Kitandula lauds govt for encouraging people to use clean energy

29May 2023
By Guardian Reporter
Dodoma
Features
The Guardian
Kitandula lauds govt for encouraging people to use clean energy

PARLIAMENTARY Committee of Energy and Minerals has lauded the government for teaming up with the private sector to educate the public on the need for them to move from relying on firewood and charcoal as a source of energy for cooking.

SESCOM Manager Shukuru Meena explains to MPs on how the electric pressure cookers work.

Dastan Kitandula, committee chairman made the recommendations recently when speaking at the workshop in Dodoma organized to committee members and other lawmakers to inform them on the importance of using clean cooking energy and making it cheap to enable members of the public to afford it.

Some of the members of the committees who attended the workshop include Philip Mulugo, Salma Kikwete, Jesca Msavasvangu and Ndaiva George Ruhoro

Kitandula noted that the move to create awareness to the public is good and make the journey to clean energy for cooking by 2033 easier. “I support the move as it ensures all Tanzanians use clean energy for cooking and to improve the health of people including preserving the environment and natural vegetation and protecting water sources,” he said.

The committee leader said that the journey to 2033 is meant to protect the health of Tanzanians and make them safe when cooking as well as protecting the country’s forest reserves and water sources.

The Chairman of the budget committee, Simon Sirro, said that they will see how they can advise the government on giving priority to the use of clean energy for cooking.

Some of the members of the committees who attended the workshop are Philip Mulugo, Salma Kikwete, Jesca Msavasvangu and Ndaiva George Ruhoro.

Kitandula also supported Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) like the Tanzania Traditional Energy Development Organisation (TaTEDO) through Sustainable Energy Services Company (SESCOM) who have been complementing the government’s endeavors to improve the clean energy services for cooking.

SESCOM has developed Electric Pressure Cookers (EPC), which use a small amount of electricity of about 2 units of electricity.

Eng. Estomih Sawe, TATEDO’s chief executive director informed the MPs that the aim of the workshop is to provide education to the members of the parliament

Shukuru Meena, SESCOM Manager said that Tanzanians have been affected adversely by the use of firewood and charcoal for cooking due to lack of education on the use of electricity for cooking believing that it is expensive. “That’s why we came up with new technology that addresses cooking energy challenges and we’ve been engaging in providing education through different platforms that we believe will change people's outlooks.”

Katarina Aloyce, SESCOM’s sales manager, mentioned how women use clean energy for cooking various types of food.

Committee members also applauded TATEDO and its sister company for coming up with the modern clean energy cooking which can use small amounts of electricity and its cost is also affordable to many people in the country.

Modern energy cooking services are crucial to human well-being and to Tanzania’s economic development. Cooking remains a central part of energy transition and core to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 and the Paris Agreement.

In Tanzania over 55 million people are without clean cooking services. That is more than 85 percent of the population still depend on solid biomass fuels for cooking with 63.5 percent of households using firewood, followed by charcoal users 26.2 percent, Only 5.1 percent use LPG and 3 percent use electricity.

Most of the biomass fuels is being burned in inefficient three stone fireplaces in rural areas and in metal charcoal stoves in urban areas, which in turn affects health and wellbeing of the population through indoor air pollution.

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