On
September 8, 2024, in Dar es Salaam, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Energy, Dr. Doto Biteko, urged Tanzanians to use clean cooking energy to
protect their health. And lives by preventing respiratory issues and deaths
caused by unclean energy.
Dr. Biteko
was speaking at the Kizimkazi Declaration event, which supports President Dr.
Samia Suluhu Hassan’s clean cooking energy efforts and launched the "Pika
Kijanja" campaign by Bongo FM and TBC.
Dr. Biteko
praised President Samia as a leader in Africa’s campaign for clean cooking
energy, highlighting her commitment to helping street food vendors (Mama and
Baba Lishe) switch to clean energy, noting that she has donated 2,000 gas
cylinders to encourage this change.
“I commend
the President for her vision,” said Dr. Biteko, calling on the Ministry of
Energy to collaborate with stakeholders to make the campaign a success.
Global
statistics, according him, show that 5.8 billion people use clean energy
worldwide, while 2.4 billion still rely on unclean energy. In Africa, 933
million people continue to use unclean cooking energy, emphasizing a collective
effort to promote clean energy.
Minister
of State, Dr. Ashatu Kijaji, recognized the important role of street food
vendors in the economy with a commitment to help them move away from unclean
energy to improve their working environment. She added that gas cylinders have
been provided to support this transition.
Dr. Kijaji
also noted that the President’s leadership in clean cooking energy aligns with
the CCM party’s goals to provide affordable clean cooking energy to all
Tanzanians, highlighting that 450,000 gas cylinders have been subsidized.
Ms.
Dafrosa Kimbory, Acting Director General of TBC, explained that TBC’s Kizimkazi
Declaration show is part of the ‘Pika Kijanja’ campaign, designed to highlight
the President’s efforts in promoting clean cooking energy.
According to
her, the campaign aims to ensure that 80% of Tanzanians use clean cooking
energy by 2034.
The event
was attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Energy and stakeholders,
including STAMICO, Oryx, and Total Energies, who donated 2,000 gas cylinders to
support the campaign.