Africa-Press – Tanzania. VICE-President, Dr Philip Mpango yesterday issued tough directives to the Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office, Union Affairs and Environment, Selemani Jafo to ensure proper implementation of a tree planting programme.
The VP said there should be no business as usual attitude in implementation of the campaign, saying all trees must grow as per plan.
Dr Mpango was speaking during the climax of the World Environmental Day which took place in Dodoma.
He also launched a national campaign for environmental safety and protection which focuses on restoring ecosystem.
The VP also directed regional commissioners, government institutions, ministries and all other stakeholders to ensure the campaign is successful in their area “I would like to direct all RCs, government institutions and other stakeholders to make sure this campaign is well coordinated in their areas for productive results,we want to see changes in our areas,” he noted.
On the continuous use of charcoal and fire wood for home cooking, Dr Mpango said there is need for stakeholders and environmental experts to conduct researches on the cause for high cost of renewable energy as a source of cooking and come up with solutions.
“We need to know what are the causes of high cost of LPG among other sources of cooking energy which contributes to environmental destruction through the use of charcoal and firewood” said the Vice President.
He said if it is high production cost or taxes, then, they should bring recommendations for the government to revisit and conserve the environment and ecosystem.
According to Household Budget Survey of 2017/18 of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released, among 100-households in the country, 90 are using charcoal and firewood as a cooking energy source.
The Vice President said the situation is alarming, calling for attention and joint team work to reduce the situation to preserve the environment for ecosystem restoration.
Dr Mpango said 80 per cent of environment destruction with special focus on forestry are due to the increasing use of charcoal and firewood, where currently the trend has been observed also in urban areas where electricity and other renewable sources are available.
More than 500,000 bags of charcoal which are equivalent to 54,000 tonnes and 188 acres of trees are consumed annually in Dar es Salaam through cooking.
The trend has been the reason behind climate change effects, including drought and dry spells in water sources resources.
He also advised business operators in the industry to research and innovate technologies which will accommodates people from low income households to afford the energy facilities.
On his part, Minister Jafo said they will make every means to ensure full public engagement in environmental safety and protection.