Dr A. Massawe/massaweantipas@hotmail.com/
I remember my Head of Department at the foreign university I did my
engineering studies saying that from his teaching experiences in
helping engineering curriculum developments abroad, found out that the
education taught in most African institutions is only meant to create
doers rather than both business makers and doers.
And it is very true, very little of the engineering or business design
science is taught nowadays in our local institutions of higher
learning and almost all the local experts are equipped with in
business or engineering design is the know how to use western
developed computer designing programs in feeding in the inputs and
retrieving the outputs mechanically-like robots.
As a consequence, in the absence of western made computer program (s),
our local experts completely fail to advice our decision makers
properly on easily understood business/engineering design problems
such as the one involving choice of option for the location of Mtwara
Natural Gas based power generation plants from the two options given:
Dar es Salaam or Mtwara.
I consider the disputed Government choice to build a pipeline for
transporting the natural gas from Mtwara for Power generation in Dar
es Salaam a faulty one because:
Dar es Salaam and its nearby surroundings could be having a lot more
of its own natural gas than Mtwara has (1);
Producing power in Mtwara and building up a new power grid to
distribute in Mtwara, Lindi, Pwani and Dar es Salaam regions would
have empowered all coastal rural and urban centers from Mtwara to Dar
es Salaam with a reliable supply of power which is connectable or
easily connectable to the national grid to enhance its reliability and
its stimulation of investing for economic growth within the whole
urban and rural coastal corridor from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam (2);
Our priority industrial development focus now should have been Mtwara
which neighbours the very rich developing Mozambique and nearer to
landlocked countries like Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia than Dar is to
these countries, especially aimed to grasp a significant share of the
market for manufactured goods consumption in Mozambique and in the
other nearby landlocked countries of Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia. If
we don't do it this way, Mozambique will and become the main supplier
of manufactured goods in our southern regions and in the other nearby
landlocked countries mentioned here (3).
Similarly, relative to Dar es Salaam, the Tanzanian towns of Tanga,
Arusha and Moshi should have also been given priority industrial
development focus aimed to conquer markets in the neighbouring Kenya
and to reverse the trend in which it is Nairobi and Mombasa exporting
almost all East African manufactured goods consumed in Tanzania,
especially in the Northern part of our country.
Was very surprised to hear a Honourable decision maker publicly
arguing that the choice to use the Mtwara natural gas for power
generation in Dar es Salaam instead of Mtwara was correct because this
power generation won't have much to offer in the form of jobs to the
people of Mtwara because it doesn't employ many, not knowing that most
important of what Mtwara would have benefited from having the power
generated in Mtwara was the reliable availability of cheap power which
stimulates investing for economic growth in our southern regions.
Again the same Honourable decision maker argued that decision was
correct because natural gas transportation via pipeline is cheaper
than power transmission via grid (yes, the cost of power
transportation via grid is almost twice the cost of natural gas
transportation via pipeline), not knowing that main determinant of
option choice in this case and in
any other similar business are the total profit returns from the two
project options during their whole life spans. The same Honourable
decision maker concluded public argument by saying that the choice of
Dar es Salaam was correct because choice of Mtwara would have resulted
into power leakages in the transmission from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam,
not knowing that power leakages are more in the power transmission
from Dar es Salaam to consumers further on the mainland, who are
connected on the 20 – 30 % -loss- making state-run Tanzania Electric
Supply Company (TANESCO) power grid system than in the power
transmission from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam through a newly constructed
power grid.
Our decision makers wouldn't have decided based on such faulty
arguments if they were provided with adequate expert advice in the
Government. Revision and/or enhancement of curricula at our
institutions of higher learning is required to replace the business
doers produced now with graduates who are both business makers and
doers.
Source: http://www.wavuti.com/#ixzz2J54BWveO
--
Jobs in Africa - www.wejobs.blogspot.com
International Jobs - www.jobsunited.blogspot.com
Kujiondoa Tuma Email kwenda
wanabidii+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com Utapata Email ya kudhibitisha ukishatuma
Disclaimer:
Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.
0 comments:
Post a Comment