of the mine from its subsidiary Acacia Mining in September 2019, violence by police in mine-related security operations has led to 32 recorded shootings, incidents of torture and other assaults, resulting in six deaths,” RAID said in their report conducted between April and October 2022.
New fuel prices take effect
New fuel prices announced by the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) on Tuesday took effect on Wednesday as the prices have increased for the fourth consecutive month, with diesel taking the biggest hit.
In Dar es Salaam, a litre of petrol will now cost Tsh3,281, up from Tsh3,213. A litre of diesel will now cost Tsh3,448 , up from Tsh3,259. Kerosene prices have also increased, with a litre now costing Tsh2,943.
Fuel imported through the Tanga Port will be even more expensive, with petrol at Tsh3,327, diesel at Tsh3,494, and kerosene at Tsh2,989.
EWURA attributes the price increase to several factors, including rising global fuel prices, increased export charges, reduced oil output by OPEC+, and economic sanctions placed against Russia by Western countries.
“The price increase has been compounded by global factors, with global fuel prices skyrocketing by 4.21 per cent, putting a strain on export charges, which increased by 17 per cent for petrol, 62 per cent for diesel, and four per cent for kerosene,” the agency said.
This is it for today, and we hope you enjoyed our briefing. Please consider subscribing to our newsletter (see below), following us on X (Twitter) (here), or joining us on Telegram (here). And in case you have any questions or comments, please drop a word to our editors at editor@thechanzo.com.
