The head of communication at the Ministry, Badra Masoud
Speaking during the Oil and Gas National Stakeholders’ Consultation
meeting in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the head of communication at the
Ministry, Badra Masoud, said that the move would help to do away with
misleading reports on discovery of the resources in Mtwara and Lindi
regions.
“There are so many issues which have been raised following the
discovery of gas in the two regions which are, to say the least,
misleading the public,” she said.
Being the main stakeholder in the oil and gas sector, she said, the
ministry has decided to prepare the communication strategy which would
be used to provide correct information to the public.
She said the ministry has been collecting views from oil and gas
stakeholders and the five-year communication strategy would start to be
used as soon as the draft becomes complete at the end of this month.
Masoud added that after its completion, the draft would be
presented to the stakeholders to ascertain if all of their opinions have
been included in the strategy.
She said the strategy involved Tanzanians in their respective
groups whereby they were asked to give out their views on how they want
it to be so they could get the right information and at the right time.
“Gas is a newly invented resource in the country which needs
involvement of Tanzanians on how it is going to be extracted; and the
only way to effectively the pepople’s participation is by providing
right information to them so that they can have a clear understanding of
the sector,” Masoud explained.
She added that the communication strategy would be the national
strategy when it comes to communicate all issues relating to oil and
gas.
She said gas and oil is an important sector that touches every
Tanzanian, and for that reason they want all the information that would
be provided to be correct and be given on time to avoid harbouring
different interpretations from members of the public.
Reading the opening speech on behalf of Mtwara Regional
Commissioner, Alfred Luanda, who is Mtwara Regional Administrative
Secretary said, every Tanzanian has the duty to ensure that the oil and
gas sector becomes the main facilitating agent in eradicating poverty by
boosting the economy.
He said that the best way the government can utilise the resources
the country has, such as oil and gas, is by providing the right
information and on time and collaborate with different stakeholders to
better understand the sector.
He added that the new communication strategy set up by the ministry
is the solution to seeking wisdom from every stakeholder and goes
together with the current needs of the community.
“It is important for the public to get the right information and
which reaches them on time so as to avoid misleading information because
every citizen needs to know what is going on in the sector in order to
make it easier for the government to do its work,” he explained.
For his part, Minerals Commissioner Paul Masanja said the
communication strategy is vital at this time because it would help
reduce quarrels and blames against one another.
He said that wherever good communication prevails there will not be
little or no misunderstandings. “The only thing needed is transparency,
accountability and participation of the public,” he said.
He added that after the discovery of gas in Mtwara, the public has
been expecting much and if the government will not have a good
communication strategy to explain where the country is, where it is
going misunderstandings are likely to occur.
“If we decide we can but only if we will stop being selfish and
unite as one, what the people of Mtwara and Lindi need is to understand
what the government is doing. The government too needs to know the
people’s expectations,” he said.
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