News 

Sunday, January 19, 2014 

Tanzania expecting Norway mayors

MWANZA, Tanzania - The mayors of Hammerfest and Sandnessjoen towns in Norway will pay a visit to Tanzania on a so-called ‘Gas Economy’ mission.

The visit is scheduled for 3-7 February, 2014.

The two, Bard Anders Lango (Sandnessjoen) and Alf E. Jakobson (Hammerfest) will visit to the towns/regions of Lindi and Mtwara in Southern Tanzania. 

This where the biggest pockets of gas have been discovered off the coast of Tanzania.

According to the Minister for Energy and Minerals Prof Sospeter Muhongo, the two mayors will hold talks with their counterparts in the two regions. They will also have discussions with the local communities.

“The main objective of the visit is to exchange views on gas economy and seeing the possibility of support from the experience of Norwegian cities,” Prof Muhongo told East African Business Week last week.

He said the regional leadership of Lindi and Mtwara would also visit the two Norwegian cities on a date later to be announced.

The two Norwegian towns agreed in October, 2013 to be development partners with Lindi and Mtwara.

This was a result of a delegation led by Prof Muhongo last October.

While in Norway, the mayor of Sandfnesjoen Bard Anders Lango told the Tanzanian delegation that to a large extent Sandnessjoen is run by revenue collected from gas and oil and that, 22% of the oil revenue is used in the sectors of education and health.

By Andrew Zablon, Sunday, January 19th, 2014