VP demands viable carbon projects
DAR ES SALAAM: c has directed the National Carbon Monitoring Centre (NCMC) to prioritise carbon trading projects that deliver tangible benefits to Tanzanians, warning against boasting about projects in the pipeline that may take years to materialise.
Mr Ndejembi issued the directive on Thursday in Dar es Salaam while inspecting exhibition booths at the 12th Conference of the Parties to the Nairobi Convention (COP12), where he represented President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan.
He challenged the centre to focus on implementing a few mature, bankable projects rather than highlighting 119 projects still at preparatory stages without clear prospects of delivering results.
“It is better to hold onto one project; make sure we run with it and its benefits are seen by the Tanzanian. Let us do things realistically,” he said.
The Vice-President’s remarks followed a briefing by NCMC Chief Executive Officer Ngenda Kigaraba and Acting Director of Carbon Project Measurement, Monitoring and Registration, Dr Deo Shirima, on the centre’s progress.
According to the officials, four carbon projects have been implemented since 2022, with about 4.2 billion carbon credits expected to be sold following approval by the responsible Minister.
The sale is projected to generate about 52 million US dollars, while the government could receive close to 8bn/- from its share.
The projects have also delivered social benefits, including the distribution of clean-energy cooking stoves to more than 9,000 households and the provision of clean water to more than one million people, the officials said.
However, Mr Ndejembi questioned how many of the 119 projects in the pipeline could realistically mature and deliver results during the 2026/27 financial year.
He warned that repeatedly telling the public that 119 projects were in the pipeline, while only four has been implemented since 2022, risked creating false expectations.
“I don’t want us to be a jack of all trades, master of none. It is better to hold one project, make sure we run with it and its benefits are seen by the Tanzanian,” he said.
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He urged the centre to concentrate on projects it could complete and those with demonstrable benefits for citizens.
Mr Ndejembi also cautioned against projects that benefit officials through allowances and workshops without improving the lives of ordinary Tanzanians.
He called on the NCMC to report only on projects that were sufficiently advanced to increase productivity and improve livelihoods.
“When you report, give the ones you can clearly see are going to add value to the life of a Tanzanian. Let us not start saying something is coming, something is coming and then we wait four or five years while our experts remain buried in paperwork. Let us do things realistically,” he said.
The VP clarified that his remarks were not intended to discredit the work already done by the centre, but to emphasise the need to move from projects on paper to practical implementation.
“Let us hold onto what has succeeded, run with it and focus on what is clearly adding value now not on going to pay allowances, or community education on projects that bring no benefit to the user. Look at projects that truly change the life of a Tanzanian,” he said.
