Battle for Isles oil revenue hots up as elections approach

The strong bipartisan support by Zanzibari legislators for the move by the Isles government to remove gas and oil from the list of matters that fall under the Union government is being viewed by observers as an indication that campaign strategy in the elections next year will exploit the simmering tensions with the Mainland.

The irony is that even in the absence of confirmed results showing that gas or oil are present in commercial quantities in the Isles’ territorial waters, politicians are already bickering over the sharing of the spoils.

Announcing what he said was a government decision to remove gas and oil from Union matters, Isles Minister for Energy, Water, Works and Land, Mansour Yussuf Himid, recently said Zanzibar no longer recognises oil and natural gas exploration and drilling as among the issues listed under the Constitution as Union matters.

His views were supported by House of Representatives members from both Chama cha Mapinduzi and the opposition Civic United Front.

Whereas the Speaker of the National Assembly of the United Republic of Tanzania Samuel Sitta said the issue was a non-starter, Isles legislators breathed fire, insisting it was within their power to remove gas and petroleum from the list of Union matters.

Taking turns, the Isles legislators, forgetting their party affiliations, attacked the Union Speaker over his remarks.

Making the whole issue murkier, Zanzibar is reported to have unilaterally cancelled contracts entered into between the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation and foreign companies that had been exploring for oil and gas for the part 10 years.

Antrim Resources and Shell International were among the 28 companies that signed contracts with the TPDC to prospect for oil and gas off the two islands that make up Zanzibar — Unguja and Pemba.

The issue of equitable sharing of natural resources is bound to resonate with the Isles electorate.

“The controversy over whether gas and oil are supposed to be Union matters isn’t only meant to drive the point home that Zanzibaris need to benefit from such resources, but a way to gain sympathy from the voters,” said a senior politician from the Isles.

However, he pointed out that many of the questions raised by Isles legislators on the legality of counting gas and oil among Union matters, were valid, because this was done without following the original Articles of the Union that established the United Republic of Tanzania.

He said the Articles of the Union were an international treaty that needed to respected, adding “They cannot be tampered with by either the Union National Assembly or the House of Representatives.

A senior member of the opposition CUF, Ismael Jussa, told The EastAfrican that when it came to the interests of the people of Zanzibar, “National interests come first; in this case it is a matter of principle to establish the legality of making gas and oil Union issues.”

Mr Jussa said, “It is surprising that politicians from the Mainland want a formula to divide up the revenue expected to be derived from gas or oil between Zanzibar and the Mainland, whereas currently such a system doesn’t exist for Zanzibar to benefit from the gold, diamonds and Tanzanite being mined on the Mainland.”

According to Mr Jussa, “We as Zanzibaris — whether CCM, CUF or any other political party, including those without any affiliations — haven’t benefited from gas that was discovered on the Mainland some seven years ago and the same applies to other minerals.”