Tanzania’s liquefied natural gas project suffered another setback this week after President John Magufuli accused the international oil and gas companies of seeking huge profits at the expense of the country’s development. President Magufuli spoke in Musoma on Wednesday in the wake of the collapse of the host government’s negotiations with the international companies, which has left the $30 billion project in limbo. He told a rally that the country was unable to generate electricity from its natural gas reserves because the companies have taken full control of the resources and asked Tanzanians to back the Stiegler’s Gorge hydro project, which has been facing opposition from environment activists and aid agencies.

President Magufuli accused the companies of demanding a high percentage of the proceeds from the LNG, and said that the government would continue with its plan to develop the Stiegler’s Gorge project, which is expected to generate 2,100MW. “Donors are opposing the project, asking why we are not using natural gas. But the International Oil Companies (IOCs) have taken over the natural gas… They take a high percentage of the proceeds because they participated in discovering the gas. That is why the capacity of the pipeline the government built from southern Tanzania to Dar es Salaam is only 30 per cent. That is the game being played by the people who want to colonise us economically,” President Magufuli said.