STATEMENT BY HONOURABLE MIZENGO P. PINDA (MP), PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE THIRTEENTH UNIDO GENER

STATEMENT BY HONOURABLE MIZENGO P. PINDA (MP), PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE THIRTEENTH UNIDO GENERAL CONFERENCE VIENNA, AUSTRIA

7 DECEMBER 2009




Your Excellency, the President of the Thirteenth Session

of UNIDO General Conference;




My Colleagues Prime Ministers;




Dr. Kundeh Yumkella, Director General of UNIDO;




Distinguished Delegates;




Ladies and Gentlemen.







Mr. President,

Let me at the outset take this opportunity on behalf of the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania to join the previous Speakers in congratulating you Mr. President, for being elected to lead us in this important Conference.

We are all confident that your wisdom and capable leadership will guide us to constructive deliberations for a dynamic UNIDO well positioned to advise our Countries towards sustainable development.




Mr. President,

Allow me to extend my profound gratitude to the Government and the People the Federal Republic of Austria, for the warm welcome accorded to me and my entire Delegation since we arrived here in Vienna. On the same vain, my tribute should go to the organizers of this Conference who worked tirelessly to make it successful. I thank you all.




I would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Kundeh Yumkella, the UNIDO Director General, for his wisdom, that has enabled UNIDO to focus on the turbulence of Global Economic Slowdown and Global Climate Change and their impact on our Countries. I also wish to congratulate him for being elected to lead this very important Organization for the next four years. My Country will fully support the Director General in carrying out his duties and responsibilities.




Mr. President,

We continue to witness the impact of market failures, especially in industrialised countries, that were basically triggered by sub-prime mortgages that led to bubbles in the real estate market and eventually to failure of banks and other financial institutions. To Developing Countries like Tanzania, this may seem a distant problem but it is not. Declining demand in Developed Countries together with the credit crunch has had a negative impact on the economies of developing Countries including decline in our exports, reduced Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and declining number of tourists visiting our Countries. The obvious effect of such a scenario is of course a rise in unemployment and the attendant social and even political consequences.




The current economic crisis which has taken a global character, regardless of its origin, is yet another reminder that we live in a global village. It is imperative that the international community must work together to address global challenges. I therefore believe that the on going debate within the Industrialised Countries on the key issue of a need for a globally coordinated market regulation to prevent a similar crisis in the future, need inputs from Developing Countries as well. This is to recognise the fact that in this globalized world, what affects one affects all.




Mr. President,

We are meeting here at the same time when the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change is taking place. I will therefore focus my statement on this subject. The Copenhagen Conference will be a turning point in the fight to prevent a Climate Disaster. Climate Change is a real threat. The anticipated commitments in Copenhagen will be vital for the survival of our planet and for building secure, fairer, and more innovative societies. It is our hope that, an agreement in Copenhagen will ensure significant emission reduction targets for Industrialised Countries and Nationally appropriate mitigation actions by Developing Countries. Developing Countries however, will require necessary support in terms of resources and expertise to achieve their goals for mitigation and adaptation.




Mr. President,

The emerging and ongoing environmental concerns are partly related to industrialization. At the same time we expect Industrial Development of the future to be driven by cleaner technologies. These technologies have the potential to provide lasting and sustainable solution to the environmental concerns. In other words Industrial Development can be a solution or a problem depending on the technologies employed. Today, we are seeing depletion of our planet because of the chosen Development Path. This is mainly because industrialization has been driven more by needs for profit and less so by environmental concerns. And yet experts believe that Cleaner Technologies have the potential not only to protect our environment but they can be commercially viable. It is as much a political choice as it is a technology choice.




Mr. President,

We are now told that the impact of climate change will affect poor Countries at a far greater degree compared to developed economies. In other words those who pollute the most will suffer the least and those who pollute the least will pay a higher price they can hardly afford. This is because Developing Countries have limited capacity to mitigate against disaster.




It is logical therefore to say that the solution to a climate catastrophe lie with industrialised countries. It is also logical to say their inaction will have very negative consequences not only to themselves but even more so to poor countries who stand to be devastated by prolonged drought, floods, hurricane, etc. This is therefore, a heavy responsibility.




