President William Ruto has clarified the proposed plan to establish a joint oil refinery in Tanga, Tanzania, after President Samia Suluhu said she had not been consulted.
Speaking on Monday, May 4 evening, during a joint press briefing, President Suluhu said she had sought an explanation from Ruto over the remarks in a prior conversation.
“When we were talking inside, I confronted Ruto and asked him why he announced a refinery in Tanga without my knowledge.
“Now he will explain himself why he made that announcement,” said the Tanzanian President.
In his response, President Ruto said the proposed refinery in Tanga was part of broader regional discussions on harnessing local resources and advancing industrialization.
Ruto noted that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Paul Kagame of Rwanda have shown interest in investing in the proposed refinery.
“Allow me to explain our discussion on Tanga as a refinery. I have been told that our announcement to build a refinery in Tanga has upset some people; if I had known, I would have announced it would be built in Mombasa instead.
“This is because the building of a refinery is a big opportunity for business, industrialization, petrochemical industries, fertilizer industries, plastics, and when I had a conversation with President Museveni, our discussion was about how to industrialize our region using our resources,” Ruto said.
The Head of State also mentioned that the private sector advised against the continued export of unprocessed resources.
“We have been advised by the private sector that the longer we continue to export raw materials, jobs, opportunities, and wealth, and in exchange importing inflation, which is not what we should be doing,” he stated.
Ruto also said he had discussed with President Suluhu for Tanzania to take the lead in the proposed construction of a refinery in Tanga.
“I have discussed with my sister that Tanzania should lead the way to make sure that we use the resources we have because we all realize that it is time for us to use the resources we have to industrialize our region,” Ruto stated.
He highlighted that Tanga is 190 kilometers away from Mombasa and could ease the movement of refined products across the region.
“It makes absolutely no sense for us to export crude oil to all manner of places, then we go struggle to import finished products with challenges in the Strait of Hormuz and all other places,” Ruto added.
This comes after Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote committed to setting up a major oil refinery in the East African region.
Speaking during the Africa We Build Summit in Nairobi, Dangote said the project could produce 650,000-barrels-per-day, similar to the one he has set up in Nigeria.
“I can give commitment to the two presidents that are here: if they will support the refinery, we’ll build the identical one that we have in Nigeria – 650,000 barrels,” Dangote said.
During the summit, President Ruto said the refinery would be set up in Tanga, Tanzania, adding that the project would be a shared regional asset.
“We are going to have a joint refinery in Tanga to benefit all of us because that refinery is going to take on board the oil from DRC, the oil from Kenya, the oil from South Sudan, and the oil from Uganda,” said Ruto.
