The Isles’ incumbent presidential candidate on Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) ticket Dr Ali Mohammed Shein made the revelation on a campaign rally at Paje grounds in South Unguja on Tuesday to block the political opponents from using the energy “false pretext” to lure the public into voting for them .
“The issue of oil and natural gas in Zanzibar is not new. It started many years back and various researches have been carried out in relation to the resources… the seventh phase government has already drafted the bill,” he said.
He said the issue has been discussed by the Union and Zanzibar governments since 2002 when he was the Vice President of the Union government when he ordered then Minister for Energy Maokola Majogo and Zanzibar Minister for Energy Burhan Saadat Hajji to work on it.
“The two ministers agreed that the matter is sensitive and since it involves issues related to the country’s economy it needed to be discussed by the two governments,” he insisted.
“The two ministers agreed that the matter is sensitive and since it involves issues related to the country’s economy it needed to be discussed by the two governments,” he insisted.
Dr Shein, however, called upon Paje residents to vote for him so that he could make changes and bring development to the Isles.
On September 13 during the launching of CCM presidential campaigns in Zanzibar Dr Shein said that his government was finalising talks with a Swiss company, Shell, to enable it to undertake oil and gas exploration activities whose initial stages are expected to take between three and seven years.
Addressing the rally, President Jakaya Kikwete said the decision to remove oil and gas from the list of the union matters was meant to ensure that Isles residents benefit from the sectors’ revenues.
He said the newly enacted oil and gas legislation assured Zanzibar autonomy in the management of the two natural resources.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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