The First Vice President of Zanzibar Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad
The request was made during his official tour in Qatar on Thursday
when he met with Qatar Minister for Energy and Industries Dr Mohammed
Saleh Al-Sada.
He said Zanzibar being one of the developing countries still faces
unreliable power, currently relying on Tanzania Mainland for energy
supply.
“It is time Zanzibar starts using its own energy sources by setting
plans for alternative energy sources that can guarantee reliability of
energy,” he said.
He said despite the isles’ lack of rivers to produce power, there
is possibility of it using solar or wind for electricity production
saying Qatar’s experience and assistance would be greatly needed.
Sharif Hamad also pointed out unemployment rate as one of the major
challenges facing his government saying it was hindering development
among youth and the country in general.
In April last year, reports surfaced that Tanzania Electric Supply
Company (TANESCO) was charging Zanzibar an average monthly power bill of
Sh5billion ($ 2.3 million current exchange rate) which the Zanzibar
authorities argued is on the higher side and were affecting the speed of
the Isles development.
On his part, Dr Al-Sada advised the isle to set up investment
procedures that will attract investors in various sectors including
infrastructure.
He said Qatar’s economy depends much on oil and natural gas which
contributes about 70 percent of its growth domestic product (GDP) but 40
years back, his country depended much on fishing.
Zanzibar’s power is connected to the National (Tanzania mainland)
Power Grid through an underwater marine cable with the applicable
current of 100 MW from an additional from the previous 2008 singe 132 kV
submarine cable connection with a capacity of 45 MW.
The island mainly depends on agriculture as the mainstay of the
economy largely due to the clove industry, the main foreign currency
earner. However, tourism has recently emerged as a possible successor to
the ailing clove industry.
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