Tanzanian villagers let down by UK biofuel company

People from the Kisarawe villages, especially those in Mhaga, in Tanzania are left disillusioned and angry after promised financial, health and educational stability in return for their land was not delivered by Sun Biofuels.

It could have been something productive for both parties. In 2006, the British company promised the 1,000 inhabitants of Mhaga that their village would benefit from their cooperation to produce sustainable clean energy from jatropha plants. The company was in need of thousands of hectares of land to grow the crops, which the villagers possess.

In return, the company vowed to create infrastructure, health and educational facilities, jobs and financial stability and - most important of all - they would build a well to meet fresh water needs and stop the water shortage that has been plaguing the area.

But instead of a thriving prospect, the villagers were met with health and safety violations while working at the plantation, there are no plans for water security and the building of roads, payments were reduced to just a little over 1/3 of the agreed salary and over time they were subsequently made redundant.

“Sun Biofuels convinced the people of Kisarawe into giving up their land by making promises that it has never kept. It undertook to pay local people full and fair compensation for their land, but very little money has been paid,” said an ActionAid report.

On top of all these unfulfilled pledges, the local community has been denied access to the lands on which their ancestral burial grounds are located, as well as water sources. Nowadays, the people have to walk for hours to get their water supply. As they had signed over their properties, they were aware that their income would drop as they could no longer get firewood and charcoal from the lands. Their agreement with Sun Biofuels however would have compensated for the loss and allow children to continue their schooling.

Dismayed by unkept promises and obstruction of traditional practices, the community has written to Tanzanian governmental officials to step in, but its plea has remained unanswered.

Speaking up for the communities, Selemani Said Yafo - MP for Kisarawe - is appalled by the turn of events. He told the Guardian that Sun Biofuels has failed to deliver their end of the bargain. He expected it to be a “win-win project”, which turned out to be nothing of the sort.

More displeasure occurred when Sun Biofuels’ parent company in the UK went bust and changed ownership, leaving the people in Kisarawe jobless and their lands unreturned. Said Yafo was unaware that Sun Biofuels was due to operate under a new owner and highly questioned what went on behind the scenes.

“I’m a member of parliament and I’m not informed there is a new owner,” he told Guardian reporter Damian Carrington in a video report. “This is a problem. What is the secret behind this? There is something hiding in the briefcase and we have to find it.”

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This release was published on openPR.