THE Rufiji Basin Development Authority (RUBADA) is underway to
amend the law which would enable the organization from engaging in the development
planning of power generation within which the Stiegler's Gorge
Multi-Purpose Dam is located. The Guardian has been informed. Speaking
in an exclusive interview on Wednesday this week in Dar es Salaam RUBADA’s
Acting Director General Dr. Deogratias Lwezaura said that the law to be amended
would give them power to concentrate more on agricultural activities. The primary
functions of the authority for which it was established by an Act of Parliament
in 1975 are the generation of electricity by hydro works, and the
undertaking of flood control measures along Rufiji river basin. Other activities
the authority is engaged with is the promotion and regulation of activities in
the sectors of industry, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism and
transport. In agriculture the authority did a pre-feasibility study in the
lower Rufiji that recommended wetland rice as the main crop for both large
scale and small scale irrigation. The authority also has two irrigation
projects in the Rufiji Basin in the Kilombero Valley, and in the Lower Rufiji
Valley. These are being executed in collaboration with the Governments of Korea
and Iran respectively. He said his authority
has come to such a decision after realizing that the activities of the
Stiegler’s Gorge need research and planning which are very complex and time
taken, a factor that are not able to execute other assigned activities which
are compelled to be done by the organization. In view of this, the organization
has seen the need to hand over the project to stakeholders such as the Ministry
of energy and Natuional Environmental Managament Council (NEMC) to look at the feasibility
study for the project in general if the law would be amended by Parliament in
November this year. Speaking about the Stiegler’s Hydro electricity project, he
noted that a team of experts from a Brazilian based firm known as Odebrecht
International Company who signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
RUBADA in 2012 have completed the initial scoping of the environmental and
social impact assessment study about the project. He said RUBADA had commissioned
the firm to do the work to overlook at the scope of the project and its impact
to the development of the nation and the study reports have been handed over to
UNESCO office in the country for opinion. He further noted that, the second study
work is due to take place in September this year that would involve the
feasibility study of the project in general and after that once it the
investments would follow in some years to come depending on the availability of
fund. Historically, RUBADA was established to promote and regulate development
in the Rufiji Basin including the generation and Hydro power supply of
electricity with estimated 2,100MW. The
Rufiji river basin is the largest river basin in the country covering an area
of about 177,000 square kilometres. It extends some 700 km from Mbeya in the
west to the Indian Ocean with land elevation ranging from 0 to 3000m above sea
level.
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