What I have just said does not mean that Developing Countries do not have responsibility to care for the environment. Far from it, Developing Countries must put in place credible policies and a legal framework to preserve nature including forest preservation, wildlife conservation and preservation of our rivers, lakes and coastal areas. But Developing Countries need to industrialise an develop their economies. We need to develop our Industrial Sector which is still very basic. Indeed, Developing Countries can argue with good reason that environmental concerns should not be used as a factor to prevent or to slow down the industrialization process. We may be forced to use affordable technologies that may not necessarily fully address environmental concerns. However, it is not in our interest to aggravate the problem. We need to be assisted if we are to balance the need for development and concerns for the environment. We need to access affordable technologies to locally process our natural resources with minimum impact on the environment. In this way, we can promote Green Industries and thus develop our economies and lift our people out of poverty with least cost to the environment. We have to recognise that poverty is one of the greatest enemies of the environment. We can not dissociate poverty and environmental degradation in Developing Countries.







Mr. President,

We are all aware that UNIDO, under the stewardship of Dr. Kundeh Yumkella has continued to be in the forefront in identifying ways and means to assist Developing Countries achieve Sustainable Industrial Development goals through increased productivity while preserving the environment. We acknowledge the role played by UNIDO and we believe that, UNIDO will put more efforts in assisting Developing Countries to realise their development dream, including Green Industrialisation.




Mr. President,

Tanzania is a Country whose land is covered with forests and woodlands offering a diverse habitat for wildlife, unique ecosystems and other valuable natural resources. A wide ecological diversity favours production of a wide range of agricultural products as well as livestock, forests and marine products. Tanzania is also rich in mineral resources particularly gold, diamond, gemstones, coal, tin, mica, salt, gypsum, lime etc. These raw materials need to be processed through application of green technologies. Tanzania’s capacity to apply clean technologies require external assistance. We need to develop an Industrial base which reflect environmental concerns. We have the resolve, we need the means to achieve this objective. We invite investors to join us to develop our industrial sector with the environment in mind.




Mr. President,

The Government of Tanzania has recognized the need to pursue Development Policies and strategies that are environmentally friendly in order to ensure Sustainable Development in all Sectors of the economy. To this end, Tanzania has put in place Policies and strategies as well as a Legal Framework aimed at addressing environmental issues. Allow me to share with you some of the measures we have put in place to address environmental challenges.




Cleaner Production Practices:




Tanzania has been implementing Cleaner Production Initiative since 1994. The Initiative includes the establishment of the Cleaner Production Centre of Tanzania (CPCT) which emphasize efficient use of raw materials, utilities and energy. Since its establishment, the Cleaner Production Centre of Tanzania has promoted the Cleaner Production Concept in many Industries in the Country and many Industries have benefited through participation in the Cleaner Production Centre of Tanzania Programmes. The Centre has demonstrated to these enterprises that investing in cleaner Production is not only beneficial to the environment, but also brings financial gains to the enterprises as well as improving the health and safety of the workers.




Utilization of Natural Gas for Thermal Application




A number of industries have started utilising natural gas as a source of energy as an alternative option to other sources like coal, wood-fuel and fossil oil.




Biomass Co-Generation




Currently, there are a number of initiatives in place for generating electricity using biomass; in particular use of bagasse from sugarcane; sisal and wood waste. Currently, Sugar Industries generate about 38 Megawatts of electricity by using bagasse by-product while wood wastes generate about 18.5 Megawatts. Production of energy using sisal waste at industrial level started in 2008. We thank UNIDO for the support in the application of these technologies.




Bio-fuel Energy




Bio-fuel as a source of energy has also been explored. Currently, there are a number of ongoing initiatives to start large plantations of bio-fuel crops to ensure sustainable supply of bio-fuel oil. Efforts are underway to undertake land zoning to ensure satisfactory food security by allocating enough and fertile land for food crops as well as to address the requirement of land for planting of bio-fuel crops. We are in the process of formulating a Bio-fuel Policy to facilitate sustainable cultivation and use of bio-fuels as a source of Renewable Energy.




Mr. President,

Before I conclude my remarks, let me reiterate my position that, a choice for a Green Industry Development Path and the attendant opportunities for Developing Countries need close collaboration and assistance of Developed Countries. As the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon once said. “The words have been heard around the World. Let the actions now be seen. There is little time left. The opportunity and responsibility to avoid catastrophic Climate Change is in our hands.” Surely, Developing Countries need support now than ever as we advance to grab the opportunities towards Green Industrialization. Let us work together. Let us assist each other. As we always believe that “Together we can make the Difference”.




Mr. President, once again I thank you for the invitation you granted me to address this Conference, and may I wish you all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.




I thank you all for your kind attention.